Lidia S. Watrud

Research Ecologist

Voice: 541-754-4874
Email: watrud.lidia@epa.gov

Education:

B.S., City College of New York, NY; Biology, 1963
M.S., Michigan State University, East Lansing; Mycology/ Genetics, 1965
Ph.D., Michigan State University, East Lansing; Mycology/ Genetics, 1972

Previous Positions:

1986-90: Manager, Commercial Development of New Technologies, Plant Sciences Dept., Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO
1984-86: Manager, Environmental Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO
1982-84: Senior Research Group Leader, Crop Protection Dept., Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO
1977-1982: Senior Research Specialist and Group Leader, Cell Biology Group and Crop Protection Dept., Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO
1973-1975: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dept. of Agronomy, and Visiting Assistant Professor, Dept. of Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana

Research Interests and Skills:

Development and use of molecular ecology methods to study effects of genetically engineered plants and other biotic and abiotic stressors on plant community composition, plant/microbe interactions in the rhizosphere, and ecosystem function and sustainability.

Keywords:

Disciplines: Biology -- Microbiology; Botany -- Forestry; Ecology -- Microbial, Molecular and Plant; Monitoring and Assessment -- Environmental and Methods Development; Risk Assessment -- Ecological
Stressors: Biological -- Biological Pesticides, Microbial Pathogens, Exotic/Introduced Species, Loss of Species, Microbial Nonpathogens; Chemical -- Metals, Ozone; Physical -- Climate, Habitat Modification, Harvesting Practices, Land Use, Row Crop Agriculture, Stress, and Temperature
Methods and Techniques: Assays -- In vivo; Culture -- Bacteria, Fungi, and Methods Development; Electrophoresis -- Agarose Gel; Indicator Development -- Biomarkers, Markers; Micro/Meso/Macrocosm; Molecular -- Cloning; Monitoring and Assessment -- Environmental, Methods Development; Nucleic Acid Analysis -- cDNA Library Construction, DNA fingerprinting, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Reverse Transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), Hybridization Techniques, and Microarray Technology

Professional Societies:

Sigma Xi Research Honorary
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Society for Microbiology
Ecological Society of America

Appointments / Honors:

Member, Institutional Biosafety Committee, Oregon State University, 1995-present
Advisor, US EPA Research Associateship Program, National Research Council, 1993-present
Member, US EPA Workgroups for Proposed/Final Rules on Microbial Pesticides and Pesticidal Plants, 1993-1994
Member, Research Subcomittee on Biotechnology for the 21st Century, National Science and Technology Council, 1994-95
Reviewer, USDA Competitive Grants Program for Risk Assessment of Biotechnology Products, 1993-94
Adjunct Professor of Botany and Member of Graduate Faculty, Oregon State University, 1992-present
Editorial board member: Environ. Toxicol. Chem.,1999-present; and J. Molecular Ecology, 1992-1997
Reviewer, NSF research proposals, 1987-90, 1997

Selected Publications:

