Research

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Photo caption: Aster leafhopper female (right) next to an empty egg (left).

I started my MSc program in 2018, under the supervision of Drs. Sean Prager, Chrystel Olivier, and Tyler Wist, at the University of Saskatchewan (Canada). My project aimed at identifying identifying crop and non-crop species in the province that could be potential hosts for Aster Yellows (AY) phytoplasmas and/or the main vector of this pathogen in the Canadian Prairies (Aster leafhoppers) and exploring those interactions. I evaluated insect development on various plant species and examined settling preferences. Part of our results have been published and you can find them here, while more information on Aster Yellows can be found as part of a final report submitted to SaskCanola.

I then transitioned into a PhD program, hoping to expand on some of those original ideas and observations from my MSc project. Such ideas involved plant defense signaling pathways (mainly those involving ethylene, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid) and the characterization of aster leafhopper feeding behavior using the electropenetrography (EPG) technique. Results from these chapters of my dissertation have been published in the the Journal of Chemical Ecology and the Journal of Insect Science, respectively. 

Photo caption: Soybean cultivar with a purple flower

During a Zoology lecture at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), I discovered my passion for insects and fellow arthropods, and while taking Organic Chemistry, I became curious about chemical compounds mediating interactions, namely those involved in plant-insect and insect-insect interactions. For these reasons, I decided to do my thesis under the supervision of Dr. Jorge Zavala. My thesis focused on two soybean pests (fall armyworm and thrips) and the defensive response of two commercial soybean varieties to these insects´ attack. I conducted behavioral assays, in which I examined settling preferences and insect development on soybean varieties, and complemented these assays with the characterization and quantification of plant secondary metabolites such as phenolics and proteinase inhibitors (PIs).

Part of our results have been published and you can find them here.