Anika Damm

Plant Sciences

Anika is a PhD student in the plant-parasite interactions group at the Crop Science Centre / Department of Plant Sciences. She has worked with plant-parasitic nematodes since her BSc in Agricultural Science at the University of Bonn, followed by an MSc in Crop Sciences at the University of Hohenheim.

In her PhD thesis, Anika investigates the biology underlying plant-nematode interactions, addressing the principal question of: “How do nematodes tailor their virulence gene expression to successfully infect plants?”. This work has identified the first master regulators of pathogen-produced virulence factors in any plant-parasitic nematode, knockdown of which can reduce plant invasion by 80%. The United Nations estimate that >600 million people are undernourished, with crop losses to pests and disease being a major contributing factor. In her PhD, Anika characterised the first signalling cascade, from host-derived signals to pathogen-produced virulence factors, in any plant-parasitic nematode – showing that infection is paradoxically driven by a virtuous cycle. Given that plant-parasitic nematodes cost agriculture >$100 billion every year, her finding that disrupting this signalling cascade reduces plant invasion by 80% could have substantial impact on food security. All pathogens use virulence factors, and disrupting similar signalling cascades could, in principle, be applied to any pathogen.