Mrs Rene Sutherland

PhD Student

Research Interests

In South Africa, Cavendish bananas are severely affected by cold winter temperatures. This results in a substantial increase in Fusarium wilt, caused by the soil‑borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) 'sub‑tropical' race 4. Foc 'subtropical' race 4 is not generally known to attack Cavendish bananas in the tropics. For my PhD project I will compare Foc 'tropical' with 'subtropical' race 4 isolates, and investigate quantatative expression of defense‑related genes in Cavendish bananas when challenged with both race 4 isolates under different temperature regimes.

Conference outputs

 

Oral presentations:

Sutherland, R., Escalant, J.V., Kunert, K. and Viljoen, A. 2005. Establishment of a transformation facility for engineering banana for disease and pest resistance in South Africa. 43th Congress of the South African Plant Pathology Society, Hartenbos, South Africa. Joint congress of the Southern African Plant Pathology Society, African Mycological Association, and inaugural symposium of the African society for Medical Mycology, Hartenbos, South Africa, 23-26 January 2005.

Poster presentations:

Sutherland, R., Escalant, J.V., Kunert, K., Van den Berg, N., Kiggundu, A. and Viljoen, A. 2004. Establishment of a banana transformation facility in South Africa for engineering Fusarium wilt and banana weevil resistance. The International Congress on Banana: Harnessing Research to Improve Livelihoods, Penang, Malaysia, 6-9 July 2004.

Sutherland, R., Escalant, J.V., Kunert, K. and Viljoen, A. 2005. Applications of cell and tissue culture in banana (Musa spp.). 43th Congress of the South African Plant Pathology Society, Hartenbos, South Africa. Joint congress of the Southern African Plant Pathology Society, African Mycological Association, and inaugural symposium of the African society for Medical Mycology, Hartenbos, South Africa, 23-26 January 2005.