Hehe Wang

Educational Background

Ph.D. Plant Pathology
The Ohio State University

M.S. Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
University of the Philippines Los Banos

B.S. Biology and Food Engineering
Fuzhou University

Courses Taught

Molecular Diagnostics Unit of PLPA 4110/6110: “Plant Disease Diagnosis”

Research Interests

To address the needs of stakeholders and promote sustainable agriculture, my lab conducts basic and applied research to study the epidemiology, ecology, and genetics of bacterial pathogens in different crop production systems (e.g. peach, tomato, strawberry, brassica greens), and develop novel, sustainable, and information-driven management strategies to reduce inoculum sources and prevent/minimize disease development. I also study interactions between different plant pathogens, explore beneficial bacteria for plant health management, and conduct molecular diagnosis for pathogens and pests.

Lab Members

Current graduate Students:
Milan Panth (PhD)
Jordan Marshall (PhD)
Junaed Ahmed (PhD)

Research associate:
Enoch Noh

Extension and Outreach

I have been working closely with SC growers, giving talks at Extension meetings and field days, and assisting Extension agents on plant disease diagnosis.

Publications

Selected Publications:
Wechter, P., H. Wang, and S. E. Branham. 2023. First report of bacterial leaf spot on spinach (Spinacia oleracea) caused by Pseudomonas cichorii in South Carolina. Plant Dis. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-05-22-1139-PDN.
Baker, S., M.H. Froelich, H. Boatwright, H. Wang, G. Schnabel, and J. Kerrigan. 2023. Genetic diversity and fungicide sensitivity of Cytospora plurivora on peach. Plant Dis. PDIS-04-22-0790-RE.
Herbert, A., C.N. Hancock, B. Cox, G. Schnabel, D. Moreno, R. Carvalho, J. Jones, M. Paret, X. Geng, and H. Wang. 2022. Oxytetracycline and streptomycin resistance genes in Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni, the causal agent of bacteria spot in peach. Front. Microbiol. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.821808.
Turechek, W., and H. Wang. 2022. Evaluation of a viable-cell detection assay for Xanthomonas fragariae with Latent Class Analysis. PhytoFrontiers. Doi:10.1094/PHYTOFR-05-22-0052-FI. Editor’s Pick.
Turechek, W., M., Jertberg, C. Winterbottom, and H. Wang. 2022. Survival of Xanthomonas fragariae on common materials. Plant Dis. 10.1094/PDIS-03-22-0719-RE.
Goethe, J., S. Dorman, H. Wang, G. Kennedy, and A. Huseth. 2022. Spatial and temporal patterns of Frankliniella fusca (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in wheat agroecosystems. J. Econ. Entomol. doi:10.1111/jen.12979.
Cox, B., H. Wang, and G. Schnabel. 2021. Copper tolerance in Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni may affect peach bacterial spot management success. Plant Dis. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-05-21-1114-RE.
Wang, H., R. Wagnon, D. Moreno, S. Timilsina, J. Jones, G. Vallad, and W. Turechek. 2021. A long-amplicon viability-qPCR test for quantifying living pathogens of bacterial spot in tomato seed. Plant Dis. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-11-21-2509-RE.
Herbert, A., H. Wang, C. Saski, and W. Turechek. 2021. Draft Genome Sequences of Two Xanthomonas fragariae Strains. Microbiol. Resour. Announc. 10:e00138-21.
Wang, H., J.K. Greene, J.D. Mueller, K. Conner, and A. Jacobson. 2020. First report of cotton leafroll dwarf virus in cotton fields of South Carolina. Plant Dis. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-20-0635-PDN.
Wang, H., and W.W. Turechek. 2020. Detection of viable Xanthomonas fragariae cells in strawberry using propidium monoazide and long-amplicon quantitative PCR. Plant Disease, 104:1105-1112.

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