Current Research

University of Dundee/ SCRI Joint PhD Studentship: Multitrophic factors influencing aphid vector competence in a spatially heterogeneous environment.

Supervisors: Dr Alison Karley (SCRI) and Dr Stephen Hubbard (University of Dundee).

Aphids harbour a number of different endosymbiont bacteria that can have positive or negative effects on their survival and performance These bacteria are split into two groups: the primary obligate endosymbiont, Buchnera aphidicola which is harboured by most aphid species; and the secondary endosymbionts, which are less well characterised.

Four types of secondary symbiont have been identified in pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) but very little is known about the secondary symbionts of other aphid species, particularly those which are important crop pests in the UK. The secondary symbionts of the pea aphid have been shown to confer various fitness traits onto their aphid hosts and recent research suggests that the competence of aphids to vector a plant virus may depend critically on their endosymbiont assemblage.

Thus, to investigate whether endosymbiont composition influences trophic interactions I am using molecular methods to characterise the endosymbionts of a Scottish arable pest, the cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) and will test their impact on virus-aphid-parasitoid interactions.

Research History

At St Andrews University in Scotland I completed a BSc in Animal Biology and an MRes in Environmental Biology. My MRes research project, supervised by Professor Pat Willmer, addressed the suitability of bumblebees as pollinators for the Scottish strawberry crop.

Posters

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Attachment	Size
Multitropic factors influencing aphid vector competence in a spatially heterogeneous environment	249.36 KB
Multitrophic factors influencing aphid vector competence in a spatially heterogeneous environment	276.4 KB
Using molecular techniques to characterise and quantify the eubacteria associated with the Cabbage Aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae)	717.18 KB