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Karen-Beth G. Scholthof

Professor Emerita
Focus Area:  History of virology and plant pathology, primarily tobacco mosaic virus.
Email:  
Karen-Beth G. Scholthof's Website

Education

Undergraduate Education
B.S. Botany; Minor Philosophy, Montana State University
Graduate Education
M.S. Plant Pathology (Virology), University of Nebraska
Ph.D. Plant Pathology (Virology), University of Kentucky
Postdoctoral Fellow, Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California-Berkeley
Awards
Fellow, American Phytopathological Society
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology
Courses Taught

Areas of Expertise

  • Molecular Plant Virology
  • Plant Pathology
  • History of Virology
  • History of Plant Pathology

Professional Summary

Karen Scholthof is a Professor (Emerita) in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. The focus of her scholarly work is the history of virology (and plant pathology) a particular emphasis on tobacco mosaic virus. In 2023  “Interpreting Science for Museums and Historic Sites” was published by Rowman & Littlefield.  Scholthof is a fellow the Agricultural History Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Academy of Microbiology, and the American Phytopathological Society.

Selected Publications

  1. Scholthof, K.-B. G. 2014. Making a virus visible: Francis O. Holmes and a biological assay for tobacco mosaic virus. Journal of the History of Biology. 47:107-145.
  2. Scholthof, K.-B. G. 2015. Finding our roots and celebrating our shoots: An examination of formative plant virus articles in Virology, 1955-1964. Special Issue: 60th Anniversary. Virology, 479-480: 345-355.
  3. Scholthof, K.-B. G. 2017. Spicing up the N gene: F. O. Holmes and Tobacco mosaic virus resistance in Capsicum and Nicotiana plants. Phytopathology 107: 148-157.
  4. Pyle, J. D., and Scholthof, K.-B. G. 2018. De novo generation of helper virus-satellite chimera RNAs results in disease attenuation and satellite sequence acquisition. Virology 514:182-191.
  5. Scholthof, K.-B. G., Irigoyen, S. C., Catalan, P., and Mandadi, K. K. 2018. Brachypodium: A monocot grass model system for plant biology. Plant Cell 30:1673-1694.
  6. Pyle, J. D., Mandadi, K. K., and Scholthof, K.-B. G. 2019. Panicum mosaic virus and its satellite acquire RNA modifications associated with host-mediated viral degradation. mBio10:e01900-19.
  7. Scholthof, K.-B. G. 2020.  Tansley Insight: Brachypodium and plant viruses: Entwined tools for discovery. New Phytologist 227:1676-1680.
  8. Pant, S. R., Irigoyen, S., Liu, J., Bedre, R., Christensen, S. A., Schmelz, E. A., Sedbrook, J. C., Scholthof, K.-B. G., and Mandadi, K. K. 2021. Brachypodium PHENYLALANINE AMMONIA LYASE (PAL) promotes antiviral defenses against Panicum mosaic virus and its satellites. mBio 12:e03518-20.
  9. Scholthof, K.-B. G. 2021. Engulfing the Globe: The impact of pathogens, plagues, and pandemics on society. Agricultural History: 95:530-535
  10. Scholthof, K.-B. G., Washington, L.D, DeMell, A., Mendoza, M. R. and Cody, W. B. 2022. Practicing virology: Making and knowing a mid-20th century experiment with tobacco mosaic virus. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 44:3.

All Publications