Palloma Indiara Caproni Morais is a Postdoctoral Research Associate
working under Dr. Gary Munkvold. She is working on a project with MCMV
(Maize chlorotic mottle virus) to evaluate the effects of seed disinfection
methods and seed transmission risk on seed testing results. The disinfection
treatments chosen are Bleach 10%, TSP, and Simple Green 2%. First, we will
check for the virus in seeds. After that, she will investigate the presence of
MCMV in seedlings performing DAS-ELISA test. Once she has examined
10,000 seedlings treated and non-treated, she will calculate the transmission
risk and assess whether the treatment was effective or not.
Morais also works in the PCR lab where she processes samples and subsample
seeds for seed health tests. She performs different types of grinding, such as
seed wash and dry or wet grind, depending on the requirements of each test.
Additionally, she performs DNA and RNA purification procedures and
conduct PCR reactions as part of our lab's activities.