Clare Couldridge

Arthropod Ecophysiology Group

Climate change, arthropod overwintering and pest outbreaks

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Promoter activity in Arabidopsis thaliana in response to sucking-insect pest feeding; implications for a biotech approach to pest control

Clare Couldridge

As an Undergraduate I studied for a BSc in Biology at Imperial College, London. I developed an interest in insect pest management, which in my final year lead me to research of the ‘Influence of temperature and relative humidity on the intrinsic growth rate of the stored grain pest, Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae); implications for management.’

I went onto study for an MSc in Pest Management specialising in Applied Entomology at Imperial College, Silwood Park. This included a four-month research project entitled ‘Measuring the efficiency of insect traps in stored grain’.

In April 2002 I joined the Insect and Nematode Control Traits Team at Syngenta, Jealott’s Hill. I worked as an experimentalist on a range of projects using biotechnology to control insects and nematodes in commercial crops. The majority of my time was dedicated to the nematode project, for which I was responsible for the screening of nematicidal proteins using microinjection techniques and in planta assaying of lead proteins.

In October 2003 I decided to return to my studies to begin a PhD supervised by Dr Jeremy Pritchard, Dr Jon Newbury and Professor Jeff Bale at the University of Birmingham. My project is involved in studying promoter activity in Arabidopsis thaliana in response to sucking-insect pest feeding and implications for a biotech approach to pest control. The project is a BBSRC CASE studentship sponsored by Syngenta and therefore has an applied, commercial perspective.

Myzus persicae adult and nymph

Sucking insects such as Aphids, Thrips and Lygus are important pests of many commercial crops e.g. cotton. Biotechnology promises to provide a novel approach to controlling these pests. In order to utilise technologies which engineer insecticidal proteins into crop plants, the target protein must be produced in those parts where the insect feeds. An understanding of changes in plant gene expression in response to pest feeding is therefore essential in the selection of a suitable promoter for use in a commercial crop product. Specifically the promoter must not be turned off, either by insect feeding or other environmental variables. The work will also inform an improved understanding of the biology of the plant-insect interaction.

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