During her PhD studies, Živilė Buivydaitė researched mycoviruses (fungal viruses) that infect plant pathogenic fungi from the genus Fusarium. Mycoviruses are intracellular parasites, and some of them are capable of greatly affecting their hosts. Živilė Buivydaitė studied mycovirus diversity in wheat fields affected by Fusarium pathogens, and investigated how the mycovirus affect the growth and virulence of Fusarium culmorum.

 These new findings advance the understanding of mycovirus-host interactions and suggest potential applications as biological control agents against Fusarium head blight.

The PhD study was completed at Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Friday, 17 January 2025 at 10.00
Place: Building 7413, room 146 - the old library/Ozonhullet, Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Risø Campus: Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Title of PhD thesis: Mycoviruses as biocontrol of plant pathogens. 
Contact information: Živilė Buivydaitė, e-mail: zivile@envs.au.dk, tel.: +45 50253693
Members of the assessment committee:
Principal Scientist Eeva Vainio, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Finland
Associate Professor Henrik Hjarvard de Fine Licht, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark 
Professor Katarina Elofsson, Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Denmark (chair)
Main supervisor:
Associate professor Rumakanta Sapkota, Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
Co-supervisor:
Professor Anne Winding, Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Technical Sciences/GSTS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C.