Agrisera blog

As plants cannot move and change their habitat quickly as animals can, they have instead developed other amazing strategies to cope with various pathogen attacks. Listed below are some examples of plant pathogens.

Fungal diseases: These pathogens typically thrive in warm, moist conditions and can infect various parts of the plant, such as leaves, stems, fruits, and roots.
Bacterial diseases: Bacterial pathogens infect plants through wounds or natural openings, causing diseases like bacterial wilt, leaf spot, and soft rot, and can spread rapidly through the whole plant.
Viral diseases: Viruses can infect plants through vectors such as insects, nematodes, and even human activities, like grafting. Viral diseases can significantly reduce crop yields and quality.
Nematode damage: Nematodes are microscopic roundworms that feed on plant roots, leading to reduced nutrient uptake and stunted growth. Root-knot nematodes, for example, cause the formation of galls on roots, interfering with water and nutrient absorption.

Agrisera is sponsoring this year's Jan Anderson Award, granted by the Australian Society of Plant Scientists. 

Joan (Jan) Mary Anderson was an adjunct professor at the Australian National University. She received an honorary doctorate at Umeå University (Sweden) in 1998.  She was an internationally acclaimed plant biologist, renowned for her discoveries on the organization of the intricate membrane structures that carry out solar energy conversion in cells of green plants. Her work was the first to show that the photosynthetic mechanisms consists of two fundamental components; Photosystem I and Photosystem II. Her research career spanned over 55 years, mostly at the Division of Plant Industry CSIRO Canberra (1961-97), and later at the Research School of Biological Sciences at the Australian National University.

Jan was a passionate and creative female scientist who was well ahead of her time. She was an inspiration to young researchers, for whom her enthusiasm and curiosity were infectious. Professor Jan Anderson died on 28 August 2015 after a short illness. In recognition of her life and achievements in photosynthesis research as a pioneering female scientist, this award will acknowledge talented female plant science researchers. 

Oxidative stress response in plants involves a complex network of proteins that work together to mitigate the damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals. Below is a list of the main proteins involved in this process:

• Superoxide dismutase (SOD): Enzyme that catalyzes the dismutation of superoxide radicals into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. There are different isoforms of SOD found in various cellular compartments, such as cytosol, mitochondria and chloroplast.
• Catalase (CAT): Enzyme that catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. It is primarily located in peroxisomes and helps neutralize excess hydrogen peroxide, generated during oxidative stress.
• Ascorbate peroxidase (APX): Enzyme that uses ascorbate as a reducing agent to scavenge hydrogen peroxide and convert it into water, while oxidizing ascorbate to monodehydroascorbate. This enzyme is crucial for maintaining the redox balance in chloroplasts and other cellular compartments.
• Glutathione peroxidase (GPX): Enzyme that utilizes glutathione (GSH) as a cofactor to reduce hydrogen peroxide and lipid hydroperoxides to their corresponding alcohols. It plays a significant role in protecting cells from oxidative damage by ROS.
• Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs): Family of enzymes that catalyze the conjugation of glutathione to a wide range of electrophilic compounds, like lipid peroxides and xenobiotics. They are involved in both detoxification processes and in the regulation of cellular redox status.
  
  

• New knowledge
• Possibility to win a useful prize
• Link to the workshop recording
• Pdf of the presentation with links
• Certificate of participation