Manuela Stoyanova

Manuela Stoyanova holds an MSc degree in Molecular biology from Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski" in Bulgaria. Her first years of practical experience she acquired as a laboratory assistant in CPSBB, working with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. During this period, she studied EMS mutants tolerant to oxidative stress, by conducting experiments with the herbicide paraquat (PQ). Her main focus was the identification of key genes involved in the response to biotic and abiotic stress, both of which lead to the accumulation of high levels of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in plants. This work allowed Manuela to gain solid experience in molecular biology, plant stress physiology and genetics. The results obtained during this period were implemented in her BSc diploma thesis.

During her MSc degree and in the subsequent years Manuela worked on another project, involving Arabidopsis thaliana. This time, she was focused on investigating the ABA-mediated flowering pathway by studying KO mutants of several genes, previously identified to take part in this process through yeast-2-hybrid screening. The main goal was to elucidate the molecular interactions in which these genes are involved.

During her stay at BioAtlantis in Tralee, Ireland Manuela dedicated her efforts to studying the effect of an antifungal seaweed formulation together with an RNAi-based fungicide and a commercially used product for prevention of fungal diseases as a chemical control on tomato plants, infected with the necrotic fungus Botrytis cinerea, which is known to cause serious economic losses worldwide. Disease symptoms development of the plants was monitored and scored after which plant material was collected for future transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis.