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Plant–Pest Interactions team

Head: Marcin Filipecki, professor

Researchers: Marek Koter PhD., Anna Barczak-Brzyżek PhD.

PhD Students: Anna Wlazło MSc., Ewelina Złotkowska MSc.

Students: Julia Długołęcka, Maciej Rajtakowski

Research Focus:

  • Association mapping of genes determining the natural resistance of Arabidopsis thaliana to the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae)
  • Large-scale phenotyping of plant traits related to susceptibility to mite feeding
  • Development of neural network models for the analysis of infestation symptoms in Arabidopsis thaliana, maize, and tomato plants attacked by the two-spotted spider mite – in collaboration with the Department of Artificial Intelligence, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW).
  • Identification of resistance genes against the two-spotted spider mite using transcriptome-wide association studies
  • Molecular analysis of plant–pest interactions, focusing on spider mites and parasitic nematodes
  • Application of transgenesis and new genomic techniques (NGTs) to develop Arabidopsis thaliana, maize, and tomato plants resistant to biotic stresses
From the left: prof. dr hab. Marcin Filipecki, mgr Ewelina Złotkowska, dr Marek Koter, dr Anna Barczak-Brzyżek, mgr Anna Wlazło, Julia Długołęcka
Callus with partially intense red coloration resulting from the accumulation of betalains synthesized due to the expression of the RUBY gene set.

Ongoing Research Projects:

  • Exploiting the natural variability to identify the key genes for building the broad and durable resistance to mite pests (NCN OPUS17 2019/33/B/NZ9/01305) – Principal Investigator: Marcin Filipecki
  • The role of sugars in plant defense against two-spotted spider mite (NCN PRELUDIUM23 2024/53/N/NZ9/01802) – Principal Investigator: Anna Wlazło
  • The relationship between plant lipophilic barrier composition and two-spotted spider mites activity (NCN PRELUDIUM23 2024/53/N/NZ9/01216)
  • Ministerial Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists (2023–2026) – Awardee: Anna Barczak-Brzyżek

Selected Publications (5):

  • Proteomic Dynamics in the Interaction of Susceptible and Resistant Tomato Cultivars and Potato Cyst Nematodes (2025) Koter M., Żurczak M., Matuszkiewicz M.,  Święcicka M.,  Kotliński M., Barczak-Brzyżek A., Filipecki M. International Journal of Molecular Sciences: 26(6), 2823; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26062823
  • Automated imaging coupled with AI-powered analysis accelerates the assessment of plant resistance to Tetranychus urticae (2024) Złotkowska E., Wlazło A., Kiełkiewicz M., Misztal K., Dziosa P., Soja K., Barczak-Brzyżek A., Filipecki M. Scientific Reports: 8020; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58249-7
  • Plastid retrograde regulation of miRNA expression in response to high light stress  (2022) Barczak-Brzyżek A. Brzyżek G., Koter M., Siedlecka E., Gawroński P., Filipecki M. BMC Plant Biology: 22, 150; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-022-03525-9
  • Profiling the Proteome of Cyst Nematode-Induced Syncytia on Tomato Roots (2021) Filipecki M., Żurczak M., Matuszkiewicz M., Święcicka M., Kurek W., Olszewski J., Koter M., Lamont D., Sobczak M. International Journal of Molecular Sciences: 22(22), 12147; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212147
  • Unravelling the complexity of plant defense induced by a simultaneous and sequential mite and aphid infestation (2019) Kiełkiewicz M., Barczak-Brzyżek A., Karpińska B., Filipecki M. International Journal of Molecular Sciences: 20(4),806; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20040806

Contact: prof. dr hab. Marcin Filipecki

Adult female of the two-spotted spider mite