Heidi RudiRudi, Heidi

Senior Engineer

E-mail: heidi.rudi@umb.no

Phone: +47-6496-5579

Present position: Senior Engineer, Dept. of Plant & Environmental Sciences (IPM) and CIGENE

Degrees: Cand. Scient. in biotechnology, University of Oslo, 1994. Dr. Scient. in Plant Molecular Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB, formerly NLH), 1998.
   
Professional background: Ph.D student, UMB, 1994-1998. Postdoc. Project: “Study of the structure and function of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase in the baculovirus-insect cell system”, 1998-2000. Postdoc. EU- Project: “Development of ryegrass allele-specific (GRASP) markers for sustainable grassland improvement”, 2003-2005. Researcher NFR-project: “Festulolium with improved forage quality and winter survival for Norwegian farming”, 2006-2010.

Research experience: Protein engineering, Frost tolerance candidate gene isolation and characterization in grasses (Festuca pratensis and Lolium perenne). SSH-cDNA library, microarray, SNP genotyping (massarray), Quantitative real-time PCR, 454 transcriptome sequencing.

Current research activity: Expanding the technology base for Norwegian wheat breeding: Sequencing wheat chromosome 7B.

Objectives: The main research objective of this project is to sequence wheat chromosome 7B as part of the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium’s (IWGSC) effort to sequence the genome of bread wheat. Active participation in the project will ensure Graminor’s access to the most advanced technologies, materials and experts in wheat breeding, expected to enhance further the success of the company’s wheat breeding program. The wheat genome sequence derived from the IGWSC project will be used to design the next generation molecular markers for Graminor wheat breeding. This project represents the first Norwegian participation in an international genomics program for agricultural plants. As such it is expected to connect Norwegian plant breeding and plant research more firmly to international breeding and research activities, thereby enhancing the impact of Norwegian research and development not only in wheat, but also in other species of relevance to Norwegian plant research and plant breeding. (www.wheatgenome.org)

Selected publications:

  • Røsti S, Rudi H, Burton R, Rudi K, Opsahl-Sorteberg,HG, Denyer K (2006). The function and evolutionary origin of genes encoding the small subunits of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase in barley and other cereals. J Exp Bot, 57:3619-26
  • Rudi H, Gylder KE, Rognli OA, Rudi K (2006) Direct haplotype-specific DNA sequencing. Prep Biochem Biotechnol, 36: 253-257
  • Rudi H, Uhlen AK, Harstad OM, Munck L (2006). Genetic variability in cereal carbohydrate compositions and potentials for improving nutritional value: A review. Animal Feed Science and Technology (Special Issue), 130: 55-65
  • Sandve SR, Rudi H, Asp T, Rognli OA (2008). Tracking the evolution of a cold stress associated gene family in cold tolerant grasses. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 8:245
  • Sandve SR, Rudi H, Dørum G, Berg PR, Rognli OA (2010). High throughput genotyping of unknown genomic terrain in complex plant genomes; lessons from a case study. Molecular Breeding, 26: 711-718
  • Rudi, Sandve SR, Opseth LM, Larsen A, Rognli OA (2011). Identification of candidate genes important for frost tolerance in Festuca pratensis Huds. by transcriptional profiling. Plant Science, 180: 78-85
  • Sandve, S.R. Kosmala, A. Rudi, H. Fjellheim, S. Rapacz, M. Yamada, T. Rognli, O.A. (2011). Molecular mechanisms underlying frost tolerance in perennial grasses adapted to cold climates. Plant Science 180: 66-77
  • Alm V, Busso CS, Ergon Å, Rudi H, Larsen A, Humphreys MW, Rognli OA. QTL analysis and comparative genetic mapping of frost tolerance, winter survival and drought tolerance in meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) In press