Peter Balint-Kurti

Research Interests

We are interested in understanding the genetic and mechanistic bases of disease resistance in maize. Maize is a model genetic system and many resources are available with which we can address this problem. We hope that findings made will improve the resilience of the maize crop and will be extrapolated to other plant systems

We work in a number of related areas including: Analysis of quantitative (partial, polygenic) disease resistance, genetic and biochemical analysis of the maize hypersensitive defense response, the basal response to microbes in maize and sorghum, multiple disease resistance in maize, and analysis of the maize microbiome.

Courses Taught

Information coming soon!

Selected Publications

J. Lennon, Krakowsky, M., Goodman, M., Flint-Garcia, S., and Balint-Kurti, P. (2017). Identification of Teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) alleles for resistance to southern leaf blight in near isogenic maize lines. Crop Science doi:10.2135/cropsci2016.12.0979

X. Zhang, Q. Yang, · Rucker, E., Thomason, W. and Balint-Kurti, P. (2017) Fine mapping of a quantitative resistance gene for gray leaf spot of maize (Zea mays L.) derived from teosinte (Z. mays ssp. parviglumis). Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 2017. 130(6): p. 1285-1295.

Q.Yang, Balint-Kurti, P., Xu, M. (2017) Quantitative Disease Resistance: Dissection and Adoption in Maize. Molecular Plant doi.org/10.1016/j.molp.2017.02.004
X. Zhang, Valdés-López, O., Arellano, C., Stacey, G. and Balint-Kurti, P. (2017). Genetic dissection of the maize (Zea mays L.) MAMP response. Theoretical and Applied Genetics. 130: 1155. doi:10.1007/s00122-017-2876-6

B. Olukolu, Bian, Y., De Vries, B., Tracy, W.F., Wisser, R., Holland, J. B., and Balint-Kurti, P. J. (2016) The genetics of leaf flecking in maize and its relationship to plant defense and disease resistance. Plant Physiology DOI:10.1104/pp.15.01870

Minker K, Biedrzycki M, Kolagunda A, Rhein S, Perina F, Jacobs S, Moore, M,, Jamann, T., Yang, Q., Nelson, R., Balint-Kurti, P., Kambhamettu, C., Wisser R., and Caplan J. (2016) Semiautomated confocal imaging of fungal pathogenesis on plants: Microscopic analysis of macroscopic specimens.Microscopy Research and Technique, DOI: 10.1002/jemt.22709

Olukolu, B., Tracy, W., Wisser, R., De Vries, B., and Balint-Kurti, P. (2016). A genome-wide association study for partial resistance to maize common rust. Phytopathology 106:745-751.

G-F Wang and Balint-Kurti P (2016) Maize Homologs of CCoAOMT and HCT, Two Key Enzymes in Lignin Biosynthesis, Form Complexes with the NLR Rp1 Protein to Modulate the Defense Response.Plant Physiology pp.00224.2016. http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1104/ pp. 16. 00224

Liu, Z., Cook, J.,Melia-Hancock, S., Guill, K., Bottoms, C., Garcia, A., Ott, O., Nelson, R., Recker, J., Balint-Kurti, P., Larsson, S., Lepak, N., Buckler, E., Trimble, L., Tracy, W., McMullen, M., Flint-Garcia, S. (2016) Expanding maize genetic resources with pre-domestication alleles: maize-teosinte introgression populations. Plant Genome doi:10.3835/plantgenome2015.07.0053.

J. Lennon, M. Krakowsky, M. Goodman, S Flint-Garcia, Peter Balint-Kurti (2016) Identification of alleles conferring resistance to gray leaf spot in maize derived from its wild progenitor species teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis). Crop Science.56:209-218 doi:10.2135/cropsci2014.07.0468