Dr Lilia Costa Carvalhais
Research Fellow
Centre for Horticultural Science
Affiliate Academic
School of Agriculture and Food Sciences
+61 7 344 32452
Researcher biography
I am driven by a curiosity to understand the overwhelming complexity of the biological world and how we can use it to solve problems of our time. I find especially intriguing all the invisible interactions between plant and microbes. I investigate the drivers of these interactions and aim to address major societal challenges, like food security. Currently, I study the biology, distribution and epidemiology of banana diseases to: 1) develop molecular diagnostic assays to prevent new incursions and further spread, and 2) identify the best management strategies. Diseases include banana Fusarium wilt, banana wilt associated phytoplasma (BWAP), Black Sigatoka, Eumusae leaf spot, Moko (Bugtok), banana blood disease, Xanthomonas wilt and Freckle.
Book Chapters
Fallath, Thorya, Rosli, Ahmad Bin, Kidd, Brendan, Carvalhais, Lilia C. and Schenk, Peer M. (2017). Toward plant defense mechanisms against root pathogens. In Agriculturally Important Microbes for Sustainable Agriculture (pp. 293-312) Gateway East, Singapore : Springer Singapore. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-5343-6_10
Rincon-Florez, Vivian A., Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dang, Yash P. and Schenk, Peer M. (2016). Soil microbial community interactions under tillage systems in Australia. In Khalid Rehman Hakeem, Mohd Sayeed Akhtar and Siti Nor Akmar Abdullah (Ed.), Plant, Soil and Microbes: Volume 1: Implications in Crop Science (pp. 93-102) Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-27455-3_5
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Rincon-Florez, Vivian and Schenk, Peer M. (2014). Soil functional gene microarrays and applications in plant-microbe interactions. In Zhili He (Ed.), Microarrays: current technology, innovations and applications (pp. 169-180) Norfolk, United Kingdom: Caister Academic Press.
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dennis, Paul G., Tyson, Gene W. and Schenk, Peer M. (2013). Rhizosphere Metatranscriptomics: Challenges and Opportunities. In Frans J. de Bruijn (Ed.), Molecular Microbial Ecology of the Rhizosphere (pp. 1137-1144) Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley-Blackwell. doi:10.1002/9781118297674.ch109
Scotti, M. R., Sa, N., Marriel, I., Carvalhais, L. C., Matias, S. R., Correa, E. J., Freitas, N., Sugai, M. A. and Pagano, M. C. (2007). Effect of plant species and mycorrhizal inoculation on soil phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms in semi-arid Brazil: Growth promotion effect of rhizospheric phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms on Eucalyptus camaldulensis. In E. Velazquez and C. Rodriguez-Barrueco (Ed.), First International Meeting on Microbial Phosphate Solubilization (pp. 167-172) Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
Journal Articles
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Henderson, Juliane, Rincon-Florez, Vivian A., O'Dwyer, Cecilia, Czislowski, Elizabeth, Aitken, Elizabeth A. B. and Drenth, Andre (2019) Molecular diagnostics of banana Fusarium wilt targeting secreted-in-xylem genes. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10 547. doi:10.3389/fpls.2019.00547
Liu, Hongwei, Khan, Muhammad Yahya, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Yan, Lijuan, Crawford, Mark, Dennis, Paul G., Singh, Brajesh and Schenk, Peer M. (2019) Soil amendments with ethylene precursor alleviate negative impacts of salinity on soil microbial properties and productivity. Scientific Reports, 9 1: . doi:10.1038/s41598-019-43305-4
Wass, Taylor J., Syed-Ab-Rahman, Sharifah Farhana, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Ferguson, Brett J. and Schenk, Peer M. (2019) Complete genome sequence of Achromobacter spanius UQ283, a soilborne isolate exhibiting plant growth-promoting properties. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 8 16: . doi:10.1128/mra.00236-19
