Robigalia Roundup #14

Hello Robigalia Reader and welcome back to Robigalia! If you’re new here, Robigalia is your weekly roundup of the latest research, tools, and opportunities in plant pathology.

This week we highlight recent research in disease resistance genes, decades of filamentous plant pathogen genomics, and we introduce a Masters student researching management of soil-borne pathogens in mungbean. As always, Robigalia subscribers can access my online database with summaries of Robigalia featured articles.

Keep reading for the latest updates!

Weekly Plant Pathology Highlights

• Identification and functional characterization of the RPP13 gene family in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) for disease resistance
  

• Effector-triggered processing body formation attenuates host translation via ER stress responses and autophagy upon bacterial infection
  

• From Lesions to Lessons: Two Decades of Filamentous Plant Pathogen Genomics
  

• The prevalence of Phytophthora in British plant nurseries; high-risk hosts and substrates and opportunities to implement best practice

Research Student of the Week

⭐ Meet Tehreem Eraf ⭐

Tehreem is currently completing her Masters in Agriculture at PMAS Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan with a focus on plant pathology. Her research explores managing seed-borne pathogens in mungbean crops using sustainable treatments like biochar and biocontrol agents.

Growing up in an agricultural region, Tehreem witnessed firsthand the struggles farmers face, which inspired her to contribute to disease management and sustainable farming. She has always been fascinated by how tiny pathogens can impact global food security.

Tehreem is most proud of isolating fungal pathogens like Fusarium and successfully analysing her research data using statistical methods. Her short-term goal is to finish her degree and begin a career in plant pathology research, while her long-term dream is to pursue a PhD and help advance global food security.

For fellow students, Tehreem's advice is to stay curious, seek hands-on experience, and embrace challenges—as she believes these experiences will shape their growth as researchers.

If you want to find out more about Tehreem’s research, you can reach 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

• Improving the design and implementation of spore traps, based at James Cook University

• Epidemiology of Botryosphaeriaceae associated with mango dieback, located at NT DAF and ANU

• Ranking priority plant pest and diseases and their preparedness activities, located at ANU

• PhD opportunity in Improved Methodology for the Detection and Pathogenesis of Acute Oak Decline at UWE, Bristol (Deadline 24th January)

Jobs

•  ** Join the 2Blades Lab at The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) in Norwich (UK) as a Lab Tech to assist with developing resistance traits in legume and Solanaceous crops (Deadline 26th January)

• The Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry is seeking applications for a

  Postdoc position in bioengineering immune receptors for potato blight resistance (Deadline 30th January)

• Work with the Cyril Zipfel group to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying plant immunity, with emphasis on the identification and characterization of pattern recognition receptors (Deadline 26th January)

• The Dodd Group at the John Innes Centre are hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher to work on interactions between circadian programs in Bacillus subtilis and plants (Deadline 9th February)

• The Plant Pathology Department at the University of Florida is advertising for a Assistant or Associate Professor in Plant Pathology (Open until position filled)

• Assistant Professor in Diagnostics and Bioinformatics at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University (Deadline 28th February)

• The School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS) welcomes applications for a 9-month, full-time tenure-track position in Field Crop Pathology at the assistant professor level (Deadline 15th February)

Other News and Opportunities

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

• ** Apply to attend the 17th International Cereal Rusts and Powdery Mildews Conference in Vancouver which offers opportunities for early-career researchers to share their research with the agricultural community

• Register for the 8th International Workshop on Resistance Mechanisms and Breeding in forest trees in Canada

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

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

• Submit your abstracts by 31st March 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