Gary A Payne

Gary Payne's research is on maize diseases, with a focus on ear rots and mycotoxin contamination.  His research on fumonisins, produced by Fusarium verticillioides and aflatoxins, produced by Aspergillus flavus ranges from field studies on the ecology and epidemiology of the pathogens to genomic approaches aimed at understanding pathogenesis and the biosynthesis and regulation of these two toxins.  His current research is focused on identification of maize resistance genes through transcriptional profiling of the interaction between these two fungi and maize seeds. Gary also works closely with colleagues who perform research on breeding for resistance to fumonisin contamination and on biological control for aflatoxin contamination.