I, Nimllash Thangam, am currently pursuing my PhD at the Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM), Curtin University, specialising in plant-pathogen interaction in the lentil pathosystem. I earned my MSc. in plant sciences at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada, specializing in pulse crop diseases. I also did my dual degree for my bachelor's BSc (Agriculture) from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and BTech (Landscape Horticulture) at Dalhousie, Faculty of Agriculture, Nova Scotia, Canada. After completion of my MSc., I was working as a research assistant under the supervision of Dr. Sabine Banniza at the Crop Development Centre, U of S, Canada, where I explored the root rot complex of different pulse crops such as lentils, peas and chickpeas, understanding the pathogen identification, pathogen-host interaction and disease resistance breeding. I also have experience with different foliar diseases of pulse crops such as Ascochyta blight, Anthracnose, etc. At CCDM, I am currently exploring the plant-pathogen interaction between lentils and Ascochyta lentis, which would aid in developing effective crop disease management.
PhD Project Title: The genetic battlefield: understanding lentil's defence against Ascochyta lentis
Summary: My study aims to identify quantitative trait loci QTL(s) for a novel resistance source against Ascochyta blight in a bi-parental lentil population. On the pathogen side, an A. lentis pangenome will be generated using domestic and international isolates to understand the pathogen population in Australia and worldwide. This will help identify why the pathogens can overcome resistance. Using this resource, I aim to identify and characterise potential new candidate effector proteins in A. lentis isolates. Understanding the A. lentis pathogen will broaden our knowledge of host-pathogen interaction and, thus, will help lentil breeding programs to manage Ascochyta blight in lentils successfully.
Supervisors: Lars Kamphuis, Bernadette Henares, Robert Lee and Karam Singh