Colasanti, R.L., R. Hunt and L. Watrud. 2007. A simple cellular automaton model for high-level vegetation dynamics. Ecological Modeling 203; 363-374. WED-05-191
Van de Water, P.K., L.S. Watrud, E.H. Lee, C. Burdick, and G.A. King. 2007. Long-Distance GM Pollen Movement of Creeping Bentgrass using Modeled Wind Trajectory Analysis. Ecological Applications 17(4), pp. 1244-1256. WED-06-134
Watrud, L.S., K. Martin, K.K. Donegan, C.G. Coleman. 2006. Comparison of taxonomic, colony morphotype and PCR-RFLP methods to characterize microfungal diversity. Mycologia 98(3) pp. 384-392
Reichman, J.R., Watrud, L.S., Lee, E.H., Burdick, C.A., Bollman, M.A., Storm, M.J., King, G.A. and Mallory-Smith, C. 2006. Establishment of transgenic herbicide-resistant creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) in nonagronomic habitats. Molecular Ecology 15(13) 4243-4255
Watrud, L.S., E.H. Lee, A. Fairbrother, C. Burdick, J.R. Reichman, M. Bollman, M. Storm, G. King and P.K. Van deWater. 2004. Evidence for landscape-level, pollen-mediated gene flow from genetically modified creeping bentgrass with CP4 EPSPS as a marker. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101(40):14533-14538.
Compton, J.E., L.S. Watrud, L.A. Porteous, S. DeGrood. 2004. Response of soil microbial biomass and community composition to chronic nitrogen additions at Harvard forest. Forest Ecology and Management 196:143-158.
Watrud, L.S., Maggard, S., Shiroyama, T., Coleman, C.G., Johnson, M.G., Donegan, K.K., DiGiovanni, G., Porteous, A.L., and E. H. Lee. 2003. Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum L.) frond biomass and rhizosphere microbial community characteristics are correlated to edaphic factors. Plant and Soil 249:359-371.
Winton, L. M., J.K. Stone, L.S. Watrud, and E.M. Hansen. 2002. Simultaneous one-tube quantification of host and pathogen DNA with real-time polymerase chain reaction. Phytopathology 92:112-116.
Donegan, K.K., L. S. Watrud, R. J. Seidler, S. P. Maggard, T. Shiroyama, L. A. Porteous, and G. Di Giovanni. 2001. Soil and litter organisms in Pacific northwest forests under different management practices. Appl. Soil Ecol. 535:1-17.
Olszyk, D. M., D. T. Tingey, L. Watrud, R. Seidler and C. Andersen. 2000. Interactive effects of O₃ and CO₂: implications for terrestrial ecosystems. Pages 97-136 in S. N. Singh, editor. Trace Gas Emissions and Plants, Klower Academic Publishers, Netherlands.
Watrud, L.S., 2000. Genetically Engineered Plants in the Environment -- Applications and Issues, Pages 59-79 in N.S. Subbarao and Y.R. Dommergues, Microbial Interactions in Agriculture and Forestry, Vol. 2. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co, New Delhi.
Di Giovanni, G.D., L.S. Watrud, R.J. Seidler, and F. Widmer. 1999. Comparison of parental and transgenic alfalfa rhizosphere communities using Biolog GN metabolic fingerprinting and enterobacterial repetitive intergeneric consensus sequence-PCR (ERIC-PCR). Microbial Ecol. 37:129-139.
Widmer, F., R.J. Seidler, P.M. Gillevet, L.S. Watrud, and G.D. Di Giovanni. 1998. A highly selective PCR protocol for detecting 16S rRNA genes of the genus Pseudomonas (sensu stricto) in environmental samples. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64(7):2545-2553.
Entry, J.A., L.S. Watrud, and M. Reeves. 1998. Accumulation of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Cs by three grass species inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi. Environ. Pollution 100:1-9.
Porteous, L.A., R.J. Seidler, and L.S. Watrud. 1997. An improved method for purifying DNA from soil for polymerase chain reaction amplification and molecular ecology applications. Molec. Ecol. 6:787-791.
Widmer, F., R.J. Seidler, and L.S. Watrud. 1996. Sensitive detection of transgenic plant marker gene persistence in soil microcosms. Molec. Ecol. 5:603-613.
Watrud, L.S., and R.J. Seidler. 1996. Ecological effects of plant, microbial and chemical introductions to terrestrial systems. Pages 313-340 in P.M. Huang, editor. Soil Chemistry and Ecosystem Health. Special Publication No. 52, Soil Science Society of America, SSSA, ASA, Madison, WI.
Kim, Y., L.S. Watrud,, and A. Matin,: 1995. A carbon starvation survival gene of Pseudomonas putida is regulated by ⁵⁴. J. Bacteriol. 177(7):1850-1859.
Pfender, W.F., S.P. Maggard, and L.S. Watrud. 1995. Soil microbial activity and plant/microbe symbioses as indicators for ecological effects of bioremediation technology. Pages 269-279 in Publication #1001 Univ. of Maryland Biotechnology Institute #TP9501.
Obukowicz, M.G., F.J. Perlak, and L.S. Watrud. 1993. Combating plant insect pests with plant-colonizing microorganisms containing the toxin gene of B. thuringiensis as a chromosomal insertion. U.S. Patent No. 5,229, 112. Issued July 20, 1993. Assignee: Monsanto Co., St. Louis.

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Lidia S. Watrud

Research Ecologist

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