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

230 works between 1982 and 2025
All (230) Journal Article (179) Book Chapter (9) Conference Publication (40) Other Outputs (2)

61 - 80 of 230 works

2018

Journal Article

Editorial overview: Plant virus–vector interactions

Whitfield, Anna E and Dietzgen, Ralf G (2018). Editorial overview: Plant virus–vector interactions. Current Opinion in Virology, 33, iii-v. doi: 10.1016/j.coviro.2018.11.008

Editorial overview: Plant virus–vector interactions

2018

Journal Article

The westward journey of alfalfa leaf curl virus

Davoodi, Zohreh, Bejerman, Nicolás, Richet, Cécile, Filloux, Denis, Kumari, Safaa G., Chatzivassiliou, Elisavet K., Galzi, Serge, Julian, Charlotte, Samarfard, Samira, Trucco, Verónica, Giolitti, Fabián, Fiallo-Olivé, Elvira, Navas-Castillo, Jesús, Asaad, Nader, Moukahel, Abdul Rahman, Hijazi, Jomana, Mghandef, Samia, Heydarnejad, Jahangir, Massumi, Hossein, Varsani, Arvind, Dietzgen, Ralf G., Harkins, Gordon W., Martin, Darren P. and Roumagnac, Philippe (2018). The westward journey of alfalfa leaf curl virus. Viruses, 10 (10) 542, 542-16 of 16. doi: 10.3390/v10100542

The westward journey of alfalfa leaf curl virus

2018

Journal Article

Detection and profiling of circular RNAs in uninfected and maize Iranian mosaic virus-infected maize

Ghorbani, Abozar, Izadpanah, Keramatollah, Peters, Jonathan R., Dietzgen, Ralf G. and Mitter, Neena (2018). Detection and profiling of circular RNAs in uninfected and maize Iranian mosaic virus-infected maize. Plant Science, 274, 402-409. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.06.016

Detection and profiling of circular RNAs in uninfected and maize Iranian mosaic virus-infected maize

2018

Journal Article

Tomato spotted wilt virus infects spider lily plants in Australia

Dietzgen, Ralf G., Freitas-Astúa, Juliana, Salaroli, Renato B. and Kitajima, Elliot W. (2018). Tomato spotted wilt virus infects spider lily plants in Australia. Australasian Plant Disease Notes, 13 (1) 26. doi: 10.1007/s13314-018-0310-9

Tomato spotted wilt virus infects spider lily plants in Australia

2018

Journal Article

Development of model systems for plant rhabdovirus research

Jackson, Andrew O., Dietzgen, Ralf G., Goodin, Michael M. and Li, Zhenghe (2018). Development of model systems for plant rhabdovirus research. Advances in Virus Research, 102, 23-57. doi: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2018.06.008

Development of model systems for plant rhabdovirus research

2018

Journal Article

Dichorhaviruses in their host plants and mite vectors

Dietzgen, Ralf G., Freitas-Astúa, Juliana, Chabi-Jesus, Camila, Ramos-González, Pedro L., Goodin, Michael M., Kondo, Hideki, Tassi, Aline D. and Kitajima, Elliot W. (2018). Dichorhaviruses in their host plants and mite vectors. Advances in Virus Research, 102, 119-148. doi: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2018.06.001

Dichorhaviruses in their host plants and mite vectors

2018

Journal Article

Pathogenicity of Phyllosticta citricarpa ascospores on citrus spp.

Tran, Nga T., Miles, Andrew K., Smith, Malcolm W., Dietzgen, Ralf G. and Drenth, Andre (2018). Pathogenicity of Phyllosticta citricarpa ascospores on citrus spp.. Plant Disease, 102 (7), 1386-1393. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-08-17-1331-RE

Pathogenicity of Phyllosticta citricarpa ascospores on citrus spp.

