Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

All Outputs (29)

Mosquitoes Reared in Nearby Insectaries at the Same Institution Have Significantly Divergent Microbiomes (2025)
Journal Article

The microbiome influences critical aspects of mosquito biology and variations in microbial composition can impact the outcomes of laboratory studies. To investigate how biotic and abiotic conditions in an insectary affect the composition of the mosqu... Read More about Mosquitoes Reared in Nearby Insectaries at the Same Institution Have Significantly Divergent Microbiomes.

Microbial diversity in stingless bee gut is linked to host wing size and influenced by the environment (2023)
Journal Article

Stingless bees are important social corbiculate bees, fulfilling critical pollination roles in many ecosystems. However, their gut microbiota, particularly the fungal communities associated with them, remains inadequately characterised. This knowledg... Read More about Microbial diversity in stingless bee gut is linked to host wing size and influenced by the environment.

Co-flowering plants support diverse pollinator populations and facilitate pollinator visitation to sweet cherry crops (2022)
Journal Article
Gilpin, A.-M., O'Brien, C., Kobel, C., E. Brettell, L., M. Cook, J., & A. Power, S. (2022). Co-flowering plants support diverse pollinator populations and facilitate pollinator visitation to sweet cherry crops. Basic and Applied Ecology, 63, 36-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2022.05.005

Many food crops depend on animal pollination to set fruit. In light of pollinator declines there is growing recognition of the need for agro-ecosystems that can sustain wild pollinator populations, ensuring fruit production and pollinator conservatio... Read More about Co-flowering plants support diverse pollinator populations and facilitate pollinator visitation to sweet cherry crops.

Co-Flowering Species Richness Increases Pollinator Visitation to Apple Flowers (2022)
Journal Article
Gilpin, A.-M., Kobel, C., E. Brettell, L., O’Brien, C., M. Cook, J., & A. Power, S. (2022). Co-Flowering Species Richness Increases Pollinator Visitation to Apple Flowers. #Journal not on list, 12(8), https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081246

Co-flowering plants can experience an array of interactions, ranging from facilitation to competition, the direction and strength of which are often dependent on the relative abundance and diversity of the plant species involved and the foraging beha... Read More about Co-Flowering Species Richness Increases Pollinator Visitation to Apple Flowers.

The use of trap-nests to support crop pollinators in agricultural areas (2022)
Journal Article
Gilpin, A.-M., Brettell, L. E., Cook, J. M., & Power, S. A. (2022). The use of trap-nests to support crop pollinators in agricultural areas. Ecological Research, 37(6), 768-779. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12348

Supporting and promoting invertebrate diversity within agricultural ecosystems has numerous benefits, including the provision of pollination services. Many insects, including wild pollinators, require floral resources for food and structural habitat... Read More about The use of trap-nests to support crop pollinators in agricultural areas.

Cold case : the disappearance of Egypt bee virus, a fourth distinct master strain of deformed wing virus linked to honeybee mortality in 1970’s Egypt (2022)
Journal Article

In 1977, a sample of diseased adult honeybees (Apis mellifera) from Egypt was found to contain large amounts of a previously unknown virus, Egypt bee virus, which was subsequently shown to be serologically related to deformed wing virus (DWV). By seq... Read More about Cold case : the disappearance of Egypt bee virus, a fourth distinct master strain of deformed wing virus linked to honeybee mortality in 1970’s Egypt.

Vulnerability of island insect pollinator communities to pathogens (2021)
Journal Article
Brettell, L., Martin, S., Riegler, M., & Cook, J. (2021). Vulnerability of island insect pollinator communities to pathogens. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 186, 107670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2021.107670

Island ecosystems, which often contain undescribed insects and small populations of single island endemics, are at risk from diverse threats. The spread of pathogens is a major factor affecting not just pollinator species themselves, but also posing... Read More about Vulnerability of island insect pollinator communities to pathogens.

Tephritid fruit flies have a large diversity of co-occurring RNA viruses (2021)
Journal Article
Sharpe, S. R., Morrow, J. L., Brettell, L. E., Shearman, D. C., Stuart Gilchrist, A., Cook, J. M., & Riegler, M. (2021). Tephritid fruit flies have a large diversity of co-occurring RNA viruses. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 186, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2021.107569

Tephritid fruit flies are amongst the most devastating pests of horticulture, and Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programs have been developed for their control. Their interactions with viruses are still mostly unexplored, yet, viruses may negatively... Read More about Tephritid fruit flies have a large diversity of co-occurring RNA viruses.

