Dr Ralf Dietzgen
Dr

Ralf Dietzgen

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 66503

Background

Plant viruses and horticultural crop improvement

Dr Dietzgen is internationally recognised for his work on plant virus characterisation, detection and engineered resistance. Before joining UQ, Dr Dietzgen was a Science Leader in Agri-Science in the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. He previously held research positions at the University of Adelaide, University of California, Cornell University and University of Kentucky. Dr Dietzgen’s research interests are in molecular virus-plant-insect interactions, virus biodiversity and evolution, and disease resistance mechanisms. His focus is on the biology of RNA viruses in the family Rhabdoviridae and the molecular protein interactions of plant-adapted rhabdoviruses and tospoviruses. He has published extensively on plant virus characterisation and genetic variability, RNAi- mediated virus resistance and diagnostic technologies with 20 review articles and book chapters and over 65 peer-reviewed publications.

Availability

Dr Ralf Dietzgen is:
Not available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences Bioinformatics and computational biology Biological Sciences Crop and pasture production Gene expression (incl. microarray and other genome-wide approaches) Genetics Horticultural crop protection (incl. pests, diseases and weeds) Horticultural production Microbiology Molecular evolution Phylogeny and comparative analysis Proteomics and intermolecular interactions (excl. medical proteomics) Virology

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Eberhard-Karls- Universitat, Tubingen

Research interests

  • Pest and disease management and control

    Study of molecular plant-virus-insect interactions to identify novel targets for plant disease & pest control. Main focus on negative strand RNA virus (rhabdovirus, tospovirus) characterization, biodiversity, taxonomy and interactions with their hosts and insect vectors. Host-delivered RNA silencing for disease resistance against pests and diseases. Application of next generation sequencing technologies for virus characterization and diagnostics.

Search Professor Ralf Dietzgen’s works on UQ eSpace

229 works between 1982 and 2024
All (229) Journal Article (178) Book Chapter (9) Conference Publication (40) Other Outputs (2)

21 - 40 of 229 works

2022

Journal Article

Perspectives on plant virus diseases in a climate change scenario of elevated temperatures

Tsai, Wei-An, Brosnan, Christopher A., Mitter, Neena and Dietzgen, Ralf G. (2022). Perspectives on plant virus diseases in a climate change scenario of elevated temperatures. Stress Biology, 2 (1) 37, 1-26. doi: 10.1007/s44154-022-00058-x

Perspectives on plant virus diseases in a climate change scenario of elevated temperatures

2022

Journal Article

Tospoviruses induce small interfering RNAs targeting viral sequences and endogenous transcripts in solanaceous plants

Fletcher, Stephen J., Peters, Jonathan R., Olaya, Cristian, Persley, Denis M., Dietzgen, Ralf G., Carroll, Bernard J., Pappu, Hanu and Mitter, Neena (2022). Tospoviruses induce small interfering RNAs targeting viral sequences and endogenous transcripts in solanaceous plants. Pathogens, 11 (7) 745, 745. doi: 10.3390/pathogens11070745

Tospoviruses induce small interfering RNAs targeting viral sequences and endogenous transcripts in solanaceous plants

2022

Journal Article

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Rhabdoviridae 2022

Walker, Peter J., Freitas-Astua, Juliana, Bejerman, Nicolas, Blasdell, Kim R., Breyta, Rachel, Dietzgen, Ralf G., Fooks, Anthony R., Kondo, Hideki, Kurath, Gael, Kuzmin, Ivan V., Ramos-Gonzalez, Pedro Luis, Shi, Mang, Stone, David M., Tesh, Robert B., Tordo, Noel, Vasilakis, Nikos and Whitfield, Anna E. (2022). ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Rhabdoviridae 2022. Journal of General Virology, 103 (6) 001689, 1-2. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001689

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Rhabdoviridae 2022

2022

Journal Article

Development of a polymerase spiral reaction-based isothermal assay for rapid identification of Thrips palmi

Jangra, Sumit, Ghosh, Amalendu, Mukherjee, Sunil, Baranwal, Virendra Kumar and Dietzgen, Ralf G. (2022). Development of a polymerase spiral reaction-based isothermal assay for rapid identification of Thrips palmi. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, 9 853339. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.853339

Development of a polymerase spiral reaction-based isothermal assay for rapid identification of Thrips palmi

2022

Journal Article

Temporal expression of defence and susceptibility genes and tospovirus accumulation in capsicum chlorosis virus-infected capsicum