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Rincon-Florez, Vivian A., Brewer, Philip B., Beveridge, Christine A., Dennis, Paul G. and Schenk, Peer M. (2019) The ability of plants to produce strigolactones affects rhizosphere community composition of fungi but not bacteria. Rhizosphere, 9 18-26. doi:10.1016/j.rhisph.2018.10.002
Syed-Ab-Rahman, Sharifah Farhana, Xiao, Yawen, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Ferguson, Brett J. and Schenk, Peer M. (2019) Suppression of Phytophthora capsici infection and promotion of tomato growth by soil bacteria. Rhizosphere, 9 72-75. doi:10.1016/j.rhisph.2018.11.007
Syed-Ab-Rahman, Sharifah Farhana, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Chua, Elvis, Xiao, Yawen, Wass, Taylor J. and Schenk, Peer M. (2018) Identification of soil bacterial isolates suppressing different Phytophthora spp. and promoting plant growth. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9 . doi:10.3389/fpls.2018.01502
Liu, Hongwei, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Schenk, Peer M. and Dennis, Paul G. (2018) Activation of the salicylic acid signalling pathway in wheat had no significant short-term impact on the diversity of root-associated microbiomes. Pedobiologia, . doi:10.1016/j.pedobi.2018.08.001
Liu, Hongwei, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Crawford, Mark, Singh, Eugenie, Dennis, Paul G., Pieterse, Corné M.J. and Schenk, Peer M. (2017) Inner plant values: Diversity, colonization and benefits from endophytic bacteria. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8 DEC: 2552. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2017.02552
Moyle, Richard L, Pretorius, Lara, Carvalhais, Lilia C and Schenk, Peer M (2017) Complete Nucleotide Sequence of Australian Tomato spotted wilt virus Isolate TSWV-QLD2. Genome announcements, 5 47: 1-2. doi:10.1128/genomeA.01267-17
Moyle, Richard L., Carvalhais, Lilia C., Pretorius, Lara-Simone, Nowak, Ekaterina, Subramaniam, Gayathery, Dalton-Morgan, Jessica and Schenk, Peer M. (2017) An Optimized Transient Dual Luciferase Assay for Quantifying MicroRNA Directed Repression of Targeted Sequences. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8 1631. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.01631
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Schenk, Peer M. and Dennis, Paul G. (2017) Jasmonic acid signalling and the plant holobiont. Current Opinion in Microbiology, 37 42-47. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2017.03.009
Dang, Yash Pal, Balzer, Anna, Crawford, Mark, Rincon-Florez, Vivian, Liu, Hongwei, Melland, Alice Rowena, Antille, Diogenes, Kodur, Shreevatsa, Bell, Michael John, Whish, Jeremey Patrick Milroy, Lai, Yunru, Seymour, Nikki, Carvalhais, Lilia Costa and Schenk, Peer (2017) Strategic tillage in conservation agricultural systems of north-eastern Australia: why, where, when and how?. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25 2: 1-16. doi:10.1007/s11356-017-8937-1
Liu, Hongwei, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Schenk, Peer M. and Dennis, Paul G. (2017) Effects of jasmonic acid signalling on the wheat microbiome differ between body sites. Scientific Reports, 7 1: 41766. doi:10.1038/srep41766
Liu, Hongwei, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Crawford, Mark, Dang, Yash P., Dennis, Paul G. and Schenk, Peer M. (2016) Strategic tillage increased the relative abundance of Acidobacteria but did not impact on overall soil microbial properties of a 19-year no-till Solonetz. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 52 7: 1021-1035. doi:10.1007/s00374-016-1138-0
Liu, Hongwei, Carvalhais, Lilia Costa, Kazan, Kemal and Schenk, Peer M. (2016) Development of marker genes for jasmonic acid signaling in shoots and roots of wheat. Plant Signaling and Behavior, 11 5: . doi:10.1080/15592324.2016.1176654
