💥 Out now! 💥 Our @MPMIjournal publication, led by @theccdm.bsky.social Shota Morikawa & @callumverdonk.bsky.social , looks at domain functions of a transcription factor involved in necrotrophic effector regulation and co-factor interactions in Parastagonospora nodorum, a fungal pathogen of wheat. 👇

Happy to have presented a talk at #IWC2026Bologna on @theccdm.bsky.social research, highlighting that wheat diseases may not follow a bipartite single pathogen-plant interaction. Glad that it stimulated some nice after-session discussions and potential collaborations.

The #IWC2026Bologna panel and audience discussion certainly provided plenty of discussion points on responsible pesticide usages and consequences from misuse. Big tks to @nicholahawkins.bsky.social @danielleybourne.bsky.social @teagasc.bsky.social @tobybruce.bsky.social francesco vidotto

Chairing a discussion session with Dr Louise McNamara on the impact of pesticide usage on Wednesday #IWCBologna2026. Our panellists are ready to go! @wheatinitiative.bsky.social

Come and check out my @theccdm.bsky.social poster on fungal co-infection of wheat at the @WheatInitiative-supported #IWC2026Bologna. I'll give a talk on this in the afternoon of 28th May.

Congrats to the winners of the presentation prizes of the Wheat Pathogens Symposium! #IWC2024Bologna @karchuntan.bsky.social @reemwheat.bsky.social

"Just" landed in Rome 🇮🇹 awaiting a transit flight! Excited to catch up with colleagues in Bologna at the 4th International Wheat Congress soon!

Tackling a nasty coral disease off the Australian coast! 🪸 🌊 Check out our new co-author paper on microbial profiling of corals with growth anomalies. Led by Zoe Richards and her team at Curtin Molecular and Life Sciences (MLS) Trend and Western Australian Museum 🥳

Check out the @theccdm.bsky.social spotlight article on our recent @plantdisease publication on the impact of fungal co-infection in breaking down disease resistance in wheat!

🔬 CCDM scientists found that the order of infection between yellow leaf spot and septoria nodorum blotch can dramatically change disease severity in wheat. 🌾 🔗 Read here groundcover.grdc.com.au/grdc/announc... 🎥 Hear what it means for growers & breeders. @curtinuniversity.bsky.social, #GRDC

In case you missed this video from our recent @theGRDC Groundcover article, summarising our recent publication (link in comment) on how fungal co-infection breaks down disease resistance in wheat...here it is! Produced by our @theccdm.bsky.social comms team😎 youtu.be/2vDf23B3hzE?...

"The order of fungal infection can influence disease severity and plant resistance" Our @theccdm.bsky.social paper on fungal co-infection of wheat is out @PlantDiseaseJ. Collab @agtbreeding @DPIRDbroadacre @evan-john.bsky.social. Link below @theGRDC Groundcover.

Had the pleasure of hosting Dr Giovana Cruppe & @theGRDC visiting fellow Prof Romulo Lollato from KSU at the @theccdm.bsky.social today. Excellent presos on wheat blast and agronomy! 🔥🔥🔥

Getting some B-roll filming done by the @theccdm.bsky.social comms crew for our next sciency press release 😎🤘

More glam shots from @ShotaMorikawa69's PhD graduation evening 🧑‍🎓. Got a special visit from Silke Jacques, our @theccdm.bsky.social alumni post doc! 😍 @callumverdonk.bsky.social

Proud @theccdm.bsky.social moment! Our PHD student Shota Morikawa earned his stripes! @callumverdonk.bsky.social

February webinar: Cesaree Morier-Gxyiya @cesaree-mg.bsky.social on Improving wheat stem rust models under climate change with updated environmental parameters. Tuesday, 3 Feb 2026, 16CET/9AM (Calgary) online. www.wheatinitiative.org/new-events/f... @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

