New Texas A&M AgriLife faculty member to support research on plant-fungal interactions

Baoye He, Ph.D., has joined the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology as an assistant professor. His position is 60% Texas A&M AgriLife Research, 30% teaching and 10% service.

He’s research focuses on the molecular interactions between plants and fungal pathogens, with the goal of developing sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions to common crop diseases. He also aims to create more opportunities for students to engage in research on plant defense mechanisms.

In addition to research, He expects to teach an introductory plant pathology course to undergraduates in future semesters.

“I want to ensure students have the opportunity to participate in top-tier research, preparing them for impactful careers in plant pathology and bioenvironmental science,” He said.

Exploring plant-fungal interactions

He’s research on plants originally began with the fundamentals of photosynthesis rather than traditional plant pathology. He was interested in learning how plants sense light, produce oxygen and regulate chloroplasts and later developed an interest in preventing crop diseases, especially those caused by fungal pathogens.

“Fungi are a very common pathogen to plants,” He said. “Fungal pathogens affect all of Texas’ most important crops, including cotton, corn, rice and more. And these pathogens are also difficult to control, especially when they infect the root.”

His research will detail how plants and fungal pathogens interact at a molecular level, and how plants’ natural defense might be supported to reduce the need for broad-use fungicides. By studying the interaction between plants and fungal pathogens, scientists can learn how to develop more eco-friendly pathogen control methods, He said.

Recently, He has started to focus more on extracellular vesicles, small lipid-bound bubbles secreted by both plants and pathogens, which facilitate communication between them. He found that extracellular vesicles from fungi can deliver RNA to plant cells to facilitate infections and weaken the plant’s defenses.

His research also showed that plants use extracellular vesicles to deliver their own RNA into fungal cells, effectively suppressing the fungal infection. This discovery highlights a bidirectional communication system between plants and pathogens, mediated by extracellular vesicles.

“We’re trying to learn how plants can use their own defense system to protect themselves naturally,” he said. “This is especially important for environmental health and sustainability.”

More about He

He earned his doctorate from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where his early work focused on photosynthesis and chloroplast gene regulation. After teaching in a lecturer position at Nanjing Agricultural University, He moved into plant pathology during his postdoctoral research at the University of California, Riverside. There, he started investigating plant-fungal interactions more, particularly focusing on the role of extracellular vesicles.

He has published in high-impact journals like Nature Communications and Cell Host and Microbe and mentored students in both research and teaching roles. He’s currently recruiting students and postdoctoral researchers to his lab.

“Texas A&M is a very special area for plant pathology,” he said. “We have a very strong department, and the College and university are very diverse. I see a lot of opportunities across the departments and with the technology and resources available here. The most interesting progress comes from collaborations, and that’s what I’m most looking forward to.”