2018

Journal Article

Distribution and genetic variability of alfalfa dwarf virus, a cytorhabdovirus associated with alfalfa dwarf disease in Argentina

Samarfard, Samira, Bejerman, Nicolas E. and Dietzgen, Ralf G. (2018). Distribution and genetic variability of alfalfa dwarf virus, a cytorhabdovirus associated with alfalfa dwarf disease in Argentina. Virus Genes, 54 (4), 612-615. doi: 10.1007/s11262-018-1563-2

Distribution and genetic variability of alfalfa dwarf virus, a cytorhabdovirus associated with alfalfa dwarf disease in Argentina

2018

Journal Article

Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales: update 2018

Amarasinghe, Gaya K., Aréchiga Ceballos, Nidia G., Banyard, Ashley C., Basler, Christopher F., Bavari, Sina, Bennett, Andrew J., Blasdell, Kim R., Briese, Thomas, Bukreyev, Alexander, Caì, Yíngyún, Calisher, Charles H., Campos Lawson, Cristine, Chandran, Kartik, Chapman, Colin A., Chiu, Charles Y., Choi, Kang-Seuk, Collins, Peter L., Dietzgen, Ralf G., Dolja, Valerian V., Dolnik, Olga, Domier, Leslie L., Dürrwald, Ralf, Dye, John M., Easton, Andrew J., Ebihara, Hideki, Echevarría, Juan E., Fooks, Anthony R., Formenty, Pierre B. H., Fouchier, Ron A. M. ... Kuhn, Jens H. (2018). Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales: update 2018. Archives of virology, 163 (8), 1-12. doi: 10.1007/s00705-018-3814-x

Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales: update 2018

2018

Journal Article

Changes in maize transcriptome in response to maize Iranian mosaic virus infection

Ghorbani, Abozar, Izadpanah, Keramatollah and Dietzgen, Ralf G. (2018). Changes in maize transcriptome in response to maize Iranian mosaic virus infection. PLoS One, 13 (4) e0194592, e0194592. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194592

Changes in maize transcriptome in response to maize Iranian mosaic virus infection

2018

Journal Article

First report of orchid fleck virus and its mite vector on green cordyline

Dietzgen, Ralf G., Tassi, Aline D., Freitas-Astúa, Juliana and Kitajima, Elliot W. (2018). First report of orchid fleck virus and its mite vector on green cordyline. Australasian Plant Disease Notes, 13 (1) 11, 1-4. doi: 10.1007/s13314-018-0295-4

First report of orchid fleck virus and its mite vector on green cordyline

2018

Journal Article

ICTV virus taxonomy profile: Rhabdoviridae

Walker, Peter J., Blasdell, Kim R., Calisher, Charles H., Dietzgen, Ralf G., Kondo, Hideki, Kurath, Gael, Longdon, Ben, Stone, David M, Tesh, Robert B, Tordo, Noël, Vasilakis, Nikos and Whitfield, Anna E (2018). ICTV virus taxonomy profile: Rhabdoviridae. Journal of General Virology, 99 (4), 447-448. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001020

ICTV virus taxonomy profile: Rhabdoviridae

2018

Journal Article

Gene expression and population polymorphism of maize Iranian mosaic virus in Zea mays, and intracellular localization and interactions of viral N, P, and M proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana

Ghorbani, Abozar, Izadpanah, Keramatollah and Dietzgen, Ralf G. (2018). Gene expression and population polymorphism of maize Iranian mosaic virus in Zea mays, and intracellular localization and interactions of viral N, P, and M proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana. Virus Genes, 54 (2), 290-296. doi: 10.1007/s11262-018-1540-9

Gene expression and population polymorphism of maize Iranian mosaic virus in Zea mays, and intracellular localization and interactions of viral N, P, and M proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana

2017

Journal Article

Development and validation of PCR assays for detection of alfalfa dwarf disease-associated viruses in Australian lucerne pastures

Samarfard, S., Bejerman, N. E., Sharman, M., Trucco, V., Giolitti, F. and Dietzgen, R. G. (2017). Development and validation of PCR assays for detection of alfalfa dwarf disease-associated viruses in Australian lucerne pastures. Australasian Plant Pathology, 47 (2), 215-225. doi: 10.1007/s13313-017-0533-9

