Robigalia Roundup XXVIII

Hello Robigalia Reader, 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 learn about the impact on photosynthesis between Erwinia psidii resistant and susceptible Eucalyptus clones, and I introduce Angus Bucknell, a PhD student from The Sainsbury Laboratory focusing on novel protein design.

Now, read on the for latest …

Weekly Plant Pathology Highlights

• Contrasting photosynthetic performance of resistant and susceptible eucalypt clones in response to infection by Erwinia psidii
  

• Alternaria Species on Convolvulus arvensis Revealed as a Potential Inoculum Source for Solanaceous Crops in Serbia
  

• Botryosphaeriaceae Associated With Racemes, Fruits and Leaves of Macadamia in South Africa
  

• Development of a Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Method Combined with a Lateral Flow Dipstick Assay for Rapid Detection of the Larch Pathogen Neofusicoccum laricinum

Research Student of the Week

⭐ Meet Angus Bucknell ⭐

This week, we introduce Angus Bucknell, A PhD student in Nick Talbot’s group at The Sainsbury Laboratory.

Angus’ interest in plant pathology began during his Master's research at the University of Birmingham. During his Maters’s, Angus focused on a transposon in the plant fungal pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana, which causes disease on a wide range of cereals. This research bridged the gap from plant genetics to fungal plant pathology for, leading him to apply for a PhD in Nick’s lab.

Now in his PhD, Angus’ research is focusing on novel protein design within the Magnaporthe oryzae pathosystem. This fungus is responsible for the devastating blast disease affecting important crops such as wheat and rice among others. Initially, his PhD project shifted from familiar territory in fungal genetics to the field of protein design. Although he felt apprehensive at first, he has quickly become excited about the new direction his research is taking. Angus’ long-term goal is to use protein design to deepen our understanding of effector proteins and their interactions within host plant cells.

To his fellow students, Angus encourage you not to shy away from unfamiliar areas of research. Embracing new challenges can lead to professional growth and unexpected discoveries!

If you want to find out more about Angus’ research, you can reach him via his website or post your questions in the comments.

PhD Scholarships and Jobs

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