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Fighting bacterial plant disease through the development of biological control agents

Lead Research Organisation: University of Warwick
Department Name: School of Life Sciences

Abstract

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description International Institutional Partnership Fund
Amount £24,522 (GBP)
Organisation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2024 
End 06/2024
 
Description International Science Partnerships Fund
Amount £158,400 (GBP)
Funding ID 1203466293 
Organisation British Council 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 12/2024 
End 11/2026
 
Description Swansea University 
Organisation Swansea University
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution My research team and I provided expertise in Nanopore genome sequencing, assembly and annotation, as well as equipment to carry that out.
Collaborator Contribution My partners provided the fungal strain to sequence, as well as the expertise and facilities for isolation and bioactivity testing of the strain.
Impact We jointly published two research article in which we reported the characterisation of the genome and bioactivity of fungal strains: - Brooks S, Weaver JA, Klomchit A, Alharthi SA, Onlamun T, Nurani R, Vong TK, Alberti F and Greco C* (2024) Unveiling the potential of Daldinia eschscholtzii MFLUCC 19-0629 through bioactivity and bioinformatics studies for enhanced sustainable agriculture production. Frontiers in Chemical Biology 3: 1362147. doi: 10.3389/fchbi.2024.1362147. - Klomchit A, Calabon MS, Worabandit S, Weaver JA, Karima EM, Alberti F, Greco C,* and Mahanil S* (2024) Unveiling novel Neocosmospora species from Thai mangroves as potent biocontrol agents against Colletotrichum species. Journal of Applied Microbiology 135: lxae114. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jambio/lxae114. The collaboration is multidisciplinary as it spans over microbiology, analytical chemistry, bioinformatics, genomics.
Start Year 2023
 
Description UKM and MARDI 
Organisation Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute
Country Malaysia 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution My research team contributed through expertise in genome sequencing and genome mining, genetic engineering of fungi and metabolite analysis.
Collaborator Contribution My partners contributed through expertise in plant propagation inoculation and disease analysis, as well as training of staff.
Impact doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2025.103668
Start Year 2023
 
Description UKM and MARDI 
Organisation National University of Malaysia
Country Malaysia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution My research team contributed through expertise in genome sequencing and genome mining, genetic engineering of fungi and metabolite analysis.
Collaborator Contribution My partners contributed through expertise in plant propagation inoculation and disease analysis, as well as training of staff.
Impact doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2025.103668
Start Year 2023
 
Description Departmental seminar for the INBIOSIS Seminar Series IHSLS1_2024 at the National University of Malaysia 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Approximately 30 people attended my seminar between in-person and online, including PG students, PDRAs, Research Assistants and academics. Following on from my talk, I had fruitful conversations with academics from the National University of Malaysia that may lead to future collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://www.ukm.my/inbiosis/en/webinars/
 
Description Departmental seminar in the School of Pharmacy of the University of East Anglia 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Approximately 50 people attended my seminar, including PG students, PDRAs and academics. Following on from my talk, I had fruitful conversations with academics from UEA that may lead to future collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Invited speaker at the 1st Warwick BioSoc's Life Science Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Approximately 80 people attended my seminar which was followed by an expert panel discussion with the two other presenters aimed at answering questions from UG students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.warwickbiosoc.co.uk/lifesciencesconference2023
 
Description iGEM 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact The Warwick iGEM team 2023 made up of 7 undergraduate students worked on developing an improved whole-cell platform for the production of valuable monoterpenes, such as limonene and perillyl alcohol, whcih find application in many industries: food, cosmetics and cleaning products to name a few. As the PI of the IGEM team, I supervised and guided the team to engage with industry, stakeholders and professional practitioners to define the direction of the project. We also presented the outcomes of the project at the iGEM Jamboree (Paris), where the audience was primarily UG students, but also PG students, academics, and Industry/Business.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://2023.igem.wiki/warwick/index.html
 
Description iGEM 2024 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact The Warwick iGEM team 2024 made up of 10 undergraduate students worked on developing a sustainable recycling process for the neodymium from electronic waste, via the engineering of bacteria that are naturally able to sense and take up lanthanides. As the PI of the IGEM team, I supervised and guided the team to engage with industry, stakeholders and professional practitioners to define the direction of the project. We also presented the outcomes of the project at the iGEM Jamboree (Paris), where the audience was primarily UG students, but also PG students, academics, and Industry/Business.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://2024.igem.wiki/warwick/index.html