Carol Kälin

Plant Pathology - BI1044, SLU – Teaching assistant

Mechanisms of Plant Disease Resistance Against Fungal Pathogens, University of Zurich – Teaching assistant 

Practical course in Plant Biology, University of Zurich – Teaching assistant

Aphanomyces root rot is the most devastating disease in green pea production. To reduce yield losses and the use of chemical control, it is essential to understand the host-pathogen interaction and increase resistance to the disease in commercial pea varieties. I am studying the genetic diversity of A. euteiches in European populations, as well as genetic factors associated with enhanced aggressiveness levels on the host plant. Another aspect of my research is the identification of candidate disease resistance genes in pea using controlled infection experiments and transcriptomics.

Ongoing collaboration with Nomad Foods Ltd, Findus Sverige AB (Bjuv, Sweden) as part of SLU Grogrund - Resistance breeding for healthy crops.

2020-Present: PhD student at the department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

2017-2019: MSc in Plant Sciences, University of Zurich

• Master thesis: Molecular analysis of effector gene expression and diversity in wheat powdery mildew

2013-2017: BSc in Biology, University of Zurich

Kälin, C., Piombo E., Bourras S., Kolodinska Brantestam A., Dubey M., Elfstrand M., Karlsson M., Transcriptomic analysis identifies candidate genes for Aphanomyces root rot disease resistance in pea. BMC Plant Biology, (2024), 144 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-04817-y

Kälin C., Kolodinska Brantestam A., Arvidsson A-K., Dubey M., Elfstrand M. and Karlsson M., Evaluation of pea genotype PI180693 partial resistance towards aphanomyces root rot in commercial pea breeding. Frontiers in Plant Science, (2023), 14:1114408, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1114408

Kälin C., Berlin A., Kolodinska Brantestam A., Dubey M., Arvidsson A-K, Riesinger P., Elfstrand M., Karlsson M., Genetic diversity of the pea root pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches in Europe. Plant Pathology, (2022), 71, 1570– 1578, https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.13598

Poretti M., Praz C-R., Meile L., Kälin C., Schaefer L-K., Schläfli M., Widrig V., Sanchez-Vallet A., Wicker T., Bourras S., Domestication of High-Copy Transposons Underlays the Wheat Small RNA Response to an Obligate Pathogen. Molecular Biology and Evolution, (2020), 37, 3, 839–848, https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msz272

Bourras S., Kunz L., Xue M., Praz R-C., Müller M-C., Kälin C., Schläfli M., Ackermann P., Flückiger S., Parlange F., Menardo F., Schaefer L-K., Ben-David R., Roffler S., Oberhaensli S., Widrig V., Lindner S., Isaksson J., Wicker T., Yu D., Keller B., The AvrPm3-Pm3 effector-NLR interactions control both race-specific resistance and host-specificity of cereal mildews on wheat. Nature Communications, (2019), 10, 2292, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10274-1