Host specificity in fusarium oxysporum

Life Sciences

PhD defence ceremony

Fusarium oxysporum is a fungus hat occurs frequently in soils worldwide and an cause wilt disease and root rot in various plant species. An interesting aspect of the biology of this fungus is the fat that every individual strain is restricted to causing disease in only one or a few plant species. Peter van Dam studies this aspect of host specificity, asking what determines the fact that one strain is capable of infecting tomato plants, whereas another strain specifically causes disease in melon pants. To find the answer he looks at the DNA of many different fungal strains, and specifically at the role of small proteins known as effectors, which can deregulate the pant's defence responses.

P. van Dam: Host Specificity in Fusarium Oxysporum.

Supervisor

Prof. B.J.C. Cornelissen

Co-supervisor

Dr M. Rep

Entrance

This event is open to the public.

Published by  University of Amsterdam