Borges Naito, Fernanda Yuri, Widana Gamage, Shirani Manel Kumari, Mitter, Neena and Dietzgen, Ralf Georg (2022). Temporal expression of defence and susceptibility genes and tospovirus accumulation in capsicum chlorosis virus-infected capsicum. Archives of Virology, 167 (4), 1061-1074. doi: 10.1007/s00705-022-05401-1

Temporal expression of defence and susceptibility genes and tospovirus accumulation in capsicum chlorosis virus-infected capsicum

2022

Journal Article

Characterization of maize miRNAs responsive to maize Iranian mosaic virus infection

Ghorbani, Abozar, Izadpanah, Keramatollah, Tahmasebi, Ahmad, Afsharifar, Alireza, Moghadam, Ali and Dietzgen, Ralf G. (2022). Characterization of maize miRNAs responsive to maize Iranian mosaic virus infection. 3 Biotech, 12 (3) 69, 69. doi: 10.1007/s13205-022-03134-1

Characterization of maize miRNAs responsive to maize Iranian mosaic virus infection

2022

Journal Article

Viruses infecting greenhood orchids (Pterostylidinae) in Eastern Australia

Chao, Hsu-Yao, Clements, Mark A., Mackenzie, Anne M., Dietzgen, Ralf G., Thomas, John E. and Geering, Andrew D. W. (2022). Viruses infecting greenhood orchids (Pterostylidinae) in Eastern Australia. Viruses, 14 (2) 365, 365. doi: 10.3390/v14020365

Viruses infecting greenhood orchids (Pterostylidinae) in Eastern Australia

2022

Journal Article

Effects of elevated temperature on the susceptibility of capsicum plants to capsicum chlorosis virus infection

Tsai, Wei-An, Shafiei-Peters, Jonathan R., Mitter, Neena and Dietzgen, Ralf G. (2022). Effects of elevated temperature on the susceptibility of capsicum plants to capsicum chlorosis virus infection. Pathogens, 11 (2) 200, 1-19. doi: 10.3390/pathogens11020200

Effects of elevated temperature on the susceptibility of capsicum plants to capsicum chlorosis virus infection

2021

Journal Article

Correction to: 2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales

Kuhn, Jens H., Adkins, Scott, Agwanda, Bernard R., Al Kubrusli, Rim, Alkhovsky, Sergey V., Amarasinghe, Gaya K., Avšič-Županc, Tatjana, Ayllón, María A., Bahl, Justin, Balkema-Buschmann, Anne, Ballinger, Matthew J., Basler, Christopher F., Bavari, Sina, Beer, Martin, Bejerman, Nicolas, Bennett, Andrew J., Bente, Dennis A., Bergeron, Éric, Bird, Brian H., Blair, Carol D., Blasdell, Kim R., Blystad, Dag-Ragnar, Bojko, Jamie, Borth, Wayne B., Bradfute, Steven, Breyta, Rachel, Briese, Thomas, Brown, Paul A., Brown, Judith K. ... Zhou, Xueping (2021). Correction to: 2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales. Archives of Virology, 166 (12), 3567-3579. doi: 10.1007/s00705-021-05266-w

Correction to: 2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales

2021

Journal Article

Frontiers approaches to the diagnosis of thrips (thysanoptera): how effective are the molecular and electronic detection platforms?

Ghosh, Amalendu, Jangra, Sumit, Dietzgen, Ralf G. and Yeh, Wen-Bin (2021). Frontiers approaches to the diagnosis of thrips (thysanoptera): how effective are the molecular and electronic detection platforms?. Insects, 12 (10) 920, 920. doi: 10.3390/insects12100920

Frontiers approaches to the diagnosis of thrips (thysanoptera): how effective are the molecular and electronic detection platforms?

2021

Journal Article

2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales

Kuhn, Jens H., Adkins, Scott, Agwanda, Bernard R., Al Kubrusli, Rim, Alkhovsky, Sergey V., Amarasinghe, Gaya K., Avšič-Županc, Tatjana, Ayllón, María A., Bahl, Justin, Balkema-Buschmann, Anne, Ballinger, Matthew J., Basler, Christopher F., Bavari, Sina, Beer, Martin, Bejerman, Nicolas, Bennett, Andrew J., Bente, Dennis A., Bergeron, Éric, Bird, Brian H., Blair, Carol D., Blasdell, Kim R., Blystad, Dag-Ragnar, Bojko, Jamie, Borth, Wayne B., Bradfute, Steven, Breyta, Rachel, Briese, Thomas, Brown, Paul A., Brown, Judith K. ... Zhou, Xueping (2021). 2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales. Archives of Virology, 166 (12), 3513-3566. doi: 10.1007/s00705-021-05143-6