Liu, Hongwei, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Rincon-Florez, Vivian, Crawford, Mark, Dang, Yash P., Dennis, Paul G. and Schenk, Peer M. (2016) One-time strategic tillage does not cause major impacts on soil microbial properties in a no-till Calcisol. Soil and Tillage Research, 158 91-99. doi:10.1016/j.still.2015.12.007
Rincon-Florez, Vivian A., Ng, Clement, Dang, Yash P., Schenk, Peer M. and Carvalhais, Lilia C. (2016) Short-term impact of an occasional tillage on microbial communities in a Vertosol after 43 years of no-tillage or conventional tillage. European Journal of Soil Biology, 74 32-38. doi:10.1016/j.ejsobi.2016.03.001
Liu, Hongwei, Crawford, Mark, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dang, Yash P., Dennis, Paul G. and Schenk, Peer M. (2016) Strategic tillage on a Grey Vertosol after fifteen years of no-till management had no short-term impact on soil properties and agronomic productivity. Geoderma, 267 146-155. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.01.002
Newsham, Kevin K., Hopkins, David W., Carvalhais, Lilia C., Fretwell, Peter T., Rushton, Steven P., O'Donnell, Anthony G. and Dennis, Paul G. (2016) Relationship between soil fungal diversity and temperature in the maritime Antarctic. Nature Climate Change, 6 2: 182-186. doi:10.1038/nclimate2806
Rincon-Florez, Vivian A., Dang, Yash P., Crawford, Mark H., Schenk, Peer M. and Carvalhais, Lilia C. (2015) Occasional tillage has no effect on soil microbial biomass, activity and composition in Vertisols under long-term no-till. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 52 2: 191-202. doi:10.1007/s00374-015-1066-4
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dennis, Paul G., Badri, Dayakar V., Kidd, Brendan N., Vivanco, Jorge M. and Schenk, Peer M. (2015) Linking jasmonic acid signaling, root exudates, and rhizosphere microbiomes. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, 28 9: 1049-1058. doi:10.1094/MPMI-01-15-0016-R
Crawford, M. H., Rincon-Florez, V., Balzer, A., Dang, Y. P., Carvalhais, L. C., Liu, H. and Schenk, P. M. (2015) Changes in the soil quality attributes of continuous no-till farming systems following a strategic tillage. Soil Research, 53 3: 263-273. doi:10.1071/SR14216
Kierul, Kinga, Voigt, Birgit, Albrecht, Dirk, Chen, Xiao-Hua, Carvalhais, Lilia C. and Rainer Borriss (2015) Influence of root exudates on the extracellular proteome of the plant growth-promoting bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42. Microbiology, 161 1: 131-147. doi:10.1099/mic.0.083576-0
Chen, Yi Chung, Kidd, Brendan N., Carvalhais, Lilia C. and Schenk, Peer M. (2014) Molecular defense responses in roots and the rhizosphere against Fusarium oxysporum. Plant Signaling and Behavior, 9 12: e977710-1-e977710-3. doi:10.4161/15592324.2014.977710
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dennis, Paul G. and Schenk, Peer M. (2014) Plant defence inducers rapidly influence the diversity of bacterial communities in a potting mix. Applied Soil Ecology, 84 1-5. doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2014.06.011
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Muzzi, Frederico, Tan, Chin-Hong, Hsien-Choo, Jin and Schenk, Peer M. (2013) Plant growth in Arabidopsis is assisted by compost soil-derived microbial communities. Frontiers in Plant Science, 4 JUL: 235.1-235.15. doi:10.3389/fpls.2013.00235
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dennis, Paul G., Fan, Ben, Fedoseyenko, Dmitri, Kierul, Kinga, Becker, Anke, von Wiren, Nicolaus and Borriss, Rainer (2013) Linking plant nutritional status to plant-microbe interactions. PLoS One, 8 7: e68555.1-e68555.13. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0068555
