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 Crop Production and Pest Control Research: West Lafayette, IN
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ARS Home Midwest Area West Lafayette, Indiana Crop Production and Pest Control Research People





Steven  Scofield

(Steve)    Research Leader /ARSUserFiles/32139/Scofield.jpeg
 Steve Scofield Dr. Scofield is a Research Plant Geneticist and Research leader for the Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit (CPPC).  His research focuses on two main areas, dissection of the mechanisms of the plant immune system and development of tools for identifying the function of plant genes. In his experimentation in molecular plant pathology, he was the first to demonstrate direct interaction between a pathogen secreted effector and its cognate disease resistance gene and how resistance gene structure determines specificity of recognition.  He is now working to utilize our understanding of R-gene pathogen recognition to engineer existing resistance pathways to provide resistance to new pathogens.  He is also known for his work in developing tools for identification of plant gene function.  He developed the first virus-induced gene silencing system (VIGS) for cereal crops and used it to identify genes involved in resistance Fusarium head blight and other diseases of wheat.  Currently, he is working to develop efficient genotype-independent cereal transformation.
 ProjectsFungal Host-Pathogen Interactions and Disease Resistance in Cereal CropsIn-House Appropriated (D)Accession Number:441790Institutional Biological Safety Committee (IBC) Agreement - Purdue UniversityNon-Funded Cooperative Agreement (N)Accession Number:442029Improvement of Oat Germplasm for Resistance/Tolerance to Barley
Yellow Dwarf Virus Utilizing Marker-Assisted-Selection BreedingNon-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (S)Accession Number:442328Developing Tools for Genotype Independent Transformation and Gene-Editing in CerealsNon-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (S)Accession Number:445125Ag-Discovery Summer Enrichment ProgramNon-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (S)Accession Number:436853Developing Methods for More Efficient Wheat TransformationNon-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (S)Accession Number:437046Engineering Gene-for-Gene Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat and Barley (Rothamsted)Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (S)Accession Number:438746Tar Spot of Corn: Characterizing the Ecology and Epidemiology of an Understudied and High-Profile DiseaseNon-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (S)Accession Number:438887Developing New Technologies for Improving Resistance to Fusarium Head BlightNon-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (S)Accession Number:440977  Publications(Clicking on the reprint iconReprint Icon  will take you to the publication reprint.)Genome-informed trophic classification and functional characterization of virulence proteins from the maize tar spot pathogen Phyllachora maydis-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Rogers, A., Jaiswal, N., Roggenkamp, E., Kim, H., Maccready, J.S., Chilvers, M.I., Scofield, S.R., Iyer-Pascuzzi, A.S., Helm, M.D. 2024. Genome-informed trophic classification and functional characterization of virulence proteins from the maize tar spot pathogen Phyllachora maydis. Phytopathology. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-01-24-0037-R.Analysis of the time course of establishment of systemic gene silencing by barley stripe mosaic virus-induced gene silencing constructs in wheat-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Garg, A., Brandt, A.S., Scofield, S.R. 2024. Analysis of the time course of establishment of systemic gene silencing by barley stripe mosaic virus-induced gene silencing constructs in wheat. BMC Plant Biology. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijpb15010011.Marker development and pyramiding of Fhb1 and Fhb7 for enhanced resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in soft red winter wheat.