Malwina Pluta (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, CAU)
Malwina Pluta's Master thesis was awarded with the Prize for the Best Plant Science Master Thesis, which was carried out at Kiel University in the year 2023 with the title:
Quantification of secondary metabolites in susceptible and resistant quinoa lines against downy mildew (Peronospora variabilis) and development of molecular markers
This study formed part of the first attempt to develop molecular markers and to identify metabolic biomarkers that could be used for downy mildew resistance screening in quinoa.
Downy mildew caused by oomycete Peronospora variabilis is the most devastating of diseases in quinoa that significantly reduces the yield of this crop in favourable climatic conditions. In this study, I developed four PCR-based markers for previously identified QTL ms5.1 associated with downy mildew resistance [1]. Moreover, I identified a cluster of putative resistance genes in proximity with informative markers in the reference genome of quinoa.
For the second experiment, I extracted the metabolites from resistant and susceptible quinoa plants following the SIMPLEX procedure. Further, I quantified the metabolites using a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) system and identified them using the constructed metabolic database. The accumulation trend of several metabolites suggested candidates that likely contribute to increased downy mildew resistance; of them, many belonged to the class of phenolics and lipids.
The results from both experiments, pending verification in follow-up experiments, directly impact the advancement of quinoa breeding.
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[1] Maldonado-Taipe, N., Barbier, F., Schmid, K., Jung, C., & Emrani, N. (2022). High-Density Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci Controlling Agronomically Important Traits in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). Frontiers in Plant Science, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.916067
The thesis is available upon request from Central Library of Kiel University under: https://www.ub.uni-kiel.de/en/ordering-borrowing
Malwina Pluta conducted this work at the Institute of Agronomy and Plant Breeding (head: Prof. Dr. Christian Jung) in Dr. Nazgol Emrani's working group.