Robigalia Roundup XXXII

Hello Robigalia Readers,

If you’re new here, Robigalia is your weekly roundup of the latest research, researchers, scholarships, and opportunities in plant pathology globally.

This week, with a big thanks to the Atlas of Living Australia, I’ll be heading to the Australasian Plant Pathology Society conference in Sydney.

The 2025 theme is “From Field to Future, Scientific Collections and Plant Pathology”. We’ve got three days of oral and poster presentations to look forward to. I’ll be doing a small report on the conference so keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks for some updates on the latest plant pathology research in Australasia.

Now onto this week’s newsletter…

I highlight a study examining the distribution on chromosomes between nuclei in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea.

I introduce Md. Redwan Ahmed, a recent Genetics & Plant Breeding PhD graduate from Bangladesh Agricultural University.

There are several new job and PhD opportunities listed. Make sure you’re a subscriber access these latest opportunities and events.

Weekly Plant Pathology Highlights

• Distribution of haploid chromosomes into separate nuclei in two pathogenic fungi
  

• Species of the Botryosphaeriaceae Are Associated With Blackcurrant Dieback in New Zealand
  

• Fusarium and Neocosmospora Species Associated with the Decline of Metasequoia glyptostroboides in China
  

• No Direct Observational Evidence for Basidiospore-Derived Infection of Eucalypt and Rose Apple (Syzygium jambos) by the Myrtle Rust Pathogen, Austropuccinia psidii, From Brazil

Plant Pathology Researcher of the Week

⭐ Meet Md. Redwan Ahmed⭐

This week, I'm pleased to introduce Md. Redwan Ahmed, Genetics & Plant Breeding graduate from Bangladesh Agricultural University.

Redwan combines expertise in plant breeding, genetics, and pathology to address critical challenges in crop protection. His passion for this field developed after witnessing how disease susceptibility in high-yielding rice varieties devastated farmers' livelihoods, convincing him that breeding and pathology must work together to create meaningful solutions.

Currently, Redwan focuses on combating rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, which destroys approximately 10 million tonnes of rice annually worldwide. His approach involves introgressing the broad-spectrum resistance gene Pi9 from Malaysian landrace Pongsu Seribu 2 into Bangladesh's elite but blast-susceptible variety Binadhan-17 using Marker-Assisted Backcrossing (MABC).

His achievements include successfully integrating pathology screening with MABC breeding (accelerating selection by 40%), gene pyramiding techniques for enhanced durability against evolving pathogen strains, and establishing farmer partnerships to ensure his research has practical applications. Redwan's proudest moment came when his MABC-derived line outperformed Binadhan-17 in yield while showing complete blast resistance.

Looking ahead, he aims to release a blast-resistant Binadhan-17 within three years and develop affordable genotyping tools for Bangladeshi breeders. Long-term, Redwan hopes to merge breeding, genomics, and pathology to address emerging threats like wheat blast and bacterial blight.

For aspiring researchers, Redwan advises mastering both pathogen biology and breeding design, leveraging new technologies, and valuing farmers' observations as sources of research inspiration. Beyond his scientific work, he collects traditional rice varieties during fieldwork, not just for research, but because their cultural stories fascinate him!

If you want to find out more about Redwan’s research, you can reach him via LinkedIn or post your questions in the comments.

Refer a colleague to Robigalia to have your research featured!

Scholarships and Jobs

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