-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Gyawali, B., Scofield, S.R., Mohammadi, M. 2023. Marker development and pyramiding of Fhb1 and Fhb7 for enhanced resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in soft red winter wheat.. Crops. https://doi.org/10.3390/crops3040028.Loss of Foreign DNA Inserts from Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus Vectors- Potential Consequences for Use in Functional Genomics Studies-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Scofield, S.R. 2023. Loss of Foreign DNA Inserts from Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus Vectors- Potential Consequences for Use in Functional Genomics Studies. International Journal of Plant Biology. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijpb14040080.Phenotypic and genotypic resources for the USDA quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) genebank accessions-(Peer Reviewed Journal)Monitoring tar spot disease at different canopy and temporal levels using aerial multispectral imaging and machine learning-(Abstract Only) Zhang, C., Lane, B., Fernandez-Campos, M., Cruz-Sancan, A., Lee, D., Gongora-Canul, C., Ross, T.J., Da Silva, C.R., Telenko, D.E., Goodwin, S.B., Scofield, S.R., Oh, S., Jung, J., Cruz, C. 2023. Monitoring tar spot disease at different canopy and temporal levels using aerial multispectral imaging and machine learning. American Phytopathological Society Abstracts. ABSTRACT.Analysis of cell death induction by the barley NLR immune receptor PBR1-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Jaiswal, N., Myers, A., Cameron, T.L., Carter, M.E., Scofield, S.R., Helm, M.D. 2023. Analysis of cell death induction by the barley NLR immune receptor PBR1. PhytoFrontiers. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-01-23-0005-R.Assessment of symptom induction via artificial inoculation of the obligate biotrophic fungus Phyllachora maydis (Maubl.) on corn leaves-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Gongora-Canul, C., Jimenez-Beitia, F.E., Puerto-Hernandez, C., Avellaneda, M.C., Kleczewski, N.M., Telenko, D.E., Shim, S., Solorzano, J.E., Goodwin, S.B., Scofield, S.R., Cruz, C.D. 2023. Assessment of symptom induction via artificial inoculation of the obligate biotrophic fungus Phyllachora maydis (Maubl.) on corn leaves. BMC Research Notes. 16. Article 69. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-023-06341-y.Development of a multiplex RT-PCR assay for simultaneous detection of 10 major viral pathogens of wheat-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Deb, M., Anderson, J.M., Scofield, S.R. 2023. Development of a multiplex RT-PCR assay for simultaneous detection of 10 major viral pathogens of wheat. Agronomy Journal. 13:833. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13030833.Monitoring tar spot disease at different canopy and temporal levels using aerial multispectral imaging and machine learning-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Zhang, C., Lane, B., Fernandez-Campos, M., Cruz-Sancan, A., Lee, D.-Y., Gongora-Canul, C., Ross, T.J., Da Silva, C.R., Telenko, D.E.P., Goodwin, S.B., Scofield, S.R., Oh, S, Jung, J., Cruz, C.D. 2023. Monitoring tar spot disease in corn at different canopy and temporal levels using aerial multispectral imaging and machine learning. Frontiers in Plant Science. 13. Article 1077403. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1077403.First report of Fusarium commune causing root rot of soybean seedlings in Indiana-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Detranaltes, C., Saldanha, M., Scofield, S.R., Cai, G. 2022. First report of Fusarium commune causing root rot of soybean seedlings in Indiana. Plant Disease.Identification of a highly virulent Fusarium commune strain as a new soybean root rot pathogen in Indiana-(Abstract Only)Comparative Hessian fly larval transcriptomics provides novel insight into host and nonhost resistance-(Peer Reviewed Journal) 1.	Subramanyam, S., Nemacheck, J.A., Xie, S., Bhide, K., Thimmapuram, J., Scofield,  S.R., Sardesai N. 2021. Comparative Hessian fly larval transcriptomics provides novel insight into host and nonhost resistance. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 22(21): 11498. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222111498Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of Phytophthora sansomeana and Comparative Analysis of Phytophthora Mitochondrial Genomes-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Cai, G., Scofield, S.R. 2020. Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of Phytophthora sansomeana and Comparative Analysis of Phytophthora Mitochondrial Genomes. PLoS ONE. 15(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231296.Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of Phytophthora sansomeana and Comparative Analysis of Phytophthora Mitochondrial Genomes-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Cai, G., Scofield, S.R. 2020. Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of Phytophthora sansomeana and Comparative Analysis of Phytophthora Mitochondrial Genomes. PLOS ONE 15(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236076.Phenotypic and molecular characterization of Hessian fly resistance in diploid wheat, Aegilops tauschii-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Nemacheck, J.A., Schemerhorn, B.J., Scofield, S.R., Subramanyam, S.N. 2019. Phenotypic and molecular characterization of Hessian fly resistance in diploid wheat, Aegilops tauschii. Biomed Central (BMC) Plant Biology. 19:439. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-019-2058-6.Mitochondrial genome of Phytophthora sansomeana, a soybean root rot pathogen-(Abstract Only) Cai, G., Scofield, S.R. 2019. Mitochondrial genome of Phytophthora sansomeana, a soybean root rot pathogen. American Phytopathological Society. Abstract.Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) for functional characterization of disease resistance genes in barley seedlings-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Gunupuru, L.R., Perochon, A., Ali, S.S., Scofield, S.R., Doohan, F.M. 2018. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) for functional characterization of disease resistance genes in barley seedlings. Methods in Molecular Biology. 1900:95-114. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8944-7_7.Thymol-based sub-micron emulsions exhibit antifungal activity against Fusarium graminearum and inhibit Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Gill, T.A., Li, J., Doppler, M., Scofield, S.R. 2016. Thymol-based sub-micron emulsions exhibit antifungal activity against Fusarium graminearum and inhibit Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 4:1103-1116. doi:10.1111/jam.13195.TaFROG encodes a Pooideae orphan protein that interacts with SnRK1 and enhances resistance to the mycotoxigenic fungus fusarium graminearum.-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Perochon, A., Jianguang, J., Kahla, A., Arunachalam, C., Scofield, S.R., Bowden, S., Wallington, E., Doohan, F. 2015. TaFROG, a novel plant orphan gene, interacts with SnRK1 and enhances resistance to a mycotoxigenic fungus. Plant Physiology. 169(4): 2895-2906. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1104/pp.15.01056.Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in barley seedling leaves-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Gunupuru, L.R., Ali, S.S., Doohan, F.M., Scofield, S.R. 2015. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in barley seedling leaves. Bio-protocol. 5(12): 1506-8.A wheat ABC transporter contributes to both grain formation and mycotoxin tolerance-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Walter, S., Kahla, A., Arunachalam, C., Perochon, A., Khan, M.R., Scofield, S.R., Doohan, F.M. 2015. A wheat ABC transporter contributes to both grain formation and mycotoxin tolerance. Journal of Experimental Botany. 66(9):2583-2593. DOI:10.1093/jxb/erv048.Plant disease resistance is augmented in uzu barley lines modified in the brassinosteroid receptor BRI1-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Ali, S.S., Gunupuru, L.R., Kumar, G.S., Khan, M., Scofield, S.R., Nicholson, P., Doohan, F.M. 2014. Plant disease resistance is augmented in uzu barley lines modified in the brassinosteroid receptor BRI1. Biomed Central (BMC) Plant Biology. 14:227.New tools to determine gene function in maize-(Other) Benavente, L.M., Scofield, S.R. 2011. New tools to determine gene function in maize. New Phytologist. 189:363-365.Intracellular expression of a host-selective toxin, ToxA, in diverse plants phenocopies silencing of a ToxA-interacting protein, ToxABP1-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Manning, V.A., Chu, A.L., Scofield, S.R., Ciufetti, L.M. 2010. Intracellular expression of a host-selective toxin, ToxA, in diverse plants phenocopies silencing of a ToxA-interacting protein, ToxABP1. New Phytologist. 