2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales

2021

Journal Article

Illuminating the plant rhabdovirus landscape through metatranscriptomics data

Bejerman, Nicolás, Dietzgen, Ralf G. and Debat, Humberto (2021). Illuminating the plant rhabdovirus landscape through metatranscriptomics data. Viruses, 13 (7) 1304, 1-25. doi: 10.3390/v13071304

Illuminating the plant rhabdovirus landscape through metatranscriptomics data

2021

Journal Article

Joá yellow blotch-associated virus, a new alphanucleorhabdovirus from a wild solanaceous plant in Brazil

Dietzgen, Ralf G., Bejerman, Nicolas E., Mei, Yongyu, Jee, Charmaine Lim Jing, Chabi-Jesus, Camila, Freitas-Astúa, Juliana, Veras, Solange M. and Kitajima, Elliot W. (2021). Joá yellow blotch-associated virus, a new alphanucleorhabdovirus from a wild solanaceous plant in Brazil. Archives of Virology, 166 (6), 1615-1622. doi: 10.1007/s00705-021-05040-y

Joá yellow blotch-associated virus, a new alphanucleorhabdovirus from a wild solanaceous plant in Brazil

2021

Journal Article

Progression of watermelon bud necrosis virus infection in its vector, Thrips palmi

Ghosh, Amalendu, Priti, Mandal, Bikash and Dietzgen, Ralf G. (2021). Progression of watermelon bud necrosis virus infection in its vector, Thrips palmi. Cells, 10 (2) 392, 1-18. doi: 10.3390/cells10020392

Progression of watermelon bud necrosis virus infection in its vector, Thrips palmi

2021

Journal Article

Natural defect of a plant Rhabdovirus glycoprotein gene: a case study of virus–plant coevolution

Zhang, Song, Huang, Aijun, Zhou, Xin, Li, Zhenghe, Dietzgen, Ralf G., Zhou, Changyong and Cao, Mengji (2021). Natural defect of a plant Rhabdovirus glycoprotein gene: a case study of virus–plant coevolution. Phytopathology, 111 (1), 227-236. doi: 10.1094/phyto-05-20-0191-fi

Natural defect of a plant Rhabdovirus glycoprotein gene: a case study of virus–plant coevolution

2021

Book Chapter

Plant Rhabdoviruses (Rhabdoviridae)

Dietzgen, Ralf G., Goodin, Michael M. and Li, Zhenghe (2021). Plant Rhabdoviruses (Rhabdoviridae). Encyclopedia of Virology. (pp. 567-580) edited by Bamford, D.H. and Zuckerman, M.. Oxford, United Kingdom: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-809633-8.21340-X

Plant Rhabdoviruses (Rhabdoviridae)

2021

Journal Article

ICTV virus taxonomy profile: Nyamiviridae 2021

Dietzgen, Ralf G., Firth, Andrew E., Jiāng, Dàohóng, Junglen, Sandra, Kondo, Hideki, Kuhn, Jens H., Paraskevopoulou, Sofia and Vasilakis, Nikos (2021). ICTV virus taxonomy profile: Nyamiviridae 2021. Journal of General Virology, 102 (11) 001681. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001681

ICTV virus taxonomy profile: Nyamiviridae 2021

2020

Journal Article

Genome-enabled insights into the biology of thrips as crop pests

Rotenberg, Dorith, Baumann, Aaron A., Ben-Mahmoud, Sulley, Christiaens, Olivier, Dermauw, Wannes, Ioannidis, Panagiotis, Jacobs, Chris G. C., Vargas Jentzsch, Iris M., Oliver, Jonathan E., Poelchau, Monica F., Rajarapu, Swapna Priya, Schneweis, Derek J., Snoeck, Simon, Taning, Clauvis N. T., Wei, Dong, Widana Gamage, Shirani M. K., Hughes, Daniel S. T., Murali, Shwetha C., Bailey, Samuel T., Bejerman, Nicolas E., Holmes, Christopher J., Jennings, Emily C., Rosendale, Andrew J., Rosselot, Andrew, Hervey, Kaylee, Schneweis, Brandi A., Cheng, Sammy, Childers, Christopher, Simão, Felipe A. ... Richards, Stephen (2020). Genome-enabled insights into the biology of thrips as crop pests. BMC Biology, 18 (1) 142, 142. doi: 10.1186/s12915-020-00862-9

