Dr Diana Vinchira-Villarraga PhD

PhD in Biotechnology, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2021

MsC in Microbiology, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2014

Diana was awarded her MSc in Microbiology from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 2014. Then she started working as an associate researcher at the Biotechnology Institute of this University, investigating the use of plant-beneficial microorganisms to support plant growth (particularly rice). She continued her academic formation at this institute, pursuing a PhD in biotechnology to assess the interactions between antimicrobial-producing bacteria, the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum, and tomato plants. During her PhD, she gained expertise in the use of metabolomics to evaluate plant-bacterial interactions at the Institute of Biology Leiden (Leiden University).

Upon earning her PhD, Diana joined the group of Professor Robert W Jackson at the University of Birmingham to investigate how trees respond to bacterial diseases, with a focus on plant metabolism and the production of antimicrobial compounds. She currently collaborates in multidisciplinary projects to study plant responses to biotic and abiotic stressors in association with other institutions.

Studying bacterial-plant interactions, including pathogenicity and host resistance, especially in the field of tree pathology; Untargeted Metabolomics; plant-derived antibacterial metabolites.

If you are interested in potential postgraduate opportunities in the lab, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Understanding tree responses towards bacterial pathogens.

Metabolites play a crucial role in the final steps that shape an organism's phenotype. Untargeted metabolomics is defined as the study of the entire set of low-molecular-weight primary or secondary (specialised) metabolites. In plants, untargeted metabolomics based on mass spectrometry is particularly useful as it allows the determination of early responses to biotic or abiotic stress conditions, offering the opportunity to identify biological markers (metabolites) that can be used as diagnostic tools or to support plant breeding programs by facilitating the selection of tolerant cultivars.

In this project, we aimed to use untargeted metabolomics to study the responses of different organisms to biotic and abiotic stress factors. Our first area of research focuses on the study of tree metabolic responses to bacterial pathogens, particularly those that affect woody tissues, using two approaches: studying disease development under controlled conditions (artificial infection in glasshouses) and in field conditions (naturally infected trees). The pathosystems of interest for this research are acute oak decline (AOD), bacterial canker of cherry and ash, and bleeding canker of horse chestnut.

REWARD, Remote Early Warning and Advanced Response for Diseases

Remote sensing (RS) technologies have become a pivotal tool in studying plants' resilience to biotic and abiotic stressors. By combining RS and untargeted metabolomics, it is possible to detect pathogens and stress indicators in forests early, before symptoms become visible.

This project is a collaboration between our research group, Forest Research, and Swansea University to establish the groundwork for a Monitoring System for the early detection of forest pathogens in the UK. The research aims to identify physiological changes in trees, driven exclusively by pathogens, using RS and untargeted metabolomics under controlled conditions in polytunnel experiments.

Dog lichens and their associated microbiota as indicators of climate warming

Peltigera lichens ('dog lichens') are prominent and important components of terricolous vegetation in arctic and sub-arctic biotopes. They are symbiotic associations of fungi, algae and a host of associated microorganisms that thrive within the lichen thallus and contribute to its health and functionality. The ongoing climate warming raises concerns about the fate of these organisms and their role in sub-arctic ecology.

This project was a collaboration between our research group and researchers from the University of Akureyri and the Royal Botanical Garden (Edinburgh). During this project, we compared the microbiomes and metabolomic profiles of lichens from similar biotopes in heathlands and other habitat types in Iceland, Scotland, and England to find out whether climate warming is affecting dog lichens.