Scientific Journal to Publish Coker College Student’s Research

HARTSVILLE, S.C. —  An article written by Coker College biology major Michele Burnham will be published later this year by the scientific journal“Mycologia,”the official publication of the Mycological Society of America.

Burnham’s article deals with the discovery of a photoreceptor gene in Cercospora kikuchii, the fungus that causes purple seed stain and leaf blight in soybean crops. This gene could make it possible to control the disease with more environmentally friendly methods, such as light, rather than harmful pesticides.

Burnham conducted her research last summer in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Arkansas as a C. Roy Adair Undergraduate Research Fellow.

Burnham is a senior from Lancaster, S.C. She is advised by Coker College biology professor Joseph Flaherty and plans to attend graduate school.

 

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February 16, 2009