Dr. Naivy Nava was awarded the first REACH Thesis Award in the Category PhD thesis

Today, we were informed that based on Prof. Bruno Moerschbacher’s application, our recent doctoral graduate Dr. Naivy Nava was selected for the REACH Thesis Award for her doctoral thesis entitled „Biotechnological approaches of chitosan polymer and oligosaccharides to control the plant parasitic nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, and their mode of action in plant defense“. The REACH thesis awards were given for the first time this year, by the REACH EUREGIO Start-up Center of the University of Münster, for the most innovative and, at the same time, most practically relevant theses. In her doctoral project, Naivy had found that chitosan can protect crop plants from nematode attack to their roots, provided the right chitosan is used, and that it is applied at the right time in the right way. Nematode infestation of the roots leads to reduced root performance and, as a consequence, reduced plant growth and, in the case of crop plants, reduced harvest yields. However, as conventional nematicides are toxic not only to the nematodes but also to other animals including humans, their use is severely restricted in Europe, leading to substantial losses particularly in many legumes. Chitosans, in contrast, act mostly via inducing the plants’ own defense mechanisms, i.e. like a vaccine stimulating our immune system, and – as Naivy is currently demonstrating – by positively influencing the microbiome associated with the roots, the so called rhizobiome, i.e. like a prebiotic positively influencing our gut microbiota. Small wonder the REACH jury felt that this work is not only innovative, but also highly relevant, and worth one of the first REACH thesis awards. Congratulations Naivy!