Robigalia Roundup #11

Hello Robigalia Reader and welcome back to another week of Robigalia, delivering the latest research, tools, and opportunities in plant pathology.

This week we discuss the potential use of trunk injects to manage Huanglongbing, and we introduce our third “Research Student of the Week” feature! Don’t forget to fill out the EOI to have your research featured. As always, Robigalia subscribers can access my online database with summaries of Robigalia featured articles.

Keep reading for the latest updates!

Recent plant pathology research

Evaluation of tree-injected oxytetracycline and antisense oligonucleotides targeting Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in citrus

Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease, is a serious problem for citrus trees worldwide which I discussed in a previous Robigalia Issue. Scientists are always looking for new ways to fight this disease, and a recent study tested two potential treatments: oxytetracycline (OTC) and a new technology called antisense oligonucleotides (FANA ASOs).

The researchers injected these treatments directly into the trunks of infected citrus trees in a Florida grove over two years to test if the treatments could reduce the amount of bacteria causing HLB and improve the health of the trees.

OTC, which is an antibiotic, showed the most promising results. Trees treated with OTC had less bacteria, produced more fruit, and had better quality juice compared to untreated trees. The OTC treatment also appeared to make it harder for insects to spread the disease to other trees. The FANA ASOs treatment, which targets specific genes of the bacteria, showed some positive effects too, reducing the amount of bacteria in the trees, but to a lesser extent than OTC.

The study also looked at how these treatments affected the insects that spread HLB. They found that insects feeding on OTC-treated trees were less likely to pick up and spread the disease. However, the FANA ASOs treatment didn't consistently reduce disease spread by insects.

While both treatments showed some promise, OTC was clearly more effective in this study. However, the researchers emphasise that more work is needed, especially to improve the effectiveness of FANA ASOs. They suggest trying higher doses or combining different FANA ASOs to target multiple bacterial genes at once.

Research student of the week

Meet Zali Mahony

This weeks student of the week is Zali Mahony who is currently pursuing her PhD in plant pathology at The University of Queensland.

Zali's passion for plant pathology first ignited during her Honours project, where she studied exotic ambrosia beetles in northern NSW. After completing her undergraduate degree, Zali took a break from research to spend a couple of years working in biosecurity for the Australian vegetable industry. While it was an invaluable experience, she found herself missing research which prompted her to relocate to Queensland to begin her PhD project.

Her project focuses on enhancing the Australian citrus industry's understanding of Black core rot, a fungal disease that impacts citrus production. Detecting the disease can be challenging. The primary symptoms observed include internal fruit rot and pre-harvest fruit drop, however fallen fruit often shows no external symptoms on the rind. Zali’s main objective of her project is to improve disease management and limit its spread. This has taken her between the orchards in the Riverina, NSW, and the lab in Brisbane. She loves the variety this brings to her work, keeping her busy and making each week interesting.

Zali’s advice to anyone considering a career in plant pathology is “just to give it a go! There are so many pests, pathogens and angles to explore in plant health and the opportunities really are endless. You might not fall in love with the first thing you try, but that’s okay – just keep exploring until you find what excites you!”

If you want to find out more about Zali’s research, you can get in touch with her via LinkedIn

🌟 This could be you! Fill out the EOI to feature your research in Robigalia 🌟 

PhD Scholarships and Jobs

New opportunities below are indicated by two asterisks at the start of the entry **

PhD Scholarships

• PhD opportunity in fungal immunity: how do NLR genes allow fungi to navigate the microbial world?

• 15 PhD Positions in Molecular and Developmental Biology, Genomics or Computational Science Funded through EU Research

• The ARC Training Centre in Plant Biosecurity is funding EIGHT PhD positions!

• Identification of novel virulence determinants in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae at TSL

• The MoRE lab are looking for suitable candidates to apply for a INPhINIT fellowship for study of evolution of plant virus interactions and evolution of crosskingdom RNAi in plant-fungus symbiotic interactions

• Use cutting-edge AI to improve crops! Women & underrepresented candidates encouraged. Search for Project 25E

• Several PhD Positions are available in Plant and Microbial Sciences at the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory, UK

Jobs

• Head to the University of Bologna to explore fungal genetics, pathogenicity, and host adaptation in plant pathogenic fungi

Other News and Opportunities

New opportunities below are indicated by two asterisks at the start of the entry **

• **Abstracts are open for the 25th Australasian Plant Pathology Society conference in Sydney in May 2025. They are also offering bursaries for ECRs!

• Apply for the UPSC Symposium for Early Career Plant Scientists and present your research in March 2025!

• Join the Plant-Microbiome Interaction Symposium at the John Innes Centre, 10-11 February 2025

• Save the date for the Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union happening July 6 - 10th in Italy

• Register your interest for the 17th Australasian Plant Breeding Conference in Sydney in June 2025

Meme of the week

Before you go…

• Like or didn’t like this new newsletter format? Let me know if the comments!

• Think a friend (or two) could benefit from reading? I’d love it if you could share this link with them.

Until next week,

Alyssa