Contact details +6469517735
Prof Rosie Bradshaw BSc, PhD
Professor in Genetics
School of Natural SciencesProfessor Rosie Bradshaw was appointed as a genetics lecturer in 1991. She is an enthusiastic teacher of cell biology, genetics and molecular plant pathology and has organised and run workshops on DNA technology and fungal genomics. Starting her research career in the UK studying the genetics of fungal Aspergillus spp. and yeasts, she turned her attention to the pine needle pathogen Dothistroma septosporum after moving to New Zealand. As well as elucidating the genetics of an aflatoxin-like toxin (dothistromin) made by this fungus, she published the genome sequence of D. septosporum in a comparative study with that of the model plant pathogen Cladosporium fulvum. Professor Bradshaw is a principal investigator in the BioProtection Research Centre, a National Centre of Research Excellence and a Management Committee member for the Dothistroma European COST Action FP1102. In 2012 she was awarded a Willie Commelin Scholten Foundation Visiting Chair of Phytopathology in The Netherlands.
Professional
Contact details
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Ph: +64 6 356 9099 ext 84735
Location: ScC3-13, Science Tower C
Campus: Manawatu
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science - University of Lancaster (1979)
- Doctor of Philosophy - University of Nottingham (1983)
Research Expertise
Research Interests
Professor Bradshaw's main research focus is the application of molecular and comparative genomics tools to study how fungi interact with plants. Her group is interested in plant pathogens, endophytes, forest pathology, mycotoxins, fungal gene clusters and biocontrol. As part of an initiative by the Dothideomycete Comparative Genomics Consortium and the Joint Genome Institute, she was PI for the project to sequence the genome of the pine needle pathogen Dothistroma septosporum. The Bradshaw laboratory elucidated the genetics of dothistromin toxin biosynthesis and discovered it is a virulence factor in needle blight disease. They also found that dothistromin genes are unusual in being dispersed across one chromosome in a 'fragmented cluster' and gathered evidence that this is a fragmented form of a tighter ancestral aflatoxin-like gene cluster and is subject to chromatin-level regulation of gene expression.
The Bradshaw laboratory's research interests also include Phytophthora species that are pathogens of forest trees. A project looking at the pine needle pathogen Phytophthora pluvialis suggests there were two introductions of this pathogen into New Zealand and a transcriptomics study is unravelling how this pathogen interacts with its host. A major initiative to study the kauri dieback pathogen Phytophthora agathidicida is in progress, using effector biology to help determine the best way to achieve durable resistance of kauri in the forest.
Area of Expertise
Field of research codes
Biological Adaptation (060303):
Biological Sciences (060000):
Evolutionary Biology (060300):
Gene Expression (incl. Microarray and other genome-wide approaches) (060405):
Genetics (060400):
Genome Structure and Regulation (060407):
Genomics (060408):
Host-Parasite Interactions (060307):
Microbiology (060500):
Mycology (060505):
Plant Biology (060700):
Plant Pathology (060704)
Research Projects
Summary of Research Projects
| Position | Current | Completed |
|---|---|---|
| Project Leader | 3 | 36 |
Completed Projects
Project Title: Keeping New Zealand grass green
Date Range: 2012 - 2012
Funding Body: Massey University
Project Team:
- Prof Rosie Bradshaw - Project Leader
Teaching and Supervision
Current Doctoral Supervision
Co-supervisor of:
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Kara Pendavingh
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Doctor of Philosophy
Understanding the role of fungal effector proteins in antagonistic fungus–microbe interactions -
Trevorne Douglas
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Doctor of Philosophy
Molecular basis of plant resistance to Dothideomycete species
Completed Doctoral Supervision
Main Supervisor of:
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2023
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Hannah McCarthy
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Doctor of Philosophy
Identification and characterisation of novel virulence factors from Dothideomycete pathogens -
2023
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Mariana Massoco Tarallo
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Doctor of Philosophy
Identification and characterization of effector proteins from pine needle pathogens -
2019
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Aslinur Yalinkilic
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Doctor of Philosophy
Sensing and Signalling Intercalary Growth in Epichloë festucae -
2018
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Lukas Hunziker
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Doctor of Philosophy
Effector delivery and effector characterisation in Dothistroma needle blight of pines -
2018
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Simren Brar
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Doctor of Philosophy
Genetic diversity and gene expression analysis of Phytophthora pluvialis, a foliar pathogen of conifers - view more...
Co-supervisor of:
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2023
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Mercedes Rocafort Ferrer
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Doctor of Philosophy
Unravelling the molecular basis of subcuticular host-colonization by the apple scab fungus, Venturia inaequalis -
2022
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Ellie Bradley
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Doctor of Philosophy
Identification and functional characterisation of glycoside hydrolases from the kauri dieback pathogen, Phytophthora agathidicida -
2022
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Silvia De La Rosa Montelongo
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Doctor of Philosophy
Identification of novel avirulence effectors in the Dothideomycete plant pathogens, Venturia inaequalis and Cladosporium fulvum -
2019
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Nikolai Kondratev
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Doctor of Philosophy
Identification of mechanisms defining resistance and susceptibility of Camellia plants to necrotrophic petal blight disease -
2018
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Maxim Prokchorchik
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Doctor of Philosophy
Molecular analysis of plant innate immunity triggered by secreted effectors from bacterial and fungal pathogens of apple - view more...