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Dr Tobias Kretzschmar

Tobias Kretzschmar

Associate Professor

Education:

2005-2009    Doctorate of Science (Dr. sc. nat.); Molecular Plant Physiology; Institute of Plant Biology; University of Zürich; Switzerland
2003-2004    Diploma Thesis (Master Thesis equivalent) in Biology; Plant Physiology; Department of Plant Physiology; Technical University of Kaiserslautern; Germany    2002-2003    Scientific Internship as part of graduate studies; School of Marine and Tropical Biology; James Cook University; Townsville; Australia
1999-2002    Undergraduate studies; Biology; Technical University of Kaiserslautern; Germany

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tobias_Kretzschmar

ORCiD

Research interests/background

I received a Doctorate of Natural Sciences (PhD equivalent) from the University of Zurich. My work in molecular plant physiology focused on reverse-genetic approaches for the discovery and characterization of secondary metabolite transporters in the context of plant environment interactions, using petunia as a model species for solanaceous crops. It ultimately resulted in the discovery a novel hormone transporter involved in plant architecture and symbiotic interactions (Kretzschmar et. al, 2012, Nature) and the discovery of a trichome-specific steroid transporter involved in herbivory defense (Sasse et al, 2016, PC&E).
In 2011 I joined the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, with the intent to shift from basic plant science in an academic environment to applied science in a research for development context. At IRRI I contributed to genetics, pre-breeding, breeding and genetic resource management activities. Initially I was involved trait development, contributing to the fine-mapping of QTLs and forward-genetic approaches for gene discovery in abiotic stress tolerance (Kretzschmar et. al, 2015, Nature Plants). Later on I was leading breeding support activities by heading the Genotyping Services Laboratory and managing the breeding technology portfolio at IRRI, with a strong focus on molecular marker applications.
At SCU my main interests still lie at the intersect of basic and applied plant science, linking academia with industry. Our team is combining upstream molecular biology and genomics work with downstream pre-breeding and breeding goals to have have real impact in the region. While still interested in rice, I am now working on a variety of arable and horticultural crops:
•    In mustard (B.juncea) we are mainly interested in the genetic control of flowering time and the production of high value secondary metabolites for the condiment market.
•    In Cannabis (C. sativa) we are establishing genetic resources and infrastructure for a growing local industry. This includes linking genetic diversity to chemotype diversity, with a particular focus on trichome biology
•    In passionfruit (P. edulis) we are working with local growers to develop improved cultivars.
•    In tea tree (M. alternifolia) we are running the breeding program for the national peak industry body, aiming to improve oil quality and yield.
•    In coffee (C. arabica) we are collaboration with World Coffee Research to conduct multi-environment trials.  Furthermore we are building capacity and characterizing germplasm in coffee-growing developing nations of the Pacific.   
•    Rice (O. sativa) comes in many colors, white, yellow, brown, red, purple and black. We are investigating the factors contributing to pigmentation and the associated nutritional benefits of the respective secondary metabolites.

