Elijah Ateka

Last updated
Elijah Miinda Ateka
Alma mater University of Nairobi
Scientific career
Institutions Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
Thesis Biological and molecular characterisation of potyviruses infecting sweet potato  (2005)

Elijah Miinda Ateka (born 20 August 1972) is a Professor of Plant Virology at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. He is involved with the diagnosis and characterisation of the sweet potato virus and the cassava virus, and is part of the Cassava Virus Action Project (CVAP).

Contents

Early life and education

Ateka attended Menyenya High School in Kenya. Ateka studied agriculture at the University of Nairobi and graduated in 1995. [1] He remained there for his graduate studies, earning a Master's degree in plant pathology in 1999 and a PhD in molecular virology in 2005. He worked under the supervision of Rose W. Njeru. During his PhD Ateka worked at the Biologische Bundesanstalt für Land- und Forstwirtschaft. [1] He has worked as a Visiting Researcher at Nagoya University, as well as in the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture. Ateka joined the Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organisation, where he studied sweet potato viruses including feathery mottle, leaf curl and mild mottle virus. De:Biologische Bundesanstalt fur Land- und Forstwirtschaft De:Biologische Bundesanstalt für Land- und Forstwirtschaft

Research and career

Ateka joined the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in 2006. [2] He is involved with the monitoring of crops in east Africa, including cassava, tomato and sweet potato. Cassava is a plant with a tuberous root that it extensively cultivated in Africa. [3] It is a staple food of the developing world and the third largest source of carbohydrates in the tropics. [3] Unfortunately, Cassava plants are susceptible to circular single-stranded DNA viruses transmitted by whitefly. [3] Ateka has been involved with chemotherapy and thermotherapy trials to eliminate the Cassava mosaic virus. [4] He opened a new diagnostic facility and greenhouse in 2017. [5] Ateka was the Country Team Leader for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant Cassava Disease Diagnostics; one of the first programs run by and for people in East Africa.

Ateka works with Boykin at the University of Western Australia on the characterisation and diagnosis of viruses that impact the Cassava plant. He has been involved with training programmes for African farmers and researchers, leading collaborative courses with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and University of Eldoret. [6] The programmes were supported by the Crawford Fund, and included the development of portable DNA sequencers (nanopore) to help farmers diagnose their crops early. [6] During the project, the researchers identify the DNA sequence of the Cassava, a process which can generate up to 5 Gb of data. [7] In 2019 Ateka and Boykin launched the KENET’s Virtual Lab, a high-speed data transfer platform to share information between Kenya and Australia. [7] [8] The collaboration has saved the researchers having to travel long distances to exchange data. [9] [10] He is developing a new breed of cassava that is more resilient to climate change; including drought, heat and cold. [11] [12]

Ateka has worked as an advisor for the United Nations. [1]

Personal life

Ateka is married to Azenath N. Ateka, with whom he has three children. [1]

Related Research Articles

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Manihot esculenta, commonly called cassava, manioc, yuca, or tapioca is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions as an annual crop for its edible starchy root tuber, a major source of carbohydrates. Cassava is predominantly consumed in boiled form, but substantial quantities are processed to extract cassava starch, called tapioca, which is used for food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. The Brazilian farinha, and the related garri of West Africa, is an edible coarse flour obtained by grating cassava roots, pressing moisture off the obtained grated pulp, and finally drying it.

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Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) is a member of the genus Potyvirus in the family Potyviridae. It is most widely recognized as one of the most regularly occurring causal agents of sweet potato viral disease (SPVD) and is currently observed in every continent except Antarctica. The number of locations where it is found is still increasing; generally, it is assumed that the virus is present wherever its host is. The virus has four strains that are found in varying parts of the world.

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Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) is a plant pathogenic virus, belonging to the genus Sobemovirus. The genome is a positive-sense single strand RNA of 4450 nucleotides in length and is not polyadenylated. It was first reported in Kenya in 1966 in one of Africa's first cultivation intensification schemes, due to RYMV's association with intensification, but DNA analysis of its evolutionary history shows it to have evolved in East Africa in the 19th century. Since its identification in Kenya it has been detected in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been detected in Central Africa, but has yet to be seen outside the continent. The genomic organization of RYMV is most similar to that of Cocksfoot mottle sobemovirus. RYMV is one of the better-studied plant-virus pathosystems.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "AJFAND Profile - Volume 10 No 10 (2010)". www.ajfand.net. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  2. ↑ "Team". Cassava Virus Action Project. 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  3. 1 2 3 "KENET helps in preserving a vital food source | UbuntuNet Alliance" . Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  4. ↑ Kidulile, Christina Edward; Ateka, Elijah Miinda; Alakonya, Amos Emitati; Ndunguru, Joseph Canisius (2018). "Efficacy of chemotherapy and thermotherapy in elimination of East African cassava mosaic virus from Tanzanian cassava landrace". Journal of Phytopathology. 166 (10): 739–745. doi:10.1111/jph.12725. ISSN   1439-0434. PMC   6473628 . PMID   31031544.
  5. ↑ "New diagnostics laboratory unveiled at Jomo Kenyatta University in Kenya | AgShare.Today". 12 April 2017. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  6. 1 2 Osky. "Novel diagnostic methods for identifying vectors and viruses in farmer's fields". The Crawford Fund. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  7. 1 2 "Cloud computing for cassava preservation? Say hello to KENET VLab | GÉANT Community Blog". 12 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  8. ↑ App, Daily Nation. "WALUBENGO: Taxing research networking platforms". mobile.nation.co.ke. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  9. ↑ "Q&A- Use of KENET Virtual Lab Fosters Kenya-Australia Research Collaboration | Kenya Education Network". www.kenet.or.ke. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  10. ↑ "Success Story: How NRENs support data intensive research (KENET, Kenya) – African Open Science Platform" . Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  11. ↑ Ateka, Elijah. "Super strong cassava to outsmart climate change : Farmers Tv". www.farmers.co.ke. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  12. ↑ "East African research centres plot for climate-ready cassava". 19 June 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
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