Temporal changes in the microbiome of stingless bee foragers following colony relocation (2020)
Journal Article
A Hall, M., E Brettell, L., Liu, H., Nacko, S., Spooner-Hart, R., Riegler, M., & M Cook, J. (2021). Temporal changes in the microbiome of stingless bee foragers following colony relocation. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 97(1), https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiaa236

Maintaining beneficial interactions with microbial symbionts is vital for animal health. Yet, for social insects, the stability of microbial associations within and between cohorts is largely unknown. We investigated temporal changes in the microbiom... Read More about Temporal changes in the microbiome of stingless bee foragers following colony relocation.

RNAseq of Deformed wing virus and other honey bee-associated viruses in eight insect taxa with or without Varroa infestation (2020)
Journal Article
Brettell, L., Schroeder, D., & Martin, S. (2020). RNAseq of Deformed wing virus and other honey bee-associated viruses in eight insect taxa with or without Varroa infestation. Viruses, 12(11), e1229. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12111229

The global spread of a parasitic mite (Varroa destructor) has resulted in Deformed wing virus (DWV), a previously rare pathogen, now dominating the viromes in honey bees and contributing to large-scale honey bee colony losses. DWV can be found in div... Read More about RNAseq of Deformed wing virus and other honey bee-associated viruses in eight insect taxa with or without Varroa infestation.

Linking the Phyllosphere Microbiome to Plant Health (2020)
Journal Article
Liu, H., Brettell, L., & Singh, B. (2020). Linking the Phyllosphere Microbiome to Plant Health. Trends in Plant Science, 25(9), 841-844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2020.06.003

The phyllosphere harbors diverse microbial communities that influence ecosystem functioning. Emerging evidence suggests that plants impaired in genetic networks harbor an altered microbiome and develop dysbiosis in the phyllosphere, which pinpoints p... Read More about Linking the Phyllosphere Microbiome to Plant Health.

Occurrence of honey bee-associated pathogens in Varroa-free pollinator communities (2020)
Journal Article
Brettell, L., Riegler, M., O'Brien, C., & Cook, J. M. (2020). Occurrence of honey bee-associated pathogens in Varroa-free pollinator communities. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 171, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2020.107344

Australia remains the last significant land mass free of Varroa, a parasitic mite which has caused dramatic honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses across the globe, due to its association with the pathogenic deformed wing virus (DWV). As such, Aust... Read More about Occurrence of honey bee-associated pathogens in Varroa-free pollinator communities.

Varroa destructor reproduction and cell re-capping in mite-resistant Apis mellifera populations (2019)
Journal Article
Martin, S., Hawkins, G., Brettell, L., Reece, N., Correia-Oliveira, M., & Allsopp, M. (2020). Varroa destructor reproduction and cell re-capping in mite-resistant Apis mellifera populations. Apidologie, 51(3), 369-381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-019-00721-9

Globalization has facilitated the spread of emerging pests such as the Varroa destructor mite, resulting in the near global distribution of the pest. In South African and Brazilian honey bees, mite-resistant colonies appeared within a decade; in Euro... Read More about Varroa destructor reproduction and cell re-capping in mite-resistant Apis mellifera populations.

Deformed wing virus in honeybees and other insects (2019)
Journal Article
Martin, S., & Brettell, L. (2019). Deformed wing virus in honeybees and other insects. Annual Review of Virology, 6(1), 49-69. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-virology-092818-015700

Deformed wing virus (DWV) has become the most well-known, widespread, and intensively studied insect pathogen in the world. Although DWV was previously present in honeybee populations, the arrival and global spread of a new vector, the ectoparasitic... Read More about Deformed wing virus in honeybees and other insects.

RNAseq analysis reveals virus diversity within Hawaiian apiary insect communities (2019)
Journal Article
Brettell, L., Schroeder, D., & Martin, S. (2019). RNAseq analysis reveals virus diversity within Hawaiian apiary insect communities. Viruses, 11(5), 397. https://doi.org/10.3390/v11050397

Deformed wing virus (DWV) is the most abundant viral pathogen of honey bees and has been associated with large-scale colony losses. DWV and other bee-associated RNA viruses are generalists capable of infecting diverse hosts. Here we used RNAseq analy... Read More about RNAseq analysis reveals virus diversity within Hawaiian apiary insect communities.