Zsuzsanna Revesz

Zsuzsanna’s research interests centre around the developmental effect and molecular mechanisms of plant-microbe and plant-insect interactions.

Tight regulation of gene expression is required for correct development as well as maintaining plant health. Transcription factors are proteins that regulate the expression of genes, often responsible for ensuring that the genes in question get expressed at the correct time in the correct place.

Phytoplasmas are bacterial plant pathogens that secrete effector proteins which alter the physiology of the plant. These effectors change the gene expression of the plant to the phytoplasma’s benefit. Some have been shown to act through transcription factors and cause a marked effect such as growing leaf-like structures instead of flowers.

Zsuzsanna studies how phytoplasma effectors hijack the gene regulation machinery of their host plants.

In the past, she has worked on multiple projects investigating genetic and structural responses to external cues:

• 3D modelling Medicago truncatula nodulation to study the effect of the LIGHT-SENSITIVE SHORT HYPOCOTYL (LSH) transcription factor family on cell geometry (Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University)

• Investigating force generation induced by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) promoting signals in Drosophila melanogaster larvae (University of St Andrews)

• Building a predictive model for pest and disease detection by hyperspectral imaging in Raspberry and Blueberry (James Hutton Institute)

• Training and deploying computer vision algorithms to investigate the mechanochemical feedback loop between developmental signal proteins and myosin II chains in chick embryos (University of Dundee)