Bringing woody weeds into the lab: fast bioassays for herbicide discovery and biocontrol compatibility
Title: Bringing woody weeds into the lab: fast bioassays for herbicide discovery and biocontrol compatibility
Speaker: Dr Bruna D Batista, UQ/CSIRO
Abstract: Early-stage herbicide discovery is constrained in part by a mismatch between the plants we can screen quickly and the weeds we actually need to control. Fast multiwell assays are built around small model species, while large-seedling weeds, including woody invasives, are too large for those formats and too slow for glasshouse or field trials to inform early discovery. In this talk I will describe a whole-plant in vitro bioassay platform I developed to close this gap, using Cryptostegia grandiflora (rubber vine), a Weed of National Significance in Australia, as a case study. Benchmarked against a controlled glasshouse assay across three modes of action, the platform resolves mode-of-actionspecific
responses in weeks rather than months or years, using microgram-scale quantities of active ingredient. I will then turn to a complementary assay for testing the compatibility of foliar herbicide formulations with the established rust biocontrol of rubber vine, which revealed adjuvant-driven
antagonism that is often overlooked in compatibility work.
About School research seminars
Seminars cover all aspects of chemistry and molecular biosciences and are delivered by visiting national and international academics. PhD completion seminars are also incorporated into the program.
Seminars are usually held in person and occasionally via zoom. All are welcome to attend.
Contacts
- Chemistry: A/Prof Rowan Young, Dr David Cantillo
- Molecular Biosciences: Dr Rhys Parry, Dr Chris McMillan