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dennis, Paul G., Badri, Dayakar V., Tyson, Gene W., Vivanco, Jorge M. and Schenk, Peer M. (2013) Activation of the jasmonic acid plant defence pathway alters the composition of rhizosphere bacterial communities. PLoS ONE, 8 2: e56457. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056457
Carvalhais, Lilia C. and Schenk, Peer M. (2013) Sample processing and cDNA preparation for microbial metatranscriptomics in complex soil communities. Methods in Enzymology, 531 251-267. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-407863-5.00013-7
Rincon-Florez, Vivian A., Carvalhais, Lilia C. and Schenk, Peer M. (2013) Culture-independent molecular tools for soil and rhizosphere microbiology. Diversity, 5 3: 581-612. doi:10.3390/d5030581
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dennis, Paul G., Tyson, Gene W. and Schenk, Peer M. (2012) Application of metatranscriptomics to soil environments. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 91 2: 246-251. doi:10.1016/j.mimet.2012.08.011
Fan, Ben, Carvalhais, Lilia C., Becker, Anke, Fedoseyenko, Dmitri, von Wiren, Nicolaus and Borriss, Rainer (2012) Transcriptomic profiling of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 in response to maize root exudates. BMC Microbiology, 12 116.1-116.13. doi:10.1186/1471-2180-12-116
Schenk, Peer M., Carvalhais, Lilia C. and Kazan, Kemal (2012) Unravelling plant-microbe interactions: Can multi-species transcriptomics help?. Trends in Biotechnology, 30 3: 177-184. doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2011.11.002
Carvalhais, Lilia C., Dennis, Paul G., Fedoseyenko, Dmitri, Hajirezaei, Mohammad-Reza, Borriss, Rainer and von Wiren, Nicolaus (2011) Root exudation of sugars, amino acids, and organic acids by maize as affected by nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and iron deficiency. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 174 1: 3-11. doi:10.1002/jpln.201000085
Raposeiras, Ruy, Marriel, Ivanildo Evodio, Muzzi, Maria Rita Scotti, Paiva, Edilson, Filho, Israel Alexandre Pereira, Carvalhais, Lilia Costa, Passos, Raul Vinicius Magalhaes, Pinto, Patricia Pereira and de Sa, Nadja Maria Horta (2006) Rhizobium strains competitiveness on bean nodulation in Cerrado soils. Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira, 41 3: 439-447. doi:10.1590/S0100-204X2006000300010
Conference Papers
Dang, Yash Pal, Balzer, Anna, Crawford, Mark, Rincon-Florez, Vivian, Liu, Hongwei, Melland, Alice Rowena, Antille, Diogenes, Kodur, Shreevatsa, Bell, Michael John, Whish, Jeremey Patrick Milroy, Lai, Yunru, Seymour, Nikki, Carvalhais, Lilia Costa and Schenk, Peer (2018). Strategic tillage in conservation agricultural systems of north-eastern Australia: why, where, when and how?. In: International Conference on Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Land Use (CASLU), Budapest Hungary, (1000-1015). May 31-Jun 02, 2016. doi:10.1007/s11356-017-8937-1
Liu, Hongwei, Rincon-Florez, Vivian, Dang, Yash, Crawford, Mark, Balzer, Anna, Bell, Mike, Ram, Dalal, Costa Carvalhais, Lilia and Schenk, Peer (2014). Strategic tillage impacts on biological attributes of long term no-till soils in northern grain region of Australia. In: Antonio Patti, Caixan Tang and Vanessa Wong, Proceedings of the Soil Science Australia National Soil Science Conference. Soil Science 2014: National Soil Science Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (1-1). 23-27 November, 2014.
Rincon-Florez, Vivian A., Carvalhais, Lilia C., Liu, Hongwei, Dang, Yash, Crawford, Mark, Balzer, Anna, Bell, Mike, Ram, Dalal and Schenk, Peer (2014). Strategic tillage did not affect soil microbial bioindicators in long-term no-till farming systems in vertosols from Queensland, Australia. In: Proceedings of the Soil Science Australia National Soil Science Conference. Soil Science 2014: National Soil Science Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (1-1). 23-27 November 2014.