Development and validation of PCR assays for detection of alfalfa dwarf disease-associated viruses in Australian lucerne pastures

2017

Journal Article

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Nyamiviridae

Dietzgen, Ralf G., Ghedin, Eiodie, Jiang, Daohong, Kuhn, Jens H., Song, Timothy, Vasilakis, Nikos and Wang, David (2017). ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Nyamiviridae. Journal of General Virology, 98 (12) 000973, 2914-2915. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.000973

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Nyamiviridae

2017

Conference Publication

Timing of infection of citrus fruit by the citrus black spot pathogen, Phyllosticta citricarpa

Tran, N. T., Miles, A. K., Dietzgen, R. G. and Drenth, A. (2017). Timing of infection of citrus fruit by the citrus black spot pathogen, Phyllosticta citricarpa. TropAg Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 20-22 November 2017.

Timing of infection of citrus fruit by the citrus black spot pathogen, Phyllosticta citricarpa

2017

Journal Article

Completed sequence and corrected annotation of the genome of maize Iranian mosaic virus

Ghorbani, Abozar, Izadpanah, Keramatollah and Dietzgen, Ralf G (2017). Completed sequence and corrected annotation of the genome of maize Iranian mosaic virus. Archives of virology, 163 (3), 767-770. doi: 10.1007/s00705-017-3646-0

Completed sequence and corrected annotation of the genome of maize Iranian mosaic virus

2017

Conference Publication

Do ascospores play a role in the epidemiology of citrus black spot?

Tran, N. T., Miles, A. K., Dietzgen, R. G. and Drenth, A. (2017). Do ascospores play a role in the epidemiology of citrus black spot? . Science Protecting Plant Health Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 26-28 September 2017.

Do ascospores play a role in the epidemiology of citrus black spot?

2017

Journal Article

Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales: update 2017

Amarasinghe, Gaya K., Bao, Yiming, Basler, Christopher F., Bavari, Sina, Beer, Martin, Bejerman, Nicolas, Blasdell, Kim R., Bochnowski, Alisa, Briese, Thomas, Bukreyev, Alexander, Calisher, Charles H., Chandran, Kartik, Collins, Peter L., Dietzgen, Ralf G., Dolnik, Olga, Duerrwald, Ralf, Dye, John M., Easton, Andrew J., Ebihara, Hideki, Fang, Qi, Formenty, Pierre, Fouchier, Ron A. M., Ghedin, Elodie, Harding, Robert M., Hewson, Roger, Higgins, Colleen M., Hong, Jian, Horie, Masayuki, James, Anthony P. ... Kuhn, Jens H. (2017). Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales: update 2017. Archives of Virology, 162 (8), 2493-2504. doi: 10.1007/s00705-017-3311-7

Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales: update 2017

2017

Journal Article

Possibility and challenges of conversion of current virus species names to Linnaean binomials

Postler, Thomas S., Clawson, Anna N., Amarasinghe, Gaya K., Basler, Christopher F., Bavari, Sbina, Benko, Maria, Blasdell, Kim R., Briese, Thomas, Buchmeier, Michael J., Bukreyev, Alexander, Calisher, Charles H., Chandran, Kartik, Charrel, Remi, Clegg, Christopher S., Collins, Peter L., de la Torre, Juan Carlos, DeRisi, Joseph L., Dietzgen, Ralf G., Dolnik, Olga, Duerrwald, Ralf, Dye, John M., Easton, Andrew J., Emonet, Sebastian, Formenty, Pierre, Fouchier, Ron A. M., Ghedin, Elodie, Gonzalez, Jean-Paul, Harrach, Balazs, Hewson, Roger ... Kuhn, Jens H. (2017). Possibility and challenges of conversion of current virus species names to Linnaean binomials. Systematic Biology, 66 (3), 463-473. doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syw096

Possibility and challenges of conversion of current virus species names to Linnaean binomials

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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