Robigalia Roundup #16

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 several studies on the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, and introduce a PhD student who is identifying molecular inhibitors that disrupt virulence in Pectobacterium spp. 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

• Mechanisms of regulated cell death during plant infection by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae
  

• Exogenous dsRNA triggers sequence-specific RNAi and fungal stress responses to control Magnaporthe oryzae in Brachypodium distachyon
  

• Novel Regulators and Their Epistatic Networks in Arabidopsis' Defence Responses to Alternaria alternata Infection
  

• Distribution of the four type VI secretion systems in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and classification of their core and accessory effectors

Research Student of the Week

⭐ Meet Manoj Pun ⭐

Manoj Pun's journey in plant pathology began in a small agricultural village in Nepal, where farming was the primary livelihood. Growing up in a farming family, he witnessed firsthand how plant diseases and pest infestations severely impacted crop productivity, leading to economic hardship and food insecurity. These early experiences shaped his determination to pursue plant pathology, with a particular focus on developing accessible biocontrol solutions for farmers.

His doctoral research is investigating the intricate relationship between plant-derived small molecules and their effects on gram-negative bacterial pathogens. The study is centred on understanding how plants produced defensive phytochemicals, particularly phenolic acids and flavonoids, as natural antimicrobial agents disrupt bacterial virulence system and their fitness.

Manoj’s research has demonstrated significant synergistic effects between efflux pump inhibitors and natural compounds like naringenin and phloretin, resulting in reduced bacterial virulence across multiple host systems. A notable discovery was the identification of naringenin's multiple mechanisms of antimicrobial activity.

Manoj is currently seeking post-doctoral opportunities to further explore host-pathogen interactions, with the ultimate goal of developing sustainable and environmentally friendly disease management strategies. His research aims to integrate molecular and epidemiological approaches to enhance crop resistance against pathogens.

His advice to emerging plant pathologists is that success in plant pathology requires curiosity, persistence, and adaptability in exploring new approaches to understand nature more deeply.

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

Jobs

• **Permanent Researcher position in Stephane Blanc group at PHIM, INRAE, Montpellier France to work on Traffic of viral macromolecules within host plants and role in the biology of multi-component viral systems (Deadline 4th March)

• **Coming soon: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Molecular diagnostics at ANU

• 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 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!

• 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 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