John D. Castello
Professor and Associate Chair

332 Illick Hall
SUNY-ESF
1 Forestry Drive
Syracuse, NY 13210

(315) 470-6789
jdcastello@esf.edu

• Research
• Abstract of Most Recent Publication
• Awards
• Teaching
• Beech Working Group
• EFB 340
  • Course Requirements
  • Course Syllabus
  • Useful Resources

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Research

General research interests include:

a) Viral ecology, especially viruses detected in trees, surface waters, and polar ice.

b) The ecological impacts of beech bark disease in the northerin hardwood forest.

Selected Publications

Teale, S.A., Letkowski, S.K., Matusick, G., Stehman, S.V., and Castello, J.D. 2009. Quantitative nondestructive assessment of beech scale (Hemiptera: Cryptococcidae) density using digital image analysis of wax masses. Environ-Entomol. 38(4): 1235-1240.

Zhang, G. Shoham, D. Gilichinsky, D. Davydov, S., Castello, J.D., Rogers, S.O. 2006. Evidence of influenza A virus in Siberian lake ice. J. Virology 80:12229-12235.

Castello, J.D., and Rogers, S.O. (Eds.) 2005. Life in Ancient Ice. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. (http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/8004.html)

Rogers, S.O., Starmer, W.T., and Castello, J.D. 2004. Recycling of pathogenic microbes through survival in ice. Medical Hypotheses 63: 773-777.

Smith, A.N., Skilling, D.E., Castello, J.D., and Rogers, S.O. 2004. Ice as a reservoir for pathogenic human viruses: specifically, caliciviruses, influenza viruses, and enteroviruses. Medical Hypotheses 63:560-566.

Rogers, S.O., Theraisnathan, V., Ma, L.J., Zhao, Y., Zhang., G., Shin, S.G., Castello, J.D., and Starmer, W.T. 2004. Comparisons of protocols to decontaminate environmental ice samples for biological and molecular examinations. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 2540-2544.

Castello, J.D., Rogers, S.O., Bachand, G.D., Fillhart, R.C., Murray, J.S., Weidemann, K., Bachand, M., and Almond, M.A. 2000. Detection and partial characterization of tenuiviruses from black spruce. Plant Dis. 84: 143-147.

Bachand, G.D., and Castello, J.D.ã 2001. Immunolocalization of tomato mosaic tobamovirus in roots of red spruce seedlings. J. Phytopathology 149: 415-419.

Kopp, R.F., Castello, J.D., and Abrahamson, L.P. 1999. Viruses in Salix grown for bioenergy. Eur. J, For. Pathol. 29: 117-122.

Castello, J.D., Rogers, S.O., Starmer, W.T., Catranis, C.M., Ma, L., Bachand, G.D., Zhao, Y., and Smith, J.E. 1999. Detection of tomato mosaic tobamovirus RNA in ancient glacial ice. Polar Biology 22: 207-212.

Bachand, G.D. and Castello, J.D. 1998. Seasonal pattern of tomato mosaic virus infection and concentration in red spruce seedlings. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.64: 1436-1441.

Fillhart, R.C., Bachand, G.D., and Castello, J.D. 1998. Detection of infectious tobamoviruses in forest soils. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.64: 1430-1435.

Jacobi, V., Bachand, G.D., Hamelin, R.C., and Castello, J.D. 1998. Development of a multiplex immunocapture RT-PCR assay for detection and differentiation of tomato and tobacco mosaic tobamoviruses. J. Virol. Methods.74:167-178.

Fillhart, R.C., Bachand, G.D., and Castello, J.D. 1997. Airborne transmission of tomato mosaic tobamovirus and its occurrence in red spruce in the northeastern United States. Can. J. For. Res. 27:1176-1181.

Castello, J.D., Lakshman, D.K., Tavantzis, S.M., Rogers, S.O., Bachand, G.D., Jagels, R., Carlisle, J., and Liu, Y. 1995. Detection of infectious tomato mosaic virus in fog and clouds. Phytopathology 85:1409-1412.

Castello, J.D., Leopold, D.J., Smallidge, P.J. 1995. Pathogens, patterns, and processes in forest ecosystems. BioScience 45:16-24.

Castello, J.D., Wargo, P.M., Jacobi, V., Bachand, G.D., Tobi, D., and Rogers, M. 1995. Tomato mosaic virus infection of red spruce on Whiteface Mt., New York: Prevalence and potential impact. Can. J. For. Res. 25:1340-1345.

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Abstract of Most Recent Publication

Beech scale, Cryptococcus fagisuga Lindinger, is a non-native invasive insect associated with beech bark disease. A quantitative method of measuring viable scale density at the levels of the individual tree and localized bark patches was developed.Bark patches (10 cm2) were removed at 0, 1, and 2 m above the ground and at the four cardinal directions from 13 trees in northern New York, and 12 trees in northern Michigan. Digital photographs of each patch were made, and then the wax mass area was measured from two random 1 cm2 subsamples on each bark patch using image analysis software.  Viable scale insects were counted after removing the wax under a dissecting microscope. Separate regression analyses at the whole tree level for the New York and Michigan sites each revealed a strong positive relationship of wax mass area with the number of underlying viable scale insects. The relationship for the NY and MI data was not significantly different from each other, and when pooling data from the two sites, there was still a significant positive relationship between wax mass area and the number of scale insects.  The relationships between viable scale insects and wax mass area were different at the 0 m, 1 m and 2 m sampling heights, but aspect had no effect on the relationship.  The operational utility of the method was supported by measuring spatial and temporal disparities in scale densities in relation to climatic variables.  This method does not disrupt the insect or its interactions with the host tree.

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Awards

Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship to University of Bonn, January through June 1987.

J. William Fulbright Foundation Senior Scholar Award to Hort Research, Palmerston North, New Zealand, August through December, 2000.

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Teaching

Courses taught include:

• Introductory Environmental Microbiology (EFB 303, 4 credit hours, team taught with Dr. J.P. Nakas)

• Forest and Shade Tree Pathology (EFB 340, 3 credit hours) Lecture outline presented below.

• Peoples, Plagues and Pests (EFB 217, 3 credit hours, fulfills the Gen Ed "other world civilization" requirement (co-taught with Dr. Steve Teale)

• Forest Health (EFB 345, 3 credit hours-summer session at Cranberry Lake Biological Station. Team taught with Dr. Steve Teale).