
Dr. Christopher Bell, Biology, Leeds
Mycorrhizal fungi can form mutualistic interactions with plants that may boost plant vigour and primes plant defences to increase plant resistance to pests and pathogens. Recently, we discovered that in certain scenarios this mycorrhizal colonisation can reduce plant resistance and aid pathogens, such as plant-parasitic nematodes inducing ‘susceptibility’ rather than ‘resistance’. In this project, the student will be taught bioinformatic pipelines to analyse transcriptomic-data to produce a list of host genes/processes that mycorrhizal colonisation differentially affects within plant species, correlated with plant resistance. Once genes of interest are identified the student will use qPCR to determine at what stage of parasitism they are induced. The work package will be tailored to the skills/wishes of the student and the outputs will aid future efforts to combat these highly damaging parasites. The student will obtain a comprehensive experience of transcriptome analysis that can be applied in the future regardless of subject area, and be fully integrated into the Plant Nematology Group to get a true taste of the research environment to inform their career aspirations. Students will need to find their own accommodation and be expected to present their findings orally at a research day in York in September 2025.