🌾 Our Expert Working Group on Wheat Pathogens will be part of the International Symposium on Cereal Leaf Blight in Banff, Canada. 📅 Early Bird and Abstract Submission Deadline: March 31 ✍️ Register now: isclb.com/registration #WheatConnect @ReemWheat.bsky.social @karchuntan.bsky.social

First webinar of our Pathogens EWG in 2026! Join Cesaree Morier-Gxyiya to give an online talk titled: Improving wheat stem rust models under climate change with updated environmental parameters. www.wheatinitiative.org/new-events/f... #WheatConnect @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

“The exploitation of Epichloë endophytes for agricultural advantage – application to cereals” John CARADUS and Wayne SIMPSON Our Expert Working Group on Wheat Pathogens made this webinar available! www.wheatinitiative.org/ewg-pathogens #WheatConnect @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

Did you miss the lates Webinar of our Pathogens EWG? Watch the recording: “The exploitation of Epichloë endophytes for agricultural advantage – application to cereals” John CARADUS and Wayne SIMPSON 🌾 www.wheatinitiative.org/ewg-pathogens #WheatConnect @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

We highly recommend this excellent webinar series created by our Expert Working Group on Wheat Pathogens. A fantastic resource covering key wheat pathogen topics. 👉 youtube.com/playlist?lis... It's free, please share! @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social #WheatConnect #WheatPathogens

And that's a wrap for us in 2025! Our group at the @theccdm.bsky.social wishes you all a merry Xmas and happy New Year! 🎄🎅🎆🥳

The paper submission smile @tony_ancy! 😃 Always been a pleasure to guide @theccdm.bsky.social post-graduate students in closing out a project with the submission of their first manuscript draft for peer review! 😍

Our PhD student @tony_ancy 👩‍🎓identified evidence of distinct Australian wheat powdery mildew pathotypes and sources of strong resistance against the disease🌾 A @theccdm.bsky.social x @InterGrain1 collab! 🤝

Our @theccdm.bsky.social preprint on the domain function and interactors of the effector-regulating transcription factor PnPf2 in Parastagonospora nodorum is live! 😁 Led by Shota Morikawa @callumverdonk.bsky.social Collabs 👉 @danielcroll.bsky.social @evan-john.bsky.social

Tomorrow, 3 Dec! Join our Wheat Pathogens Expert Working Group for “The exploitation of Epichloë endophytes for agricultural advantage.” www.wheatinitiative.org/new-events/j... @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social #WheatConnect

Enjoying a midnight @wheatinitiative.bsky.social webinar on a transposon masterclass👩‍🔬 while setting up a slow-cook smoked BBQ🍖 for @theccdm.bsky.social work sundowner tomorrow to wind the week down😎

Save the date: 20 Nov 2025 at 17h. Megan McDonald will present: Jumping Genes and Pathogenic Schemes: the diverse roles that transposons play in pathogen evolution. A must for the pathology community! Info here: www.wheatinitiative.org/new-events/m... @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

How is wheat blast expanding into Uruguay? 🌾 Find out in the latest webinar with Paula Silva INIA UY! “Genomic and Pathogenic Insights into the Range Expansion of Wheat Blast into Uruguay” www.wheatinitiative.org/ewg-pathogens #WheatConnect @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

We are very happt to share the latest recording of the webinar organised by our Expert Working Group on Wheat Pathogens! “Genomic and Pathogenic Insights into the Range Expansion of Wheat Blast into Uruguay” by Paula SILVA #WheatConnect @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

@theccdm.bsky.social Student success! @callumverdonk.bsky.social

🌾 We are very happy to announce that the Pest and Disease Diagnosis and Monitoring Workshop recordings are now online! Catch up on all the sessions here: www.wheatinitiative.org/watcha #WheatConnect #PlantHealth

📅 TOMORRW - 23 Oct: Join Paula Silva (INIA Uruguay) on wheat blast’s genomic spread in Uruguay. Hosted by Pathogens EWG. 🔗 www.wheatinitiative.org/new-events/p... #WheatConnect @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

