Lisa Steiniger joins MIE for BeLL internship

Lisa Steiniger

Note for the media: Use of the pictures provided by iDiv is permitted for reports related to this media release only, and under the condition that credit is given to the picture originator.

Molecular Interaction Ecology welcomes Lisa Steiniger from the Wilhelm-Ostwald-Gymnasium (Leipzig) to the group. In the coming year, Lisa will study how belowground herbivory by larvae of the cabbage root fly (Delia radicum) can affect the smell of broccoli (Brassica oleracea) plants, and how this affects the egg-laying behavior of root fly females. This to answer the question whether “Mother knows best”: will female root flies only lay eggs on plants that have not yet been damaged by root fly larvae? To do so, Lisa will perform preference tests in the greenhouse of the Botanical Garden Leipzig, in which root fly females get to choose between undamaged plants and plants infested by root fly larvae. Next, she will collect volatile compounds to analyze whether the smell of damaged and undamaged plants differs.
During her stay at MIE, Lisa will be supervised by Rebekka Sontowski, Anne Mädicke and Axel Touw.