In 2017, Magda obtained her bachelor’s diploma from the Department of ‘Biochemistry and Biotechnology’ (Larisa, Greece). Her thesis, ‘Meta-analysis of mitochondrial markers in sus scrofa (pig) breeds’, was conducted at the lab of ‘Genetics, Comparative and Evolutionary Biology’ under the supervision of Prof. Z. Mamouris. Her Master’s thesis was conducted in the lab of ‘Plant and Environmental Biotechnology’, with Prof. K. Papadopoulou as her supervisor. Her work predominantly focused on legume-rhizobia symbiosis, exploring the impact of Cytokinin on the Auto-regulation Of Nodulation (AON) system in L. japonicus–M. loti symbiosis.
Shortly after graduating in 2019, she began her doctoral studies in the lab of “Plant Molecular Biology and Genetics” at Aarhus University, under the supervision of Prof. S. Radutoiu and Assoc. Prof K.R. Andersen. Her PhD project was a part of the ENSA consortium, ‘Enabling Nutrient Symbioses in Agriculture’, which aims to establish sustainable agricultural practices. Throughout her doctoral studies, Magda researched plant receptor-like kinases, their pivotal role in recognizing microorganism-derived elicitors, and their contribution to the activation of symbiotic and immune pathways.
Magda became a part of our team as a PostDoc in October 2023. She is a member of the ENSA consortium, with a specific focus on uncovering novel components within the legume-rhizobia infection mechanism.
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Publications
Tsitsikli M, Simonsen BW, Larsen MM, Andersen CG, Gysel K, Lironi D, Krönauer C, Rübsam H, Luu TB, Hansen SB, Kaya G, Stougaard J, Andersen KR, Radutoiu S (2024)
Two residues reprogram immunity receptor kinases to signal in nitrogen-fixing symbiosis
pre-print deposited at: bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.08.22.609144
Hansen SB, Luu TB, Gysel K, Lironi D, Krönauer C, Rübsam H, Jensen IB, Tsitsikli M, Birkefeldt TG, Trgovcevic A, Stougaard J, Radutoiu S, Andersen KR (2024).
A conserved juxtamembrane motif in plant NFR5 receptors is essential for root nodule symbiosis.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121, e2405671121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2405671121