Unravelling interactions between cereal aphids and ancestral wheat lines to elucidate mechanisms of aphid resistance
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Biosciences
Abstract
The mini-project to be done at Rothamsted will focus on training the student in methods essential to the main project. This will include headspace collection of volatile organic compounds from wheat plants, bioassays to study aphid responses to resistant and susceptible lines of T. monococcum, and molecular techniques.
1) The headspace volatiles from resistant and susceptible lines of T. monococcum will be collected using air entrainment in which the volatiles are collected on a porous polymer (Porapak Q50 mg), eluted with redistilled diethyl ether and then analysed using gas chromatography (GC) and GC mass spectrometry.
2) Samples from headspace collections will be used to study behavioural responses of alate R. padi to the volatiles from resistant and susceptible T. monococcum using a four-arm olfactometer. The length of time spent in the treated arm is recorded and compared to control arms. Individual aphids are observed over a 16 minute period in each replicate.
3) DNA from individual plants will be extracted using the DNeasy Plant Kit (Qiagen). The quantity and quality of DNA will be assessed by electrophoresis on a 0.8% agarose gel. The molecular weight of DNA in samples will be determined by comparing them to markers of known weights.
1) The headspace volatiles from resistant and susceptible lines of T. monococcum will be collected using air entrainment in which the volatiles are collected on a porous polymer (Porapak Q50 mg), eluted with redistilled diethyl ether and then analysed using gas chromatography (GC) and GC mass spectrometry.
2) Samples from headspace collections will be used to study behavioural responses of alate R. padi to the volatiles from resistant and susceptible T. monococcum using a four-arm olfactometer. The length of time spent in the treated arm is recorded and compared to control arms. Individual aphids are observed over a 16 minute period in each replicate.
3) DNA from individual plants will be extracted using the DNeasy Plant Kit (Qiagen). The quantity and quality of DNA will be assessed by electrophoresis on a 0.8% agarose gel. The molecular weight of DNA in samples will be determined by comparing them to markers of known weights.
Organisations
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/M008770/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/10/2024 | |||
| 1647973 | Studentship | BB/M008770/1 | 01/10/2015 | 30/09/2019 |
| Description | Discovered that resistance that affects aphid development and reproductive success is dependant on the interaction between what age and genotype as ancestral wheat plants that are resistant at seedling stage does not indicate their resistance as adult plants. Identified resistance that prevents winged aphids from alighting onto the plant is present in an ancestral wheat genotype which as possess resistance that reduces aphid development and reproductive success. Compounds which underpin these changes in behaviour have been identified Resistance observed under laboratory conditions was present in field conditions however, in the field trial 2018 an interaction was found between drought stress and genotype affecting aphid (three species) populations. Natural enemy populations were found to be positively correlated with aphid populations on plants in the field Candidate genes involved in Triticum monococcum response to Rhopalosiphum padi feeding have been identified |
| Exploitation Route | The importance of aphid screenings to find resistant plant to occur at multiple growth stages Identifying the compounds that are dependant on herbivory can help with diagnostics To look at the interaction between drought stress and genotype in relation to resistance to aphids would be an important topic to take forward To confirm the candidate genes involvement in plant response to R. padi feeding |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment |
| Description | Attended work package meeting on Designing Future Wheat ISP |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | During break-out session discussion was sparked about the importance of having field work alongside speed-breeding programmes |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | BBSRC MRC BME Students workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussed barrier to post-graduate studies, how this would be improved, barriers to integration and continuation in science post-phd with members of BBSRC, MRC, Lecturers, PI's, Student Officers and other students |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Meeting with local Member of Parliment |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Local MP Bim Alofami visited Rothamsted Research, my talk on my project resulted in discussions about the impact of studentships Rothamsted Research environment and the impact of pest-host interactions on the wider agricultural community to emphasise its importance in funding this form of research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/bim-afolami-%E2%80%9Cabsolutely-full-throated%E2%80%9D-support-rot... |
| Description | Oral Presentation at Royal entomological society Aphid Special Interest Group Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Approximately 70 entomologists were in attendance and sparked conversation around integrated pest management strategies and in-field applications |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Oral presentation at Monogram conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave an oral presentation of my PhD work, I had many discussions about the effectiveness of aphid natural enemies and how volatile organic compound collection and analysis can be applied to other projects including pathology projects |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Oral presentation on Professional Internships for PhD Students |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Results and interpretation of results from my Professional Internaship for PhD students which took place at Advance HE/ Equality Challenge Unit. As a result of this there were discussion on how to make sure that talented people are not discouraged from science due to their background or protected personal characteristics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Participated in Schools visit for "Women of the Future" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Over 200 Year 10 Female GCSE Students attended "Women of the Future" at John Innes Centre where I took part in the "Meet a STEMM professional". Students asked questions about routes in Science, doing a PhD and how to get internships/work experience in science related fields |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presented poster at Europen Congress of Entomology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a poster from which I created contacts, recieved feefback on my work and advice for future experiments |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Produced a Research Insight from my Placement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Research Insight on "Identifying good practice in successful Silver and Gold Athena SWAN applications" published on Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) website |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/research-insight-identifying-good-practice-successful-silver-gold... |