Recent Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

  • Welling M, Liu, L, Raymond, C, Kretzschmar T, Ansari O, King GJ (2019) Complex Patterns of Cannabinoid Alkyl Side-Chain Inheritance in Cannabis. Scientific Reports. in press.
  • Jeong K, Pantoja O, Baten A, Waters D, Kretzschmar T, Wissuwa M, Julia CC, Heuer S, Rose TJ (2018) Transcriptional response of rice flag leaves to restricted external phosphorus supply during grain filling in rice cv. IR64. PLOS ONE 13(9): e0203654.
  • Kretzschmar T, Mbango EGN, Magalit GA, Dwiyanti MS, Habib MA, Diaz MG, Hernandez J, Huelgas Z, Malabayabas ML, Das SK, Yamano T (2018) DNA fingerprinting at farm level maps rice biodiversity across Bangladesh and reveals regional varietal preference. Scientific Reports. 8:14920 DOI 10.1038/s41598-018-33080-z
  • Verdeprado H, Kretzschmar T, Begum H, Raghavan C, Joyce P, Lakshmanan P, Cobb JN, Collard BCY (2018) Association mapping in rice: basic concepts and perspectives for molecular breeding. Plant Production Science. doi.org/10.1080/1343943X.2018.1483205
  • Wang F, Longkumer T, Catausan S, Calumpang C, Tarun J, Jerome C, Ishizaki T, Pariasca Tanaka J, Rose T, Wissuwa M, Kretzschmar T (2018) Genome wide association and gene validation studies for early root vigor to improve direct seeding of rice. Plant Cell and Environment. DOI:10.1111/pce.13400 (In press)
  • Thomson MJ, SinghN, Dwiyanti MS, Wang DR, Wright MH, Perez FA, DeClerck G, Chin JH, Malitic-Layaoen GA, Juanillas VM, Dilla-Ermita CJ Mauleon R, Kretzschmar T, McCouch S (2017) Large-scale deployment of a rice 6K SNP array for genetics and breeding applications. Rice. 10:40 DOI 10.1186/s12284-017-0181-2
  • Dingkuhn M, Pasco R, Pasuquin JM, Damo J, Soulie J-C, Raboin L-M, Dusserre J, Sow A, Manneh B, Shrestha S, Balde AB, Kretzschmar T (2017) Crop-model assisted phenomics and genome-wide association study for climate adaptation of indica rice. 1. Phenology. J. Exp. Bot. doi:10.1093/jxb/erx249
  • Dingkuhn M, Pasco R, Pasuquin JM, Damo J, Soulie J-C, Raboin L-M, Dusserre J, Sow A, Manneh B, Shrestha S, Kretzschmar T (2017) Crop-model assisted phenomics and genome-wide association study for climate adaptation of indica rice. 2. Thermal stress and spikelet sterility. J. Exp. Bot. doi:10.1093/jxb/erx250
  • Wang F, King JDM, Rose T, Kretzschmar T, Wissuwa M. (2017) Can natural variation in grain P concentrations be exploited in rice breeding to lower fertilizer requirements? PLoS One. Jun 26;12(6)
  • Lee JS, Sajise AGC, Gregorio GB, Kretzschmar T, Ismail AM, Wissuwa M. (2017) Genetic dissection for zinc deficiency tolerance in rice using bi-parental mapping and association analysis. Theor Appl Genet. Jun 16. doi: 10.1007/s00122-017-2932-2.
  • Yin X, Biswal AK, Dionora J, Perdigon KM, Balahadia CP, Mazumdar S, Chater C, Lin HC, Coe RA, Kretzschmar T, Gray JE, Quick PW, Bandyopadhyay A. (2017) CRISPR-Cas9 and CRISPR-Cpf1 mediated targeting of a stomatal developmental gene EPFL9 in rice. Plant Cell Rep. 2017 May;36(5):745-757.
  • Dilla-Ermita CJ, Tandayu E, Juanillas VM, Detras J, Lozada DN, Dwiyanti MS, Vera Cruz C, Mbanjo EGN, Ardales E, Diaz MG, Mendioro M, Thomson MJ, Kretzschmar T. (2017) Genome-wide Association Analysis Tracks Bacterial Leaf Blight Resistance Loci In Rice Diverse Germplasm. Rice Dec;10(1):8.
  • Buckler ES, Ilut DC, Wang X, Kretzschmar T, Gore MA, Mitchell SE (2016) rAmpSeq: Using repetitive sequences for robust genotyping. bioRxiv Dec 24. https://doi.org/10.1101/09662
  • Julia C, Wissuwa M, Kretzschmar T, Jeong K, Rose T. (2016) Phosphorus uptake, partitioning and redistribution during grain filling in rice. Ann Bot. Nov, 118(6):1151-1162.
  • Sasse J, Schlegel M, Borghi L, Ullrich F, Lee M, Liu GW, Giner JL, Kayser O, Bigler L, Martinoia E, Kretzschmar T. (2016) Petunia hybrida PDR2 is involved in herbivore defense by controlling steroidal contents in trichomes. Plant Cell Environ. Dec;39(12):2725-2739.
  • Rose T, Kretzschmar T, Lui L, Lancaster G, Wissuwa M. (2016) Phosphorus Deficiency Alters Nutrient Accumulation Patterns and Grain Nutritional Quality in Rice. Agronomy. Oct, 6, 52, doi: 10.3390