‘Tomato Killers: What might rob us of our salads’ – 25th May

Published On Mon 18 May 2015 by Grant Hill

An age-old battle continues to be fought in the fields and polytunnels that surround our city, a conflict that Dr Edgar Huitema from the University of Dundee will explore in the next Café Science event.

There are many other creatures and organisms with desires on our food before it reaches the dinner table, and Dr Huitema will be revealing how plants survive in their environment at Avery & Co at 7pm on Monday, 25th May.

“I will be discussing how plants defend themselves against attacks from bugs and organisms that would threaten their survival,” he explained. “This will involve sharing examples from my own work on tomato plants and how this understanding might help us protect our salad and other crops in the future.

“As well as looking at fundamental aspects of plant-microbe interactions, some open questions will be presented and the research approaches addressing the gaps in our knowledge will be discussed.”

Dr Huitema is a Senior Lecturer in the University’s Division of Plant Sciences, based at the James Hutton Institute.

Café Science was launched in January 2008, and has attracted more than 6000 visitors since then. The monthly events are informal discussions led by leading local researchers that allow members of the public the opportunity to learn more about the ground-breaking science happening locally.

‘Tomato Killers: What might rob us of our salads’ takes place at Avery & Co, South Tay Street, at 7pm on Monday, 25th May. The event is free and open to all and there is no need to book in advance but an early arrival is recommended.

More information is available at www.cafesciencedundee.co.uk.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277