Kostya Kanyuka
Head of the Pathogenomics & Disease Resistance group
Research group: Pathogenomics and disease resistance
Biography
Kostya joined NIAB in 2021 from Rothamsted Research where he has led a variety of projects focused on resistance to viral and fungal diseases in barley and wheat that resulted in several principal scientific discoveries and practical solutions. Prior to that, following a PhD in plant virology, he did his postdoctoral study at the Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich which resulted in the isolation of potato genes Rx and Gpa2 for resistance to viruses and nematodes and equipped Kostya with an-depth knowledge of plant gene silencing. With this background, Kostya extensively utilises both existing and newly developed plant virus-based expression tools, VIGS and VOX, for rapid gene function analysis in plants and associated pathogens.
Publications
Publication
Comparative analysis of the avirulence effectors poduced by the fungal stem rust pathogen of wheat
Date: 27 May 2024
Contributors: Lubega J, Figueroa M, Dodds PN, Kanyuka K
Journal: Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
Publication
Focus on the effectors at the interface of plant-microbe Interactions
Date: 4 April 2024
Contributors: Figueroa M, Coaker G, Kanyuka K
Journal: Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
Publication
An array of Zymoseptoria tritici effectors suppress plant immune responses
Date: 13 March 2024
Contributors: Thynne E, Ali H, Seong K, Abukhalaf M, Guerreiro MA, Flores-Nunez VM, Hansen R, Salman M, Rudd JJ, Kanyuka K, Krasileva KV, Kettles GJ, Stukenbrock EH
Journal: BioRxiv
Publication
Fungal plant pathogen "mutagenomics" reveals tagged and untagged mutations in Zymoseptoria tritici and identifies SSK2 as key morphogenesis and stress-responsive virulence factor
Date: 3 May 2023
Contributors: Blyth HR, Smith D, King R, Bayon C, Ashfield T, Walpole H, Venter E, Ray RV, Kanyuka K, Rudd JJ
Journal: Frontiers in Pant Science
Publication
Combined pangenomics and transcriptomics reveals core and redundant virulence processes in a rapidly evolving fungal plant pathogen
Date: 6 February 2023
Contributors: Chen H, King R, Smith D, Bayon C, Ashfield T, Torriani S, Kanyuka K, Hammond-Kosack K, Bieri S, Rudd J
Journal: BMC Biology
Publication
A large bioassay identifies Stb resistance genes that provide broad resistance against Septoria tritici blotch disease in the UK
Date: 3 January 2023
Contributors: Tidd H, Rudd JJ, Ray RV, Bryant R, Kanyuka K
Journal: Frontiers in Pant Science
