Plant Diseases and Crop Protection

Prof. Alexey Mikaberidze

Research

Refer to the web page Research of the division

Publications

... of Göttingen work are presented on the web page Publications of the division

  • Corkley I, Helps J, van den Bosch F, Paveley N D, Milne A E, Mikaberidze A, Sierotzki H, Skirvin D J (2025). Delaying infection through phytosanitary soybean-free periods contributes to fungicide resistance management in Phakopsora pachyrhizi: A modelling analysis. Plant Pathol, 74: 1078-1096. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.14074
  • Corkley I, Mikaberidze A, Paveley N, van den Bosch F, Shaw MW, Milne A E (2025). Dose splitting increases selection for both target-site and non-target-site fungicide resistance—A modelling analysis. Plant Pathology, 74: 1152-1167. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.14080
  • McLean H, Mikaberidze A, Deakin G, Xu X, Papp-Rupar M (2025). The interplay between scion genotype, root microbiome, and Neonectria ditissima apple canker. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 101(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiaf014
  • Mikaberidze A, Cruz CD, Zerihun A, Barreto A, Beck P, Calderón R, Camino C, Campbell RE, Delalieux SKL, Fabre F, Falla E, Fraser S, Gold KM, Gongora-Canul C, Hamelin F, Harteveld DOC, Hong C-F, Leclerc M, Lee D-Y, Lobo M, Mahlein A-K, McLay E, Melloy P, Parnell S, Rascher U, Rich J, Salotti I, Soubeyrand S, Sprague S, Surano A, Takooree SD, Taylor TH, Touzeau S, Zarco-Tejada PJ, Cunniffe NJ (2025) Opportunities and challenges in combining optical sensing and epidemiological modeling. Phytopathology 115(10):1260–1285. doi: 10.1094/PHYTO-11-24-0359-FI
  • Mikaberidze A, Gokhale CS, Bargués-Ribera M, Verma P (2025). The cost of fungicide resistance evolution in multi-field plant epidemics. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation 4(6): e0000178. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000178
  • Mikaberidze A, McDonald BA, Kronenberg L (2025). A genome-wide association study identifies markers and candidate genes affecting tolerance to the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 38(2):265–274. doi: 10.1094/MPMI-08-24-0085-FI
  • Del Ponte,EM, Mikaberidze A, Bebber D P, Halliday F, Cunniffe N J (2025). The epidemiology of wild-crop interfaces: integrating ecology, evolution, and management through modeling. agriRxiv.2025.00357, agriRxiv, CABI. https://doi.org/10.31220/agriRxiv.2025.00357
  • Acuña I, Andrade-Piedra J, Andrivon D, Armengol J, Arnold AE, Avelino J, Bandyopadhyay R, Bihon Legesse W, Bock CH, Bove F, Brenes-Arguedas T, Calonnec A, Carmona M, Carnegie AJ, Castilla NP, Chen X, Della Coletta-Filho H, Coley PD, Cox KD, Davey T, Del Ponte E, Denman S, Desprez-Loustau M-L, Dewdney MM, Djurle A, Drenth A, Ducousso A, Esker P, Fiaboe KM, Fourie PH, Frankel SJ, Frey P, Garcia-Figuera S, Garrett KA, Guérin M, St. Hardy GEJ, Hausladen H, Hu X, Hüberli D, Juzwik J, Kang Z, Kenyon L, Kreuze J, Kromann P, Kubiriba J, Kuhnem P, Kumar J, Kumar PL, Lebrun M-H, Legg JP, Leon A, Ma Z, Mahuku G, Makinson RO, Marzachi C, McDonald BA, McRoberts N, Menkir A, Mikaberidze A, Munck IA, Nelson A, Nguyen NTT, O’Gara E, Ojiambo P, Ortega-Beltran A, Paul P, Pethybridge S, Pinon J, Ramsfield T, Rizzo DM, Rossi V, Safni I, Sah S, Santini A, Sautua F, Savary S, Schreinemachers P, Singh M, Spear ER, Srinivasan R, Tripathi L, Vicent A, Viljoen A, Willocquet L, Woods AJ, Wu B, Xia X, Xu X, Yuen J, Zalamea P-C, Zhou C (2023). A global assessment of the state of plant health. Plant Disease 107(12):3649–3665. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-23-0166-FE
  • Karisto P, Suffert F, Mikaberidze A (2023). Spatially explicit ecological modeling improves empirical characterization of plant pathogen dispersal. Plant-Environment Interactions 4(2):86–96. https://doi.org/10.1002/pei3.10104
  • McDonald BA, Suffert F, Bernasconi A, Mikaberidze A (2022). How large and diverse are field populations of fungal plant pathogens? The case of Zymoseptoria tritici. Evolutionary Applications 15(9):1360–1373. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13434
  • Barrett LG, Zala M, Mikaberidze A, Alassimone J, Ahmad M, McDonald BA, Sánchez-Vallet A (2021) Mixed infections alter transmission potential in a fungal plant pathogen. Environmental Microbiology 23(4):2315–2330. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.15417
  • Mikaberidze A, McDonald BA (2020). A tradeoff between tolerance and resistance to a major fungal pathogen in elite wheat cultivars. The New Phytologist 226(3):879–890. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16418
  • Ben M'Barek S, Karisto P, Abdedayem W, Laribi M, Fakhfakh M, Kuki H, Mikaberidze A, Yahyaoui A (2020). Improved control of Septoria tritici blotch in durum wheat using cultivar mixtures. Plant Pathology 2020; 69: 1655–1665. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.13247
  • Willocquet L, Savary S, McDonald BA, Mikaberidze A (2020). A polyetic modelling framework for plant disease emergence. Plant Pathology 2020; 69: 1630–1643. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.13249
  • Anderegg J, Hund A, Karisto P, Mikaberidze A (2019). In-field detection and quantification of Septoria tritici blotch in diverse wheat germplasm using spectral-temporal features. Frontiers in Plant Science 10:1355. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.01355
  • Karisto P, Dora S, Mikaberidze A (2019). Measurement of infection efficiency of a major wheat pathogen using time-resolved imaging of disease progress. Plant Pathol, 68: 163-172. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.12932
  • Yates S, Mikaberidze A, Krattinger SG, Abrouk M, Hund A, Yu K, Studer B, Fouche S, Meile L, Pereira D, Karisto P, McDonald BA (2019). Precision phenotyping reveals novel loci for quantitative resistance to Septoria tritici blotch. Plant Phenomics 2019:3285904. https://doi.org/10.34133/2019/3285904
  • Karisto P, Hund A, Yu K, Anderegg J, Walter A, Mascher F, McDonald BA, Mikaberidze A (2018). Ranking quantitative resistance to Septoria tritici blotch in elite wheat cultivars using automated image analysis. Phytopathology 108(5):568–581. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-04-17-0163-R
  • Yu K, Anderegg J, Mikaberidze A, Karisto P, Mascher F, McDonald BA, Walter A, Hund A (2018). Hyperspectral canopy sensing of wheat Septoria tritici blotch disease. Frontiers in Plant Science 9:1195. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.01195
  • Mikaberidze A, Paveley N, Bonhoeffer S, van den Bosch F (2017). Emergence of resistance to fungicides: The role of fungicide dose. Phytopathology 107(5):545–560. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-08-16-0297-R
  • Mikaberidze A, Mundt CC, Bonhoeffer S (2016). Invasiveness of plant pathogens depends on the spatial scale of host distribution. Ecological Applications 26(4):1238–1248. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0807
  • Stewart EL, Hagerty CH, Mikaberidze A, Mundt CC, Zhong Z, McDonald BA (2016). An improved method for measuring quantitative resistance to the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici using high-throughput automated image analysis. Phytopathology 106(7):782–788. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-01-16-0018-R
  • Mikaberidze A, McDonald B A, Bonhoeffer S (2015). Developing smarter host mixtures to control plant disease. Plant Pathology, 64: 996-1004. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.12321
  • Mikaberidze A, McDonald B A (2015). Fitness Cost of Resistance: Impact on Management. In: Ishii, H., Hollomon, D. (eds) Fungicide Resistance in Plant Pathogens. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55642-8_6
  • Mikaberidze A, McDonald BA, Bonhoeffer S (2014). Can high-risk fungicides be used in mixtures without selecting for fungicide resistance? Phytopathology 104(4):324–331. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-07-13-0204-R
  • Saalmann U, Mikaberidze A, Rost JM (2013). Spatial correlations in finite samples revealed by Coulomb explosion. Physical Review Letters 110(13):133401. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.133401
  • Mikaberidze A, Haque M (2009). Survival benefits in mimicry: a quantitative framework. Journal of Theoretical Biology 259(3):462–468. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.02.024
  • Mikaberidze A, Saalmann U, Rost JM (2009). Laser-driven nanoplasmas in doped helium droplets: local ignition and anisotropic growth. Physical Review Letters 102(12):128102. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.128102
  • Saalmann U, Georgescu I, Gnodtke C, Mikaberidze A, Rost J M (2009). Fast electron migration in finite systems exposed to intense attosecond and XFEL pulses,Frontiers in Optics 2009/Laser Science XXV/Fall 2009 OSA Optics & Photonics Technical Digest, OSA Technical Digest (CD) (Optica Publishing Group, 2009), paper LSTuI1.

Teaching

Refer to the web page of the division Teaching

Curiculum vitae

  • since 1.11.2025
    Professor for Plant Diseases and Crop Protection at Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany
  • 2019 – 2025
    Lecturer in Crop Protection (permanent faculty position, equivalent to Assistant Professor) School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, UK
  • 2016 – 2019
    Research group leader funded by the Ambizione grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation within the group of Professor Bruce McDonald (Plant Pathology) ETH Zurich, Switzerland
    Topic: Epidemiology of major wheat diseases: using eco-evolutionary models to learn from epidemic and genomic data
  • 2012 – 2016
    Postdoctoral researcher, group of Prof. Sebastian Bonhoeffer (Theoretical Biology), ETH Zurich, Switzerland
    Topic: Mathematical and computational modeling of plant disease epidemics and fungicide resistance
  • 2006 – 2011
    PhD in theoretical and computational physics, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
  • 1999 – 2005
    Diploma in physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Physics Faculty, Moscow, Russia