Katherine Lester

Katherine joined Forest Research in 2023 to assist with delivery of the current Hylobius management and monitoring programme. The large pine weevil, Hylobius abietis, is a pest of conifer plantations which can cause serious damage on restocking sites, necessitating expensive control measures. Working with other scientists at NRS she will contribute to development of a new monitoring programme, testing the efficacy of biological controls and apply for funding to support the work.

Research topics:

Previously Katherine has been involved in the identification and study of a wide range of pathogens and pests in both agriculture and aquaculture. Most recently working at SASA (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture) developing molecular tools for the identification of insect pests and metabarcoding of bulk arthropod samples. Her main research focus was the insect vectors of the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, improving knowledge and understanding of their biology and behaviour in the UK and the role they might play in the spread of Xylella if it were to be introduced.

Affiliations

Member of Royal Entomological Society

BSc, MPhil

katherine.lester@forestresearch.gov.uk

Research Entomologist

Tree health

Forest Research

Northern Research Station

Roslin

Midlothian EH25 9SY

Peer reviewed journal articles

Publications

Chapman, D, A’Hara, S, Broadmeadow, S, Cairns, R, Cottrell, J, Fuentes-Montemayor, E, Lester, K, Occhibove, F, Rogerson, S, White, S et al. (2022). PHC202_04: Improving Knowledge of Xylella fastidiosa Vector Ecology: Modelling Vector Occurrence and Abundance in the Wider Landscape in Scotland. 53pp. https://www.planthealthcentre.scot/publications/improving-knowledge-xylella-fastidiosa-vector-ecology-modelling-vector-occurrence-and

Collet, B., Collins, C., Cheyne, V. et al. