Delfi Dorussen

Delfi is a third-year PhD student in the Borrill Group at the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom. 

Originally from the Netherlands, Delfi grew up in the UK and completed her undergraduate studies in Natural Sciences, specializing in Plant Sciences, at the University of Cambridge in 2020. She then pursued a Master’s degree at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, where she conducted her MSc thesis research in the Laboratory of Genetics.

A few words about your work

My current research is focused on the regulation of gene expression in wheat. In particular, I am interested in the expression of homoeologs, the highly similar gene duplicates in the wheat genome that arose from the merger of three diploid progenitor species. At PAG, I will present our work investigating whether transcriptional compensation occurs between these homoeologs – namely, if there is a loss-of-function mutation in a gene, are its homoeologs transcriptionally up-regulated to compensate for this loss?

Why did you choose to work in this topic?

I am fascinated by the prevalence of genome doubling/polyploidisation across plant species, including many important crops such as wheat. I would like to improve our understanding of how plants cope with polyploidisation and the advantages that it provides them, for example by providing extra gene copies to buffer the effects of deleterious mutations. The increasing availability of genomic resources for wheat, a hexaploid with a large genome, now allows us to start answering some of these questions for a vital crop species.

Why did you apply for the IWGSC-Feuillet Early Career Award? 

I applied for the award as it would give me the opportunity to present my research at the IWGSC workshop at PAG, and thus engage with other scientists in the field of wheat genetics/genomics. The resources (especially the reference genome and transcriptome) developed by the IWGSC are integral to wheat genetics/genomics research and I am very happy to have been recognised by such an important organisation.

In what way do you think being recipient of the IWGSC-Feuillet Early Career Award could help you in your career?

Receiving the award will facilitate my attendance at PAG, allowing me to share and discuss my research with the wheat research community and develop connections that will be important for developing my career. I also hope to gain insight from the other talks presented in the IWGSC workshops and plant genome sessions to learn about exciting research developments and emerging questions. 

What are your career plans?

I hope to continue researching the genetics and genomics of polyploid plant species, and I have become particularly fond of wheat as a polyploid model! Following my PhD, I would like to do a post-doc to further pursue these research interests.

PAG presentation

Delfi's talk will take place on Saturday 11 January 2025, during the IWGSC workshop, from 8:00 am to 10:10 am.
Talk title: Does transcriptional compensation facilitate functional redundancy in wheat?

Links

• Twitter/X (@Delfi_Dorussen)
• Lab website