Asst. Professor Benjamin Schwessinger - 'Pest monitoring in the ANBG'

Benjamin, from the ANU Research School of Biology, will describe how they catch fungal spores from the air for plant pathogen diagnostics, and their outreach to the public and schools highlighting biodiversity.

Fungi including serious plant pathogens surround us. Benjamin will discuss recent technological advances that enable the smart capture of fungal spores from air samples with unprecedented precision. Combined with downstream DNA analysis, this allows scientists to capture the fungi in our air in a spatial-temporal manner. He will focus on the deployment of one of these air samplers in the ANBG in 2023, where his team detected plant pathogens including the silent killer myrtle rust that threatens the Australian ecosystem. He will also highlight a recently DCCEEW funded sentinel program for nine Australian botanical gardens including the ANBG, using the air sampler. This new project will deliver further critical data on plant pathogens and enable outreach opportunities for the public and schools highlighting the importance of biodiversity.

Biography

Benjamin is from the ANU Research School of Biology where he is the Associate Director of Research. He obtained his PhD from the University of East Anglia investigating plant immune signalling in model plants and crops including rice. Benjamin came to Australia in 2015 to study the genome biology and evolution of plant pathogenic rust fungi at the Australian National University, Canberra. His team focuses on genome evolution and host adaptation of rust fungi in addition to other aspects of plant and fungal biology. In addition, Benjamin fills the role Deputy Director Research of the Australian Research Council Plant Biosecurity Training Centre. He was also the 2022 ACT Emerging Scientist of the Year.

Bookings open 7 February. 

Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXZXG