07 December 2023 Join us for the next Excellence Series featuring Professor Eirian Jones

Join us as Professor Eirian Jones discusses the outcomes of over 20 years of research aiming to unravel these complex interactions with respect to the epidemiology and control of soilborne and woody trunk diseases, mainly focussing on grapevine trunk diseases.

She will also discuss recent work on the progress to identify and engineer microbiomes for improving plant resistance to these intractable diseases.

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Plant diseases result in significant crop losses in agriculture, horticulture and forestry, estimated to reduce yield by between 20-40% annually, and likely to increase under predicted climate change scenarios. Reducing the impact of these plant diseases requires an intimate understanding of the causal agent and their epidemiology. However, increasingly we are moving away from the ‘one pathogen = one disease’ model to the role of the microbial community associated with plants (the microbiome) in modulating the outcome of any pathogen challenge. This focusses on understanding the complex interaction between pathogenic microbes (the pathobiome) which influence or drive disease processes as well as their relationship with beneficial members of the microbiome reducing their impact.

Timings

• 4.00 pm - Networking and drinks
• 4.15 pm  - Welcome & introduction from LU Vice-Chancellor
• 4.20 pm - Presentation from Speaker
• 4.50 pm - Summary
• 5.00 pm - Networking and questions over drinks and nibbles
• 5.30pm - Event Ends

More on Professor Eirian Jones

Eirian's main research area is the development of sustainable control strategies for plant diseases with a particular focus on biological control of plant pathogens and the role of indigenous microorganisms in disease suppression and improved plant growth. This includes detailed investigation of microbial ecology and interactions between biocontrol agents (bca), pathogens and other microbes. Her work also involves determining the factors influencing infection and disease development of plant pathogens with particular emphasis on grapevine grapevine trunk and root pathogens. Eirian's investigating sustainable control strategies for Grapevine Trunk Disease, Specific Apple Replant Disease, Neonectria ditissima on apple, Phytophthora species on a range of crops and Rhizoctonia solani of potato. Her research has provided key information to industry which has informed their practices.

Research profile Eirian Jones