Dominique Holtappels

Susan Eckert Lynch Assistant Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section

Holtappels joined the SIPS faculty in January 2025, based in the Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Section at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, N.Y. His research explores how viruses—especially bacteriophages, which infect bacteria—shape the health of plants and the evolution of plant pathogens. By understanding these tiny but mighty players, he is helping design smarter, more resilient agricultural systems that can thrive even in the most challenging environments, and revolutionizing how we grow food in controlled environments like greenhouses and vertical farms.

Interests

Controlled Environment Agriculture

Plant-bacterium interaction

Pathogen evolution

Recent Research

Holtappels studies how biotic drivers such as the plant virome are shaping the ecology and evolution of plant pathogens. His lab aims to answer fundamental questions on how viruses such as bacteriophages are shaping pathogen-plant interactions as well as the role of the wider virome in disease ecology. The goal: leverage our knowledge about these eco-evolutionary interactions within the microbial world to design novel methods to suppress disease and support the ongoing expansion of the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) sector.

Contact Information

Geneva, NY 14456

dh774 [at] cornell.edu

More information

Dominique in the news

Spotlight

April 22, 2025

Meet our faculty: Dominique Holtappels

Academic focus: Ecology and evolution of plant pathogens in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) Research summary: I study how biotic drivers such as the plant virome are shaping the ecology and evolution of plant pathogens. My lab aims to...

Cornell AgriTech
School of Integrative Plant Science
Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section

A bumblebee on a blossoming plant outside Warren Hall in spring.

News

April 22, 2025

Meet our new faculty - spring 2025

Dominique Holtappels

Contact Information

More information

Dominique in the news