Dr Daniel Leybourne

Research Fellow


Curriculum vitae



Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour. Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences

The University of Liverpool



Exploiting molecular plant-aphid interactions for improved pest control under climate change (Scottish Food Security Alliance - Crops; PhD Studentship; 2015-2019; Dundee University)


Aphids are significant herbivorous insect pests that infest a range of agriculturally and horticulturally important crops. The bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi, is a major herbivorous insect of cereal crops and is one of the main vectors of cereal viruses. Improving our understanding of the interactions that occur between herbivorous insects and their host plants is important if we are to continue to develop novel and sustainable methods for managing and controlling herbivorous insect populations.

There are a many factors that can influence the interactions between aphids and their host plants, including the level of plant resistance against aphids, diversity within an aphid population (e.g. aphid genotype and/or the presence of endosymbionts), and environmental conditions. The aim of my PhD project was to examine how these factors interact to influence plant-aphid interactions. Key results from this project are highlighted in the publications below.

Publications


Drought stress increases the expression of barley defence genes with negative consequences for infesting cereal aphids


Daniel J Leybourne, Tracy A Valentine, Kirsty Binnie, Anna Taylor, Alison J Karley, Jorunn I B Bos

Journal of Experimental Botany, vol. 73, 2022 Jan, pp. 2238-2250


Plant resistance in different cell layers affects aphid probing and feeding behaviour during non-host and poor-host interactions


C Escudero-Martinez, D Leybourne, J Bos

Bulletin of Entomological Research, vol. 111, 2021, pp. 31-38


Drought has negative consequences on aphid fitness and plant vigor: Insights from a meta-analysis


Daniel J. Leybourne, Katharine F. Preedy, Tracy A. Valentine, Jorunn I. B. Bos, Alison J. Karley

Ecology and Evolution, vol. 11, 2021, pp. 11915-11929


The price of protection: a defensive endosymbiont impairs nymph growth in the bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi


Daniel J. Leybourne, Jorunn I. B. Bos, Tracy A. Valentine, Alison J. Karley

Insect Science, vol. 27, 2020, pp. 69-85


A fitness cost resulting from Hamiltonella defensa infection is associated with altered probing and feeding behaviour in Rhopalosiphum padi


Daniel J. Leybourne, Tracy A. Valentine, Jorunn I. B. Bos, Alison J. Karley

Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 223, The Company of Biologists Ltd, 2020


Learning-induced switching costs in a parasitoid can maintain diversity of host aphid phenotypes although biocontrol is destabilized under abiotic stress


Katharine F. Preedy, Mark A. J. Chaplain, Daniel J. Leybourne, Glenn Marion, Alison J. Karley

Journal of Animal Ecology, vol. 89, 2020, pp. 1216-1229


Defence gene expression and phloem quality contribute to mesophyll and phloem resistance to aphids in wild barley


Daniel J Leybourne, Tracy A Valentine, Jean A H Robertson, Estefania Pérez-Fernández, Angela M Main, Alison J Karley, Jorunn I B Bos

Journal of Experimental Botany, vol. 70, 2019 Apr, pp. 4011-4026


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