A new staff member has recently joined the Applied Molecular Solutions Research Centre team. Tianyi Tang gained his Masters degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland and Plant and Food Research. In his thesis project, he investigated the possibility of using fungal endophytes to protect New Zealand grapevines against Grapevine Trunk Diseases (GTD), which are caused by multiple fungal pathogens.
At the Applied Molecular Solution Centre here at Unitec, he is working on different applications of fungi in a variety of projects. Some fungal species may be promising for the biological control of the invasive weed climbing asparagus (Asparagus scandens), others are being investigated to see if they may be able to reduce the toxicity of asbestos waste.
