British entomologist
Raymond J. St. Leger (born 1957, in London, England) is an American
mycologist ,
entomologist ,
molecular biologist and
biotechnologist who currently holds the rank of Distinguished University Professor in the Department of
Entomology (
https://entomology.umd.edu/ ) at the
University of Maryland, College Park .
Research and career
St. Leger went to the
United States to begin his career at the
Boyce Thompson Institute at the invitation of
Donald W. Roberts .
[1] According to
Google Scholar , he has since then published more than 150 scientific papers and book chapters on
fungal
pathogens of
plants ,
animals and
insects , and on the reactions of hosts to
infection . St. Leger has principally used
entomopathogenic fungus (
fungi that act as
parasites of
insects ),
[2] as models for understanding how
pathogens in general respond to stress,
[3] changing
environments ,
[4] initiate host invasion,
[5]
[6] colonize tissues,
[7] and counter host
immune responses.
[8] These investigations have also addressed the mechanisms by which new pathogens emerge with different host ranges
[9]
[10]
[11] and genetic variation between individuals in host defenses.
[12] Other interests include fungal and insect
behavior and
evolution ,
[13] molecular biology and genomics of fungi,
[14] and
mutualistic associations between microbes and plants that can be exploited to benefit
agriculture .
[15]
[16]
St. Leger is also known for developing
transgenic technologies, including altering insect pathogens so that they carry genes encoding
spider and
scorpion toxins.
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20] A field trial in
Burkina Faso has shown that these engineered pathogens have the potential to control insect borne diseases such as
malaria .
[21] St. Leger has tested an array of "alternative engineering strategies to be consistent with the highly exploratory approach required for optimizing a pathogens
biocontrol potential".
[22] For example, engineering a mosquito pathogenic fungus to carry a gene for a human anti-malarial antibody so that the fungus targets the malarial parasite in the mosquito reduces the possibility of mosquitoes evolving resistance to the fungus.
[23]
St. Leger has been a consultant on
biotechnology to many private and public concerns, including the
NIH , the
USDA , the
NSF , the
US State Department and the
Organization of American States . St. Leger has also served on many national and international policy-making committees including the
Bill Gates funded National Academies Committee to study technologies to benefit
Sub Saharan Africa and
South Asia (2009).
[24]
St. Leger is an advocate of online open education and since 2013 has co-taught with Dr. Tammatha O’Brien (
https://tammatha.weebly.com/ ) a
MOOC on the
Coursera platform called Genes and the Human Condition
[25] that has had more than 200,000 active learners.
Education
St. Leger received his
Bachelor of Science in biology from
Exeter University ,
England in 1978, a
Master of Science in
entomology in 1980 from
Birkbeck College ,
London University , and a
Doctor of Philosophy in 1985 from the
University of Bath ,
England .
Awards and honors
St. Leger has received several awards for his research, he was elected a
fellow of the
AAAS (2012), the
American Academy of Microbiology (2013), the
Royal Entomological Society of London (FRES) (2011), the
Entomological Society of America
[26] (2019) and is a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB). He received the
American Society for Microbiology Promega Biotechnology Research Award (2017) and was the inaugural recipient of the Tai Fung-Lan Award for International Cooperation from The
Mycological Society of China (2016). St. Leger received an honorary
doctorate from his alma mater of
Exeter University in 2018
[27] and the
Newcomb Cleveland Prize for the most impactful paper published in
the journal Science in 2019.
[28] St. Leger gave the Founders lecture at the 2009 Society of Invertebrate Pathology Meeting honoring his friend and frequent collaborator
Donald W. Roberts .
[29]
[1]
Selected bibliography
References
^
a
b
c "SIP Newsletter". 42 (2).
Society for Invertebrate Pathology . June 2009.
^ Lovett, B; St. Leger, R.J (2017). Heitman, Joseph; Howlett, Barbara J; Crous, Pedro W; Stukenbrock, Eva H; James, Timothy Y; Gow, Neil A. R (eds.). "The Insect Pathogens". The Fungal Kingdom . 5 (2017).
doi :
10.1128/9781555819583 .
ISBN
9781683670827 .
PMID
28256192 .
