Dr. Andrew C. Groenhof

Dr. Chris R. Thornton

Dr Andrew Groenhof obtained a BSc in Plant Sciences and a PhD in Plant Biochemistry from Cardiff University and subsequently moved to Exeter University to become a Research Fellow within the School of Biology. Since then he has been employed as a Development Scientist at South West Water working on various composting projects; and then as Principal Scientist to a local Waste Management Company where, in collaboration with the plant pathology group at Exeter, he began work on plant disease suppression as a means of adding value to composted wastes. He is currently an Honorary Fellow of Exeter University.

In July 2000 Dr Groenhof established Eco Diagnostics Ltd, a company part-based at Exeter University, to exploit the use of immunodiagnostic antibody technology in monitoring soil-borne pathogens and their antagonists within soils and composts. The company gained a DTI Smart Award to develop a diagnostic test for Rhizoctonia solani that subsequently led to a service becoming commercially available to both the composting and potato growing industries to test for this plant pathogen. Further funding has recently been secured from landfill tax credits, via South West England Environmental Trust (SWEET), to develop similar tests for a number of other important plant pathogens and their antagonists, namely clubroot and Trichoderma respectively.

Dr Chris Thornton is a lecturer in developmental biology in the School of Biosciences at the University of Exeter, where he is actively involved in undergraduate teaching of mycology, immunology and biotechnology. Dr Thornton's research group comprises undergraduate project students, postgraduate students, postdoctoral research associates and research fellows. Research is focused on various aspects of biological control, more specifically the use of antagonistic Trichoderma species to control plant diseases caused by root-infecting fungi such as the economically important pathogen Rhizoctonia solani.

Dr Thornton's group develops highly specific monoclonal antibodies for tracking beneficial and pathogenic fungi in soils and composts. Using these, they are gaining insights into how populations of saprotrophic fungi interact in their natural soil and compost environments and in the plant rhizosphere and how Trichoderma species control plant disease. Research is conducted in model laboratory based systems but, through the establishment of Eco Diagnostics Ltd., antibody technology is being exploited for use in the field and has resulted in the production of rapid 'user-friendly' diagnostic tests for the presence of pathogenic and bio-control fungi in soils and composts.

For further information on Dr Thornton's University activities please visit the School of Biosciences website at http://www.biosciences.ex.ac.uk

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