Biography

I am a plant virologist working on plant viruses and viroids. My work focuses on the detection, management and control of plant viruses and viroids, including interactions between plants, viruses and their vectors.

I work with the development and maintenance of virus- and viroid-free plant material using tissue culture and virus elimination methods. This work covers several plant species, including potato, fruit and berry crops, Allium species and other vegetatively propagated plants.  I also work with cryopreservation of healthy plant material and plant genetic resources for long-term storage.

I am responsible for the National Clonal Bank for Potato and work with the conservation of potato genetic resources.

In addition, I have experience in the study of mycoviruses and their potential use in biological control of plant pathogens, and I use high-throughput sequencing (HTS) for virus and viroid detection and characterization.

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Abstract

Rapid population growth poses a major challenge to global food security. Promoting sustainable agricultural production is necessary to ensure the global food security. Horticultural plants are a high-valued part in agricultural production. Virus and viroid diseases have long been a key factor limiting the horticultural production. Cultivation and distribution of pathogen-free plants is currently the most efficient practice for managing virus and viroid diseases, and their spread in the landscape. Cryotherapy-based methods are recently developed novel biotechnologies for the efficient production of pathogen-free plants. This review outlines updated information on the development and advances in cryotherapy-based methods for efficiently eradicating viruses and viroids in horticultural plants. Mechanisms underlining cryotherapy-based methods for improved pathogen eradication are discussed, and suggestions for further studies are proposed.