^ Fang, W; St. Leger, R.J (2010). "RNA binding proteins mediate the ability of a fungus to adapt to the cold". Environmental Microbiology . 12 (2010): 810–820.
doi :
10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02127.x .
PMID
20050869 .
^ Wang, S; O’Brien, T; Pava-Ripoll, M; St. Leger, R.J (2011).
"Local adaptation of an introduced transgenic insect fungal pathogen due to new beneficial mutations" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 108 (2011): 20449–20454.
Bibcode :
2011PNAS..10820449W .
doi :
10.1073/pnas.1113824108 .
PMC
3251136 .
PMID
22143757 .
^ Wang, C; St. Leger, R.J (2007).
"Metarhizium anisopliae perilipin homolog MPL1 regulates lipid metabolism, appressorial turgor pressure and virulence" . Journal of Biological Chemistry . 282 (2007): 21110–21115.
doi :
10.1074/jbc.M609592200 .
PMID
17526497 .
^ Guo, N; Zhang, Q; Chen, X; Zhang, X; Xu, C; St. Leger, R.J; Fang, W (2017).
"Alternative transcription start site selection in Mr-OPY2 controls lifestyle transitions in the fungus Metarhizium robertsii " . Nature Communications . 8 (1): 1565.
Bibcode :
2017NatCo...8.1565G .
doi :
10.1038/s41467-017-01756-1 .
PMC
5691130 .
PMID
29146899 .
^ Wang, C; Hu, G.; St. Leger, R.J (2005). "Differential gene expression by Metarhizium anisopliae growing in root exudate and host (Manduca sexta ) cuticle or hemolymph reveals mechanisms of physiological adaptation". Fungal Genetics and Biology . 42 (2005): 704–718.
doi :
10.1016/j.fgb.2005.04.006 .
PMID
15914043 .
^ Wang, C; St. Leger, R.J (2006).
"A collagenous protective coat enables Metarhizium anisopliae to evade insect immune responses" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 103 (2006): 2647–6652.
Bibcode :
2006PNAS..103.6647W .
doi :
10.1073/pnas.0601951103 .
PMC
1458935 .
PMID
16614065 .
^ Wang, S; Fang, W; Wang, C; St. Leger, R.J (2011).
"Insertion of an esterase gene into a specific locust pathogen (Metarhizium acridum ) enables it to infect caterpillars" . PLOS Pathogens . 7 (2011): e1002097.
doi :
10.1371/journal.ppat.1002097 .
PMC
3121873 .
PMID
21731492 .
^ Hu, X; Zheng, P; Shang, Y; Su, Y; Zhang, X; Zhan, X; St. Leger, R.J.; Wang, C (2014).
"Trajectory and genomic determinants of fungal-pathogen speciation and host adaptation" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 111 (2014): 16796–16801.
Bibcode :
2014PNAS..11116796H .
doi :
10.1073/pnas.1412662111 .
PMC
4250126 .
PMID
25368161 .
^ Zhang, Q; Chen, X; Quo, N; Meng, Y; St. Leger, R.J; Fang, Weiguo (2019).
"Horizontal gene transfer allowed the emergence of broad host range entomopathogens" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 116 (2019): 7982–7989.
doi :
10.1073/pnas.1816430116 .
PMC
6475382 .
PMID
30948646 .
^ Wang, J.B.; Lu, H.L.; St. Leger, R.J (2017).
"The genetic basis for variation in resistance to infection in the Drosophila melanogaster genetic reference panel" . PLOS Pathogens . 13 (2017): e1006260.
doi :
10.1371/journal.ppat.1006260 .
PMC
5352145 .
PMID
28257468 .
^ Hu, G.; St. Leger, R.J (2004).
"A phylogenomic approach to reconstructing the diversification of serine proteases in fungi" . Journal of Evolutionary Biology . 17 (2004): 1204–1214.
doi :
10.1111/j.1420-9101.2004.00786.x .
PMID
15525405 .
^ Gao, Q; Ying, S.H; Zhang, Y; Xiao, G; Shang, Y; Duan, Z; Hu, X; Xue-Qin, X; Zhou, G; Peng, G; Luo, Z; Huang, W; Wang, B; Fang, W; Wang, S; Zhong, Y; Ma, L; St. Leger, R.J.; Zhao, G.; Pei, Y; Feng, M.G.; Xia, Y; Wang, C (2011).
