Dr Christine Bottcher

https://people.csiro.au/B/C/Christine-Bottcher

Biography

Christine is a plant scientist with a PhD in plant physiology from the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, where she studied the signalling properties of the defence-related plant hormone jasmonic acid and the role of jasmonate-containing lipids.

Sine 2007 she has been based at the Waite Campus site of CSIRO in Adelaide, working on Wine Australia funded projects relating to the understanding and manipulation of the timing of grape berry ripening.
Until 2022 her research has particularly focused on 1) the development of applicable strategies for the wine industry to use plant growth regulator treatments for the delay and synchronisation of berry ripening and 2) the investigation of the link between berry sugar accumulation, harvest time and wine volatile compounds.

Christine has recently shifted her research focus to precision breeding technologies and currently leads the Clonal Crop Trait Improvement Team in the Crops program of Agriculture and Food.

The Team has two main points of focus: 1) the development of a reliable and efficient protocol to carry out ‘DNA-free’ gene-editing on the most commonly grown wine grape varieties in Australia and 2) the use of this gene-editing method to provide the Australian wine industry with clones of existing wine grape varieties that display beneficial agronomic and processing traits such as increased disease tolerance or improved fruit composition. The Team brings together expertise in the propagation, regeneration, transformation and gene-editing of grapevine, protoplast transformation/regeneration technologies, and a wide range of molecular, biochemical, and data analytical skills that will be used to identify gene-editing targets underlying the traits of interest.

Achievements and Awards

2013-

Research Achievement Award
CSIRO PI
2014-

Best Paper Prize
ASPS
2017-

Australian Women in Wine Researcher of the Year Award
The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society
2018-

Best Oenology Paper Prize
ASVO

Current Roles

Team Leader
Clonal Crop Trait Improvement

Academic Qualifications

2003

Diploma of Biology
Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany
2007

PhD
Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany

Professional Experiences

2008-2013

Postdoctoral Fellow
CSIRO PI
2013-current

Research Scientist
CSIRO Agriculture and Food

Community and Corporate Citizenship

2016-2019

Seminar Coordinator CSIRO Agriculture & Food, Waite
2017-2019

Dial-in Coordinator CSIRO Agriculture & Food seminars