Southwest Florida Research & Education Center

Citrus Pathology

Dr. Ozgur Batuman

Dr. Batuman joined the center in early October 2016. Before coming to the SWFREC, he was a project scientist in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California-Davis. There he worked on thrips population dynamics and Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) incidence in processing tomatoes, peppers, and lettuces in Central California for development and implementation of an integrated pest management strategy for TSWV/thrips control. He was also involved in identification and characterization of virus and virus-like diseases of other vegetable crops.

Dr. Batuman’s research program at SWFREC will be focused on better understanding of pathogens causing economically important diseases in citrus and the development of effective, long-lasting, and integrated pest management strategies for controlling citrus pathogens that currently threaten the industry in Florida. His program will further expand toward basic aspects of research. If, for example, understanding of the biology of a certain pathogen is lacking, he will study pathogen biology, epidemiology, and pathogen-vector-citrus interactions.

Research / Extension

Citrus disease diagnosis, education, and implementation of control measures.
Development of IPM and practical solutions to mitigate the impact of plant pathogens.
Develop a delivery system(s) for screening and evaluation of therapeutic materials to prevent infection and spread of pathogens.
Use of pesticides to control pathogens and pests and assess mechanisms of their effects.
Virus and virus-like diseases of crops (diagnosis, epidemiology and control measures).

Research Publications

Ozgur Batuman - Research Publications
- How Controls Improve Diagnostic Assay Performance: Hitchhikers Guide to Diagnostic Assay Controls
  FN Martin, O Batuman, DG Luster, TD Miles, Y Rivera, P Sharma, ...
  PhytoFrontiers
- RNA-sequencing-based virome discovery in Florida citrus pests
  K Britt-Ugartemendia, K Stevens, MA Rwahnih, A Levy, O Batuman
  Phytobiomes Journal 9 (1), 95-108
- An insect virus differentially alters gene expression among life stages of an insect vector and enhances bacterial phytopathogen transmission
  CY Lin, J Robledo Buritica, P Sarkar, O Jassar, SV Rocha, O Batuman, ...
  Journal of Virology 99 (1), e01630-24
- View All Ozgur Batuman's Research Publications

Extension Publications

Ozgur Batuman - UF/IFAS Publications

Education
- Ph.D. Plant Pathology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, 2006
- M.S. Plant Pathology, The University of Cukurova and ARO, the Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel, 1998
- B.S. Plant Pathology, The University of Cukurova, Adana, Turkey, 1996

Professional Experience
- August 2023 - Present
  Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, South West Florida Research and Education Center (Citrus Pathologist-Extension Specialist)
- October 2016 - August 2023
  Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, South West Florida Research and Education Center (Citrus Pathologist-Extension Specialist)
- 2013 - 2016
  Project Scientist, University of California, Davis, Department of Plant Pathology
- 2007 - 2012
  Postdoctoral Research, University of California, Davis, Department of Plant Pathology (Dr. R. L. Gilbertson)
- 1997 - 2006
  Graduate Research, The Volcani Center, Department of Virology, Israel (Dr. M. Bar-Joseph, Advisor)

Awards and Honors
- The Laurence Mound Endowment for International Research on Thysanoptera and Tospoviruses and TTEN Travel Fellowship to attend the X^th International Symposium on Thysanoptera and Tospoviruses, May 16-20, 2015 at Asilomar Conference Grounds, Monterey, California
- Association of Trustees and Friends of Agricultural Research at the Volcani Center, Israel (1999): Award for researchers who work on citrus improvement.
- The Moshe Greidinger Scholarship Foundation (1997-1998): International Haifa Rotary Club, Israel. Scholarship for full academic year to carry out M.Sc. studies in Israel
- Cukurova University Internship Award (1995): Internship award for student exchange program at Krakow University in Poland

Publications

Other Professional Activities
- The American Phytopathological Society (APS) (2009-present)
  - Member of the APS Virology Committee (Vice Chair in 2016, Chair in 2017)
- International Organization of Citrus Virologist (IOCV) (2018-present)
- American Society for Virology (ASV) (2020-present)
- Florida Phytopathological Society (2017-present)
- American Society for Horticultural Science (2018-present)
- Florida State Horticultural Society (2018-present)