"Genome Sequencing and Comparative Transcriptomics of the Model Entomopathogenic Fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and M. acridum " . PLOS Genetics . 7 (2011): e1001264.
doi :
10.1371/journal.pgen.1001264 .
PMC
3017113 .
PMID
21253567 .
^ Liao, X; O'Brien, T; Fang, W; St. Leger, R.J (2014).
"The plant beneficial effects of Metarhizium species correlate with their association with roots" . Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology . 98 (2014): 7089–7096.
doi :
10.1007/s00253-014-5788-2 .
PMC
4153607 .
PMID
21350178 .
^ Liao, X; Lovett, B; Fang, W; St. Leger, R.J. (2017).
"Metarhizium robertsii produces indole-3-acetic acid, which promotes root growth in Arabidopsis and enhances virulence to insects" . Microbiology . 163 (2017): 980–991.
doi :
10.1099/mic.0.000494 .
PMID
28708056 .
^ Fang, W; Lu, H; King, G.F; St. Leger, R.J (2015).
"Construction of a hypervirulent and specific mycoinsecticide for locust control" . Scientific Reports . 4 (2014): 7345.
doi :
10.1038/srep07345 .
PMC
4256560 .
PMID
25475694 .
^ Gallagher, James (31 May 2019).
"GM fungus rapidly kills 99% of malaria mosquitoes, study suggests" . BBC News . Retrieved 31 May 2019 .
^ Saey, Tina.
"A fungus weaponized with a spider toxin can kill malaria mosquitoes" . Retrieved 31 May 2019 .
^ Bonner, Walt (2019-06-10).
"Genetically-altered fungus murders mosquitoes with spider venom" . foxnews.com . Fox News. Retrieved 13 June 2019 .
^ Lovett, B; Bilgo, E; Millogo, S.A; Ouattarra, A.K; Sare, I; Gnambani, E.J; Dabire, R.K; Diabate, A; St.Leger, R.J. (2019).
"Transgenic Metarhizium rapidly kills mosquitoes in a malaria-endemic region of Burkina Faso" . Science . 364 (2019): 894–897.
Bibcode :
2019Sci...364..894L .
doi :
10.1126/science.aaw8737 .
PMC
4153607 .
PMID
21350178 .
^ Lovett, B; Bilgo, E; Diabate, A; St. Leger, R.J. (2019). "A review of progress toward field application of transgenic mosquitocidal entomopathogenic fungi". Pest Management Science . 75 (9): 2316–2324.
doi :
10.1002/ps.5385 .
PMID
20050869 .
S2CID
73507848 .
^ Fang, W; Vega-Rodriguez, J; Ghosh, A.K; Jacobs-Lorena, M; Khang, A; St. Leger, R.J. (2011).
"Development of transgenic fungi that kill human malaria parasites in mosquitoes" . Science . 331 (2011): 1074–1077.
Bibcode :
2011Sci...331.1074F .
doi :
10.1126/science.1199115 .
PMC
4153607 .
PMID
21350178 .
^ National Research Council (2009). "Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia". The National Academies Press .
doi :
10.17226/12455 .
ISBN
978-0-309-12494-2 .
^ St. Leger, R.J; O'Brien, T.
"Genes and the Human Condition (from behavior to Biotechnology)" . Coursera. Retrieved 7 February 2020 .
^ ESA.
"Dr. Raymond J. St. Leger, ESA fellow" . Retrieved 7 February 2020 .
^ Exeter University.
"Professor Raymond J. St. Leger (DSc)" . Exeter.ac.uk . Retrieved 7 February 2020 .
^ Cutlip, Kimbra (2020-01-24).
"UMD-led Study Named Most Impactful Paper Published in the Journal Science in 2019" . umdrightnow.umd.edu . Retrieved 7 February 2020 .
^
St. Leger, Raymond J. (2010). "Society for Invertebrate Pathology 2009 Founders' Lecture".
Journal of Invertebrate Pathology . 105 (3).
Society for Invertebrate Pathology (
Academic Press ): 211–219.
doi :
10.1016/j.jip.2010.09.021 .
ISSN
0022-2011 .
PMID
20970532 .
S2CID
29215470 .
S2CID
116030568
External links
International National Academics Other