Christine M. Conyers

• G.I.Biol (hons) Biochemistry
• Researcher at Fera

The potential for using the composting process to sanitise plant waste infected with one of three plant pathogens was investigated using bench-scale composting equipment. Two of these pathogens, the potato wart disease fungus Synchytrium endobioticum, and Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) are currently subject to European quarantine regulations....

Variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis was used for high-resolution discrimination amongst Ralstonia solanacearum Phylotype IIB sequevar 1 (PIIB-1) isolates and further evaluated for use in source tracing. Five tandem repeat-containing loci (comprising six tandem repeats), discriminated 17 different VNTR profiles amongst 75 isolates from pot...

Alveolar echinococosis is caused by a parasitic tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis and is a serious disease with high fatality in humans. The definitive primary host is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) but domestic animals (dogs and to a lesser extent cats) as well as several genera of rodents can also be infected with the parasite. There is, to date,...

Twenty microsatellites (simple sequence repeats, SSR) were used to discriminate wild boar from domestic pig and to identify mixtures of the two. Reference groups of wild boar and pig samples were collected from the UK and Europe for genetic assignment tests. Bayesian Analysis of Populations software (BAPs) gave 100% correct assignment for blind wil...

We have developed species-specific real-time PCR assays for the identification of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) in food products. The species-specific assays, comprising a set of primers and probe for each species, were designed using genomic genes (pantophysin for Atlantic co...

The Daubenton’s bat is widespread and common in the UK and countries bordering the English Channel and North Sea. European bat lyssavirus 2 (EBLV-2), a rabies virus, has been detected in Daubenton’s bats in the UK and continental Europe. Investigating the relatedness of colonies and gene flow between these regions would allow regional estimates of...

Parasitic gastroenteritis, a disease caused by parasitic nematodes, is of major concern to the sheep industry and threatens sustainability. Traditional methods for diagnosis of the type and level of infection in a sheep flock require laborious laboratory extraction, culture and microscopic examination of eggs or larvae from faecal samples. Advances...

Trichinellosis is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by nematodes of the genus Trichinella. Most human infections are caused by Trichinella spiralis, with pig meat being the main source of infection. As a consequence, all countries in the EU inspect slaughtered animals to prevent the distribution of infected meat to consumers. However, Trichinell...

Animal feeds and meat mixtures were analysed using the bioMerieux FoodExpert-ID® system. The system utilises a reverse dot technique on a DNA microarray to allow the identification of over 30 species of fish, birds and mammals. DNA is amplified by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) then hybridised to the microarray chip. Using this technique, turkey a...

The Eurasian badger (Meles meles) has been implicated in the transmission of bovine tuberculosis (TB, caused by Mycobacterium bovis) to cattle. However, evidence suggests that attempts to reduce the spread of TB among cattle in Britain by culling badgers have mixed effects. A large-scale field experiment (the randomized badger culling trial, RBCT)...

We have developed real-time PCR assays specific for horse and donkey, applicable to the detection of low levels of horse or donkey meat in commercial products. Primers, designed to the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, were 3′ mismatched to closely related and other commercial species. Amplification of non-target species DNA was prevented by truncat...

Venom from the parasitoid wasp Pimpla hypochondriaca has potent in vivo activity against insect haemocytes and disrupts host immune responses. Using hybridisation techniques, and more recently random sequence analysis, we had previously identified cDNAs encoding 10 venom proteins from this wasp and deduced their primary structures. We have now exte...

Thirteen microsatellites with dinucleotide repeats were isolated from genomic DNA in solution by hybridization capture. Eleven were evaluated against Acarus siro using a multiple-tube approach to assess polymorphism and reliability of the results. The multiple-tube method demonstrated the presence of null alleles due to low levels of DNA. Seven of...

Venom from the parasitoid wasp Pimpla hypochondriaca contains numerous proteins, has potent in vitro anti-haemocytic properties, and disrupts host encapsulation responses. By sequencing 500 cDNAs randomly isolated from a venom gland library, we have identified 60 clones that encode proteins containing potential secretory signal sequences. To identi...

Venom from Pimpla hypochondriaca, an endoparasitoid of pupae, was size-fractionated using gel filtration chromatography and analysed by SDS-PAGE in the presence and absence of reducing agent. A complex mixture of more than 20 venom constituents was identified which ranged in M(r) between approximately 5 and 100 kDa. Venom from a wide range of size...

The esterase properties of two highly chlorpyrifos-methyl-resistant strains of Oryzaephilus surinamensis differentially resistant to fenitrothion were investigated. Isoelectric focusing of whole insect homogenates revealed qualitative differences in the isozymes present, with differences in both the number of esterases with elevated activity in eac...

The response to pirimiphos-methyl, in one strain of Acarus farris and two strains of Acarus siro, was assessed using an impregnated filter paper bioassay and by the selection of adults following exposure to pirimiphos-methyl. It was concluded that one of the strains of A. siro was resistant to pirimiphos-methyl and that a major resistance mechanism...

Malathion and fenitrothion resistance in a multi-organophosphorus (OP)-resistant strain (7012/1malRR) of the saw-toothed grain beetle Oryzaephilus surinamensis was found to be due to elevated esterase levels. There was no evidence of elevated glutathione S-transferase or cytochrome P450 levels in this strain, or presence of an insensitive acetylcho...

The endogenous titres of juvenile hormone III (JH III), and the in vitro rates of juvenile hormone biosynthesis by isolated corpora allata have been measured at intervals during the reproductive cycle of adult female Periplaneta americana. There was a close correlation between the rates of JH III biosynthesis and endogenous hormone titres. Only JH...

1. The uptake and penetration of 14C-labelled pirimiphos-methyl into two strains of T. castaneum are compared.2. Less radioactivity penetrated into the internal tissues of the resistant strain compared to the suceptible strain.3. The differences in uptake could not be accounted for by increased excretion of radiolabel by the resistant strain.

Over 200 beetle- and food-produced volatiles were collected from cultures of the saw-toothed grain beetleOryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) on oats. It proved possible to develop the electroantennogram recording technique for these beetles, despite their small size, allowing volatiles causing antennal responses to be identified by coupled GC-EAG and su...

The effects of phosphine, hydrogen cyanide and anoxia on levels of ATP, pyruvate and lactate in Rhyzopertha dominica are compared. The effect of phosphine on anaerobiosis is not directly comparable either with HCN or anoxia. Reduction of catalase by feeding 3 amino 1,2,4 triazole does not enhance the toxicity of phosphine in treated insects.