Courses taught at SJU.
BIO 1031 Organismic Biology, with Dr. Fingerut and Dr. Howard.
BIO 2262 Light and Electron Microscopy
BIO 2191 Plant Taxonomy
BIO 1331 Plants and Civilization
BIO 4315 Pathogenic and Mutualistic Fungi
Field Study of Algae and Fungi

Office hours Fall 2008
It's best to call 1820 or email for an appointment--I'm here most every day from at least 7:30-5.  Making an appointment is always best!

Degrees
Bachelor of Liberal Studies, from Iowa State University, 1989
Master of Science in Botany (Mycology), from Iowa State University, 1989
Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Pathology (Mycology), from University of Georgia, 1993

Research Interests
Most projects in my lab involve using microscopy to study cell structure.  Currently most work revolves around the fungus Ustilago maydis, which causes smut disease of corn plants. Research students have been involved in several different projects. Field studies showed that pollination protects corn ears from smut infection, and further field projects to study disease resistance are planned. An ongoing lab project carried out in collaboration with Dr. Michael McCann has resulted in isolation of  of U. maydis mutants with developmental defects that prevent them from infecting plants. We are presently using molecular, genetic, and microscopic methods to analyze these mutants so we can learn more about the development of this disease-causing fungus. You can get more details by following links to abstracts below, or visit the Ustilago Research Page.

McCann, M., and Snetselaar, K.  2008.  A genome-based analysis of amino acid metabolism in the biotrophic plant pathogen Ustilago maydis.  Fungal Genetics and Biology Thematic Issue: Ustilago maydis.  S77-S87.  

Kämper, J., R. Kahmann, M. Bölker, L. Ma, T. Brefort, B. J. Saville, F. Banuett, J. W. Kronstad, S. E. Gold, O. Müller, M. H. Perlin, H. A.B. Wösten, R. deVries, J. Ruiz-Herrera, C. G. Reynaga-Peña, K. Snetselaar, M.l McCann, J. Pérez-Martín, M. Feldbrügge,C. W. Basse, G. Steinberg, J. I. Ibeas, W. Holloman, P. Guzman, M. Farman, J. E. Stajich, R. Sentandreu, J. M. González-Prietro, J. C. Kennell, L. Molina, J. Schirawski, A. Mendoza-Mendoza, D. Greilinger, K. Münch, N. Rössel, M. Scherer, M. Vranes, O. Ladendorf, V. Vincon, U. Fuchs, B. Sandrock, S. Meng, E. C.H. Ho, M. J. Cahill, K. J. Boyce, J. Klose, S. J. Klosterman, H. J. Deelstra, L. Ortiz-Castellanos, W. Li, P. Sanchez-Alonso, P. H. Schreier, I. Häuser-Hahn, M. Vaupel, E.Koopmann,G. Friedrich, H. Voss, T. Schlüter, J. Margolis, D. Platt,C. Swimmer, A. Gnirke, F. Chen, V. Vysotskaia, G. Mannhaupt, U. Güldener, M. Münsterkötter, D. Haase, Ma. Oesterheld, H. Mewes, E. W. Mauceli, D. DeCaprio, C. M. Wade, J. Butler, S. Young, D. D. Jaffe, S. Calvo, C. Nusbaum, J. Galagan, and B. W. Birren.  2006.  Insights from the genome of the biotrophic fungal plant pathogen Ustilago maydis. Nature 444: 97-101. .

Pataky, J. K., and K. M. Snetselaar. 2006. Common smut of corn. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI:10.1094/PHI-I-2006-0927-01  Published on the web at http://www.apsnet.org/Education/LessonsPlantPath/CornSmut/default.htm

Schirawski, J., Bohnert, H.U., Steinberg, G., Snetselaar, K., Adamikova, L., and Kahmann, R.   2005.  Endoplasmic reticulum glucosidase II is required for pathogenicity of Ustilago maydis.  The Plant Cell 17: 3532-3543.    

Mullin, J.M., Leatherman, J. M., Valenzano, M. C., Huerta, E. R., Verrechio, J., Smith, D. M., Snetselaar, K., Liu, M., Francis, M. K., and Sell, C.  2005.  Ras mutation impairs epithelial barrier function to a wide range of nonelectrolytes.  Molecular Biology of the Cell 16: 5538-5550.      

**Carre, Carlos, McCann, Michael, and Snetselaar, Karen.  2004.    Inducing Ustilago maydis infection structures.  Presented at the Mycological Society of American annual meeting, Ashevelle NC, July 2004.

**Dawley, M., **Seminack, M., McCann, M., and Snetselaar, K.  2004.   Characterizing a Co-enzyme A synthesis gene from Ustilago maydis.  Presented at the Mycological Society of American annual meeting, Ashevelle NC, July 2004.

Snetselaar, K. M., *M. A. Carfioli, and *K.M Cordisco.  2001. Pollination can protect maize ovaries from infection by Ustilago maydis, the corn smut fungus.  Canadian Journal of Botany 79:1390-1399.

**Fischer, J. A., McCann, M.P., and Snetselaar, K. M.  2001.  Methylation is involved in the U. maydis mating response. Fungal Genetics and Biology. 34:21-35.

*Rucker, E., *C. Carré, *J. Dougherty III, M.  McCann and K. Snetselaar. 2001.  Using auxotrophs of the corn smut fungus to identify nutrients obtained from the plant by the pathogen during infection.   Proceedings National Conference on Undergraduate Research XV.

*Walmsley, D., M. McCann, and K. Snetselaar.  2001.  Using 2-D gel electrophoresis to identify proteins synthesized during mating in Ustilago maydis.   Proceedings National Conference on Undergraduate Research XV.

Snetselaar, K., S. Lee, *A. Nguyen, M. McCann.  2000.  Using microdensitometry and image analysis to study nuclear cycle events in a plant pathogenic fungus.  Microsc. Microanal. 6: 686-687.

Lehmler, C., Steinberg, G., Snetselaar, K., Schliwa, M., Kahmann, R., and Bölker, M. 1997. Identification of a motor protein required for filamentous growth in Ustilago maydis. EMBO 12: 3464-3473.

Snetselaar, K. M., and M. P McCann. 1997. Using microdensitometry to correlate cell morphology with the nuclear cycle in Ustilago maydis . Mycologia 89: 689-697.

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