Pavol Vadovič: Plant Physiology First Author

Pavol Vadovič, co-first author of “Knockout of MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE 3 causes barley root resistance against Fusarium graminearu“

Current Position: Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic.

Education: Ph.D. (in Microbiology), M.Sc and B.Sc (in Chemistry)

Non-scientific Interests: Hiking, cycling, reading, music, and movies.

Brief bio: Mechanisms responsible for better plant sustainability in agricultural systems under environmental challenges are of high interest. I did my Ph.D. thesis on structural and functional studies of lipopolysaccharides in gram-negative bacteria Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia typhi and Piscirickettsia salmonis. In 2013, I started my work as a junior researcher in the laboratory of Professor Jozef Šamaj, Department of Biotechnology. We aimed to study molecular mechanisms underlying mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways associated with crop plant’s resistance during their response to diverse abiotic and biotic stresses, including bacteria and fungi such as Fusarium. Except MAPKs, I also performed detailed microscopic, biochemical and proteomic observations on PHOSPHOLIPASE D alpha 1 (AtPLDα1), an enzyme regulating signaling events during Arabidopsis response to abiotic stress. Currently, I am studying mechanisms modulating plant cytoskeleton and hormones by beneficial microbes and the role of PLDα1 in alfalfa under abiotic stress conditions.