- Sakata Seed America
Marco Bello is the Lead Plant Pathologist at Sakata Seed America’s Fort Myers, FL Research Station, where he directs pathology support for breeding programs in pepper, tomato, watermelon, melon, and lettuce.
His work combines basic and applied plant pathology, with emphasis on disease diagnostics, molecular and pathogenicity characterization of plant pathogens, host-pathogen interactions, and developing and integrating genetic resistance into vegetable breeding programs.
Before joining Sakata in 2015, Marco was a Postdoctoral Scientist with the USDA-ARS Dry Bean Breeding Program in Prosser, WA, specializing in genetic mapping, marker-assisted selection, and molecular breeding for disease resistance loci.
He holds an M.S. from Washington State University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, both in Plant Pathology.