Robigalia Roundup #15

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 find out the centre of origin for the pathogen behind the Irish Potato Famine and introduce a PhD student who is characterising the effectors of a wheat pathogen. 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

• First report of late leaf rust on raspberry caused by Aculeastrum americanum in New Zealand
  

• A pangenome analysis reveals the center of origin and evolutionary history of Phytophthora infestans and 1c clade species
  

• A typical NLR recognizes a family of structurally conserved effectors to confer plant resistance against adapted and non-adapted Phytophthora pathogens
  

• Elevated CO2 alters soybean physiology and defense responses, and has disparate effects on susceptibility to diverse microbial pathogens

Research Student of the Week

⭐ Meet Ashley Nelson ⭐

Ashley Nelson's journey into plant pathology began in 2019 when she took a mycology class, discovering the application of molecular biology and biochemistry in understanding crop diseases. This prompted her to shift her undergraduate research focus from pharmaceutical sciences to plant pathology, joining Dr. Mehdi Kabbage's lab and adding plant pathology as a major alongside biochemistry.

Driven by a desire to comprehend the molecular intricacies of pathogen-plant interactions, Ashley embarked on her graduate studies. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Dr. Tim Friesen's lab, where her research centres on the in-planta characterisation of necrotrophic effectors from Parastagonospora nodorum, the wheat pathogen responsible for Septoria nodorum blotch. Her work employs a variety of molecular techniques to explore this complex plant-pathogen relationship.

Ashley's time as a Ph.D. student has been marked by numerous enriching experiences including attending conferences and networking within the plant pathology community, active involvement in graduate student organisations, mastering new laboratory techniques, and ongoing professional development. Some of her most memorable achievements include publishing her first first-authored paper and presenting at an international conference.

For those embarking on or currently navigating graduate school, Ashley offers this advice: "Remember that everything ebbs and flows. There will be times of stress, happiness, and feeling overwhelmed, but it will all be okay and work out as long as you consistently put in effort."

When not immersed in her research, Ashley enjoys spending time outdoors in nature, exploring new destinations, and experimenting with new recipes alongside her partner.

If you want to find out more about Ashley’s research, you can reach her via LinkedIn or Bluesky.

🌟 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

Jobs

• **Research Assistant in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

• **Research Assistant Professor in mycotoxin fungal biology in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana (Open until position is filled)

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

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