WHY USE #YEAST AS A TOOL WHEN YOU'VE GOT STAGO?😁 Out now on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social, our collab @theccdm.bsky.social led by @labkatz.bsky.social and Fran Lopez-Ruiz developed Parastagonospora nodorum as a tool to study #fungicideresistance genes. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Our @theccdm.bsky.social @CurtinEand #advancedscience student @CarliaHerbst turn to present her research on protein-protein interactions in Parastagonospora nodorum 😎. @callumverdonk.bsky.social

Our @CurtinEandA @theccdm.bsky.social #advancedscience student 👨‍🎓Keshara Thanthrige (right) presenting his research assessment on the development of selectable marker recycling♻️ in a fungal pathogen. Well done mate! 👏 @ShotaMorikawa69 @callumverdonk.bsky.social

Do we need to reassess how disease resistance ratings on crops are determined? 🤔 Our @theccdm.bsky.social preprint revealed co-infection of wheat by P. nodorum & P. tritici-repentis breaks down resistance BUT there is a CAVEAT www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Upcoming Webinar 23 October - Join online! Paula Silva from INIA Uruguay: Genomic and Pathogenic Insights into the Range Expansion of Wheat Blast in Uruguay. Hosted by our Pathogens Expert Working Group. 🔗 wheatinitiative.org/new-events/p... @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

🚨 Webinar 23 Oct Join in for a talk by Dr Paula Silva (INIA, Uruguay): "Genomic and Pathogenic Insights into the Range Expansion of Wheat Blast into Uruguay." Hosted by our Pathogens EWG 🔗 www.wheatinitiative.org/new-events/p... #WheatConnect @karchuntan.bsky.social @ReemWheat.bsky.social

😍Our @theccdm.bsky.social @InterGrain1 PhD student @tony_ancy will provide an update on her research to dissect Australian wheat powdery mildew this Friday. Please come along if you are in town!!!

Our @theccdm.bsky.social postdoc @callumverdonk.bsky.social came up with the goods @cbsmwa.bsky.social!!! Congrats on the New Investigator Award! 🏆💪 #CBSMWA #CBSMWA2025

Big thank you to @cbsmwa.bsky.social for letting me waffle on about my work on Pf2 and it's role in effector regulation! #effectors #CBSMWA #CBSM @theccdm.bsky.social @karchuntan.bsky.social

📢💥Team work pays off!!! Looks @theccdm.bsky.social lads found a new epistasis-regulated (probable) necrotrophic effector from Stago nodorum @callumverdonk.bsky.social @ShotaMorikawa69

Engaging Biological Science New Investigator session featuring Pelina Toprak, Callum Verdonk, Samalka Wijeweera and Johannes Debler. Hearing about microbes as our mighty chemical engineers from Pelina, to an intriguing story of gene exchange from Johannes. #CBSMWA #CBSMWA2025

Welcome Dr Peter Solomon, our CBSM 2025 plenary speaker! Dr Solomon has generated over 150 research articles making significant progress in understanding the intricacies of plant-microbe interactions and how these impact our economic and food security.

1,2,3...The @theccdm.bsky.social lads teamed up for an effector bioassay experiment 😁 @callumverdonk.bsky.social

Student spotlight🌾 Ancy Tony is a PhD student working on a studentship partnership with #InterGrain to focus on developing genetic resistance in wheat to powdery mildew, caused by the fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis. 🧬🌱 #theGRDC #CurtinUni @karchuntan.bsky.social

This is shaping out to be a very good presentation by Leon on the interplay between tan/yellow leaf spot and septoria nodorum blotch of wheat. @theccdm.bsky.social collab with @DPIRDbroadacre and @agtbreeding @dionbenAGT If you are in town this Friday, please join us at Curtin!

PhD thesis submission time! 📗🔬 🥳🍾Big congrats to @theccdm.bsky.social @ShotaMorikawa69 for putting together a fine thesis on fungal effector regulation! 💪🤯