187:1034-1047.Virus-induced gene silencing of WRKY53 and an inducible phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in wheat reduces aphid resistance-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Van Eck, L., Schultz, T., Leach, J.E., Scofield, S.R., Peairs, F.B., Botha, A., Lapitan, N.V. 2010. Virus-induced gene silencing of WRKY53 and an inducible phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in wheat reduces aphid resistance. Plant Biotechnology Journal. 9:1023-1032.Methods for Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Hexaploid Wheat using barley stripe mosaic virus vectors-(Book / Chapter) Scofield, S.R., Brandt, A.S. 2012. Methods for Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Hexaploid Wheat using barley stripe mosaic virus vectors. Methods in Molecular Biology. 894:93-112.Rapid Determination of Gene Function by Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Wheat and Barley-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Scofield, S.R., Gillespie, M., Cakir, C. 2010. Rapid Determination of Gene Function by Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Wheat and Barley. Crop Science.  50:77-84.Rapid Determination of Gene Function by Virus-induced Gene Silencing in Wheat and Barley-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Cakir, C., Scofield, S.R., Gillespie, M.E. 2010. Rapid determination of gene function by virus-induced gene silencing in wheat and barley. Crop Science. 50(2, Suppl. S):S77-S84.Two Genes Encoding Structurally Different CC-NB-LRR Proteins are Required for Lr10-Mediated Leaf Rust Resistance in Wheat of Two Ploidy Levels-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Loutre, C., Wicker, T., Travella, S., Galli, P., Scofield, S.R., Fahima, T., Feuillet, C., Keller, B. 2009. Two Genes Encoding Structurally Different CC-NB-LRR Proteins are Required for Lr10-Mediated Leaf Rust Resistance in Wheat of Two Ploidy Levels. Plant Journal. 60:1043-54.Functional dissection of wheat disease resistance pathways-(Abstract Only) Scofield, S.R. 2009. Functional dissection of wheat disease resistance pathways. Plant Genome Conference Proceedings.Small-Interfering RNAs from Natural Antisense Transcripts Derived from a Cellulose Synthase Gene Modulate Cell Wall Biosynthesis in Barley-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Held, M.A., Penning, B., Kessans, S.A., Yong, W., Scofield, S.R., Brandt, A.S., Carpita, N.C. 2008. Small-Interfering RNAs from Natural Antisense Transcripts Derived from a Cellulose Synthase Gene Modulate Cell Wall Biosynthesis in Barley. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105:20534-10539.Resources for Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) in the Grasses-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Scofield, S.R., Nelson, R. 2009. Resources for Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) in the Grasses. Plant Physiology. 149:152-157.Evaluating the ability of the barley stripe mosaic virus-induced gene silencing system to simultaneously silence two wheat genes-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Cakir, C., Scofield, S.R. 2008. Evaluating the ability of the barley stripe mosaic virus-induced gene silencing system to simultaneously silence two wheat genes. Cereal Research Communications. 36:21-222.Evaluating the Ability of the Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus-Induced Gene Silencing System to Simultaneously Silence Two Wheat Genes-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Scofield, S.R., Cakir, C. 2008. Evaluating the Ability of the Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus-Induced Gene Silencing System to Simultaneously Silence Two Wheat Genes. Cereal Research Communications. 36:217-222.Genetics of host-pathogen interactions in the wheat-Stagonospora nodorum pathosystem-(Proceedings) Faris, J.D., Lu, H.J., Zhang, Z., Liu, Z.H., Xu, S.S., Chu, C.G., Abeysekara, N., Fellers, J.P., Cloutier, S., Keller, B., Scofield, S.R., Friesen, T.L. 2008. Genetics of host-pathogen interactions in the wheat-Stagonospora nodorum pathosystem. International Wheat Conference Proceedings. Australia Aug 24-29A History of Grafting-(Review Article) Mudge, K., Goldschmidt, E., Scofield, S.R., Janick, J. 2009. A History of Grafting. Horticultural Reviews, Plant Breeding Reviews. 