Lab Conference 20 January 2009

Lab 1.52 MPG Winter Conference

Tuesday January 20 2009 4S Pavilion 13.40-ca. 17.30h

NB allocated time is to include discussions BUT groups with common intros should not have them repeated by each member

Welcome and Introduction RMC

CHAIR PART 1 AEW

13.45 PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS (35)

Richard Cooper. How bacteria are recognized by hosts and what they do about it. 15
Hefni Rusli Part I. Diseases of oil palm in Malaysia: why Fusarium? 10
Yan Chen. Novel chitinase inhibitors; what do they do to fungal pathogens? 10

14.15 GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF CASSAVA (40)

· John Beeching. Cassava: room for improvement? 10
· Kimberly Jones. Is cassava post-harvest physiological deterioration a reactive oxygen- mediated programmed cell death? 15
· Adedapo Gbadegesin. Isolation and characterisation of root-specific promoters for stacking desirable traits in cassava 15

14.55 SPERMS’R’US
·
· Steve Dorus: Evolutionary genetics of male reproduction 15
· Rosie Parker: Comparative sperm proteomics: Are all sperm alike? 15
· Elaine Wilkin: Retrotransposition and the origin of novel sperm components 15

15.40 ……………………………BREAK……………………………………………………

CHAIR PART 2 RMC

16.00 RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF FUNGI (45)

Alan Wheals. Rapid identification of fungal genera, species and strains. 12
Hefni Rusli Part II. Species and strain specific identification in Fusarium associated with oil palm

Christophe Lambing. Genus specific PCR primers for Zygosaccharomyces and Zygotorulaspora

Alastair Muir. PCR identification of pathogenic fungal spp. using electrochemistry 15

16.45 INSECT INVESTIGATIONS (45)

· Keith Charnley. An aphid killing fungus: two approaches to host invasion 15
Vicky Laing. Behavioural fever in locusts 15
Glenda Orledge. The Australasian Cis bilamellatus in Northern Europe 15

**Load your talks onto the Departmental Laptop, which I’ll have available in the writing up room during the morning**

Meet after at Parade Bar for those that can make it.