Plant breeding for disease resistance in the age of effectors

Abstract

BiographyRichard Peter Oliver born in the United Kingdom in1958. Prof. of Physiological and Molecular PlantPathology, Murdoch U., Australia, and Director of theAustralian Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens(ACNFP). BSc (1979) and PhD (1982) in Biochemistryfrom the U. of Bristol, UK, with a thesis focussing on theenzyme protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase. EMBO fel-low at the Carlsberg Laboratory (Denmark) with Prof.Diter von Wettstein researching the molecular biology ofthe barley plastid genome 1982–84. Lectureship at the U.of East Anglia was his first introduction to plantpathology and he concentrated on developing moleculartools for fungal pathogens (especially Cladosporiumfulvum) andresearchingdiseaseresistanceinArabidopsistofungalpathogens,suchaspowderymildew(1984 –96).Returned to the Carlsberg Laboratory as Prof. and HeadofthePhysiologyDept.andcontinuedresearchonC.fulvum as well as developing genomic tools for barleypowdery mildew (1996–2000). A short stay at Zeneca(UK) was followed by a move to Australia (2000) tostart the ACNFP with the goal of understanding foliarnecrotrophic pathogens, especially Stagonosporanodorum. Since 2000 the centre has developed fullscale omics tools for S. nodorum including thegenome sequence, transcriptomics, proteomics andmetabolomics. Publications: 120 refereed papers,180 other papers, edited two books. Founding senioreditor of Molecular Plant Pathology,senioreditorofMolecular Plant-Microbe Interactions.Numerouseditorial board and ad-hoc editing roles. CurrentResearch: Pathogenic mechanisms of Pleosporaleanfungi, disease resistance in Medicago truncatula,genetics mapping in legumes.