Genome-enabled insights into the biology of thrips as crop pests

2020

Journal Article

Correction to: Genome-enabled insights into the biology of thrips as crop pests (BMC Biology, (2020), 18, 1, (142), 10.1186/s12915-020-00862-9)

Rotenberg, Dorith, Baumann, Aaron A., Ben-Mahmoud, Sulley, Christiaens, Olivier, Dermauw, Wannes, Ioannidis, Panagiotis, Jacobs, Chris G. C., Vargas Jentzsch, Iris M., Oliver, Jonathan E., Poelchau, Monica F., Rajarapu, Swapna Priya, Schneweis, Derek J., Snoeck, Simon, Taning, Clauvis N. T., Wei, Dong, Widana Gamage, Shirani M. K., Hughes, Daniel S. T., Murali, Shwetha C., Bailey, Samuel T., Bejerman, Nicolas E., Holmes, Christopher J., Jennings, Emily C., Rosendale, Andrew J., Rosselot, Andrew, Hervey, Kaylee, Schneweis, Brandi A., Cheng, Sammy, Childers, Christopher, Simão, Felipe A. ... Richards, Stephen (2020). Correction to: Genome-enabled insights into the biology of thrips as crop pests (BMC Biology, (2020), 18, 1, (142), 10.1186/s12915-020-00862-9). BMC Biology, 18 (1) 169, 169. doi: 10.1186/s12915-020-00915-z

Correction to: Genome-enabled insights into the biology of thrips as crop pests (BMC Biology, (2020), 18, 1, (142), 10.1186/s12915-020-00862-9)

2020

Journal Article

A rapid field-based assay using recombinase polymerase amplification for identification of Thrips palmi, a vector of tospoviruses

Priti, Jangra, Sumit, Baranwal, V. K., Dietzgen, Ralf G. and Ghosh, Amalendu (2020). A rapid field-based assay using recombinase polymerase amplification for identification of Thrips palmi, a vector of tospoviruses. Journal of Pest Science, 94 (2), 1-11. doi: 10.1007/s10340-020-01284-w

A rapid field-based assay using recombinase polymerase amplification for identification of Thrips palmi, a vector of tospoviruses

Current funding

  • 2021 - 2026
    RNA-based Biopesticides for Sustainable Crop Protection
    Australia-India Strategic Research Fund
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2020 - 2025
    Improving on-farm surveillance strategies for tospoviruses and thrips to enhance the bio-security of the nursery industry
    Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2021
    Ornamental and Asian vegetables as entry pathways for viruses
    Australian Plant Biosecurity Science Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2018
    Molecular characterization and evolution of newly detected Australian and Brazilian dichorhaviruses and identification of their Brevipalpus mite vectors
    UQ-FAPESP Strategic Research Fund SPRINT
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2019
    Potential exotic virus threats to Lucerne seed production in Australia
    Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2020
    Transforming subtropical/tropical tree crop productivity
    Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
    Open grant
  • 2012
    UQ Category 1 Travel Award - Chi-Wei Tsai
    UQ Travel Awards for International Collaborative Research (Category 1)
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2014
    Cellular and molecular interactions of rhabdoviruses with their plant hosts and insect vectors
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2011
    Establishment of a robotic liquid handling platofrm for the use of 384 and 1536 well plates
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2011
    Queensland International Fellowship: Visualising novel molecular targets for plant disease control
    Queensland International Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2013
    RNA silencing based Phytophthora root rot resistant avocado rootstocks for improved production of GM free fruit (HAL project led by DAFF)
    Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2011
    Nutritional properties of mango fruits: linking plant genomics to cellular bioactivities
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2005 - 2008
    Identification of nutritional bioactives in tropical fruit
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Ralf Dietzgen is:
Not available for supervision

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Improving surveillance strategies for orthotospoviruses and thrips

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Andrew Geering

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Improving surveillance strategies for tospoviruses and thrips to enhance the biosecurity of the nursery industry

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Andrew Geering

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Improving surveillance strategies for orthotospoviruses and thrips

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Andrew Geering

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Improving surveillance strategies for orthotospoviruses and thrips

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Andrew Geering

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Dr Ralf Dietzgen directly for media enquiries about:

  • Mango
  • Molecular plant virology
  • Papaya
  • Plant genomics
  • Plant pathology - diagnostics
  • Plants
  • Protein expression
  • Virus-plant-insect interactions

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