Robigalia Roundup #19

Hello Robigalia Reader and welcome to another week of Robigalia! If you’re new here, Robigalia is your weekly roundup of the latest research, researchers, scholarships, and opportunities in plant pathology globally.

This week, we dive deep into some molecular plant pathology, and we introduce a PhD student working on host immunity against the apple scab 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

• Puccinia striiformis Effector PNPi Suppresses TaIAA14 Expression to Inhibit Host Cell Death Response
  

• Conserved immunomodulation and variation in host association by Xanthomonadales commensals in Arabidopsis root microbiota
  

• Glutathione triggers leaf-to-leaf, calcium-based plant defense signaling
  

• Balanced plant helper NLR activation by a modified host protein complex

Research Student of the Week

⭐ Meet Ashleigh Mosen ⭐

This week's student feature highlights Ashleigh Mosen, a PhD candidate from Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Her research focuses on the relationship between the apple scab pathogen Venturia inaequalis and its host, specifically examining the interaction between a newly identified fungal effector protein, AvrRvi4, and its corresponding resistance protein, Rvi4, in apple.

Ashleigh's work aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind full and partial resistance breakdown in apple cultivars carrying the Rvi4 resistance gene. She is also investigating the host virulence targets of AvrRvi4. This research has significant implications for developing alternative disease control strategies for managing apple scab disease, potentially leading to the engineering of effector virulence targets and resistance proteins in apple.

Ashleigh's journey in plant pathology began during her Master's research, where she developed a dsRNA spray targeting a virulence gene in the pine needle pathogen Dothistroma septosporum. Following her Master's degree, Ashleigh gained valuable experience working at the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research. There, she focused on breeding apple cultivars resistant to apple scab, which further fuelled her passion for plant pathology and inspired her to pursue doctoral studies.

One of Ashleigh's notable achievements early in her research career was the identification of new mutations in the AvrRvi4 gene in multiple race (4) strains of V. inaequalis. This discovery has contributed significantly to understanding why some strains of V. inaequalis only partially overcome Rvi4-mediated resistance, while others completely circumvent it, allowing the effector to protein to evade recognition by the apple's resistance protein. So far, it appears that the position of the mutation in the sequence plays a major role.

Looking ahead, Ashleigh aspires to become a Senior Scientist in Plant Pathology. She aims to apply her knowledge and skills to develop management practices for controlling a wide range of diseases across agricultural, horticultural, and forest industries, with the ultimate goal of making a global impact on plant health.

Ashleigh encourages students considering a career in plant pathology to follow their passion and explore their interests. She emphasises the vast array of unexplored avenues in the field, including numerous plant diseases with unknown causes and mechanisms. Ashleigh highlights the ongoing challenge of the "arms race" between pathogens and host plants, underscoring the need for scientists to develop and implement novel disease control measures.

When she's not in the lab or the field, Ashleigh enjoys swimming and camping outdoors!

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

🌟 Want to feature your research? Fill out the EOI to feature in Robigalia 🌟 

PhD Scholarships and Jobs

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

PhD Scholarships

• ** PhD in plant virology with the Mehta lab

• Silencing Fungal diseases: unlocking RNAi as novel tool to control Agricultural Pathogens, Massey University (Closing 26th Feb)

• Bidirectional mobile sRNA signalling in pea-downy mildew interactions, University of Worcester (Open year-round)

• Chemical warfare in the rhizosphere: unpicking the defensive role of plant root exudates against the bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum, University of York (Closing 14th March)

• Primed for Protection: Cell Wall Modifications in Plant Defense and Long-Term Immunity, University of Sheffield (Closes 14th March)

Jobs

• ** The Eskalen lab is seeking a qualified (junior) candidate to assist with field fungicide spray trials across California

• Postdoctoral Researcher Position at UC Davis in the Melotto Lab

• Assistant or Associate Professor and Extension Specialist - Ornamental Plant Pathology (No closing date listed)

• 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 University of Canberra

• 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 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)

Other News and Opportunities

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

• Submit your abstract and be part of the EMBO | EMBL Symposium "Infection: pathogens, hosts, and microbiomes. You have until 3 March!

• 40 travel awards will be awarded to eligible APS Student Members to support their attendance to present their research at Plant Health 2025 in Hawaii (Closing 28th March)

•  The Art in Phytopathology competition is BACK! This is your chance to showcase your passion for plant diseases through your artistic talents (Closes 1st April)

• Fungal Pathogens: Emerging Threats and Future Challenges, Jan 12–15, 2026, Breckenridge, CO, United States

• 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, June 1-6, 2025

• 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