35:437-487.A guardian of grasses: specific origin and conservation of a unique disease-resistance gene in the grass lineage-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Sindhu, A., Chintamanani, S., Scofield, S.R., Brandt, A.S., Johal, G. 2008. A guardian of grasses: specific origin and conservation of a unique disease-resistance gene in the grass lineage. Journal of the National Academy of Sciences. 105:1762-1767.Rapid Identification of Genes Contributing to FH Resistance in Wheat-(Abstract Only) Scofield, S.R. 2007. Rapid Identification of Genes Contributing to FH Resistance in Wheat. The Canadian Workshop on Fusarium Head Blight. p. 76.Wheat-rice colinearity and chromosome walking at the Snn1 locus in wheat-(Abstract Only) Reddy, L., Friesen, T.L., Meinhardt, S.W., Chao, S., Scofield, S.R., Faris, J.D. 2007. Wheat-rice colinearity and chromosome walking at the Snn1 locus in wheat. Meeting Abstract. National Wheat Genomics Conference Abstracts. pg 28Genetic analysis of host-toxin interactions in the wheat-Stagonospora nodorum pathosystem-(Abstract Only) Faris, J.D., Friesen, T.L., Lu, H., Reddy, L., Zhang, Z., Liu, Z., Xu, S.S., Meinhardt, S.W., Fellers, J.P., Oliver, R.P., Solomon, P.S., Chao, S., Chu, C., Abeysekara, N., Scofield, S.R. 2007. Genetic analysis of host-toxin interactions in the wheat-Stagonospora nodorum pathosystem. Meeting Abstract. National Wheat Genomics Conference abstracts pg. 11Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Hexaploid Wheat-(Abstract Only) Scofield, S.R., Cakir, C., Brandt, A.S., Kong, L., Anderson, J.M. 2007. Virus-Induced Gene Silencing in Hexaploid Wheat. Plant and Animal Genome VX Conference Abstracts. p. 794.A VIRUS-INDUCED GENE SILENCING SYSTEM FOR THE ANALYSIS OF DISEASE RESISTANCE PATHWAYS IN WHEAT AND BARLEY-(Abstract Only)DEVELOPMENT OF A VIRUS-INDUCED GENE-SILENCING SYSTEM FOR HEXAPLOID WHEAT AND ITS USE IN FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE LR21-MEDIATED LEAF RUST RESISTANCE PATHWAY-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Scofield, S.R., Huang, L., Brandt, A.S., Gill, B.S. 2005. Development of a virus-induced gene-silencing system for hexaploid wheat and its use in functional analysis of the lr21-mediated leaf rust resistance pathway. Plant Physiology. 10.1104:105.061861FUNCTIONAL PATHOGENOMICS IN CEREALS-(Abstract Only) Scofield, S.R., Brandt, A.S., Anderson, J.M., Crane, C.F., Goodwin, S.B., Ohm, H., Williams, C.E., Lohret, T., Crasta, O. 2004. Functional pathogenomics in cereals (abstract). Plant Animal and Microbe Genome XII. Abstract No. P839.FUNCTIONAL PATHOGENOMICS IN CEREALS-(Abstract Only)QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF WHEAT DEFENSE-GENE EXPRESSION IN RESPONSE TO INSECT, FUNGAL, AND VIRAL PESTS-(Proceedings) Anderson, J.M., Williams, C.E., Goodwin, S.B., Scofield, S.R., Ohm, H.W.  2003. Quantitative analysis of wheat defense-gene expression in response to insect, fungal, and viral pests. In: Proceedings of the Tenth International Wheat Genetics Symposium, September 1-6, 2003. Paestum, Italy. 1:323-326.ANALYSIS OF THE WHEAT DEFENSE TRANSCRIPTOME-(Proceedings) Scofield, S.R., Anderson, J.M., Crane, C.F., Goodwin, S.B., Ohm, H., Williams, C.E., Loret, T., Crasta, O. 2003. Analysis of the wheat defense transcriptome. Proceedings of the Tenth International Wheat Genetics Symposium, Paestum, Italy. 1:407-410.TRANSCRIPTION PROFILING OF WHEAT DEFENSE RESPONSES:  HESSIAN FLY VERSUS MICROBIAL PATHOGENS-(Abstract Only) Williams, C.E., Goodwin, S.B., Ohm, H.W., Anderson, J.M., Crane, C.F., Scofield, S.R., Lohret, T.A., Crasta, O.R. 2003. Transcription profiling of wheat defense responses:  hessian fly versus microbial pathogens. In: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of America Regional Meetings. Entomological Society of American-North Central Branch, March 23-26, 2003, Madison, Wisconsin. Available: http://esa.ent.iastate.edu/confreg/?gridaction=viewonepresentation&year=2003 &presnum=083  ARS News ArticlesitemGrasses' Guardian Gene FounditemSilencing Wheat and Barley Scab


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