SLU news

New post doc will study microbial plant protection products

Published: 21 June 2017

Johanna Nykyri recently started to work as a post doc at the Department of Molecular Sciences and at the Centre for Biological Control, CBC. We took the opportunity to ask her some questions and learned that she loves both plant protection and welsh terriers.

Johanna previously worked as a senior specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland handling mainly questions related to food chain, plant diseases, plant production and markets. She did her PhD on virulence factors of potato pathogenic Enterobacteriace, utilising mainly genomics and transcriptomics, at the University of Helsinki in Finland.

In June 2017, Johanna started her work as a post doc at SLU in the domestication of microorganisms group located at the Department of Molecular Sciences and in collaboration with the Centre for Biological Control, CBC. The project is called “Development of calorimetry based methodology and utilisation of it to study stress responses of microbial biocontrol agents”.

What will you do in this project more specifically?

– I will develop a new method to study potential or established biocontrol microbes for microbial plant protection products. This method (calorimetry) is actually a relatively old method but it has been found again in the 2010’s and new applications appears continuously. We also plan to utilise this method to study further stress responses of microbes, says Johanna.

So, what do you hope to achieve during your post doc?

– I wish to develop a new method that could be utilised in the study of potential microbial biocontrol agents, or in different kind of formulation and stability studies to create new microbial products or enhance current once. I would also like to get new information about the stress related factors that could benefit utilisation microbes in plant protection products or plant growth enhancing products.

How did you come to work in this research area?

– Microbial plant protection products as well as other biological control agents in agriculture and horticulture are getting more and more important. Many plant protection products are not available anymore due to environmental, safety or economic reasons and it is highly important to develop effective and safe alternatives. In addition, rules for integrated pest management (IPM) are guiding producers to apply also biological plant protection methods on the side of plant protection products and other production methods. One of the key bottle necks in the development of biological control is formulation and application of organisms. This project is in the heart of this question and the research group has a long background in the topic.

What are you up to when you are not working?

– I have two dogs (welsh terriers) with whom I train and compete in dog agility and participate to dog shows. I am a member of the board of the Welsh Terrier Club of Finland and a member at the Uppsala brukshundklubb. In addition to science and dogs, I like all kind of stuff related to nature, travelling, good food, wine, friends and family.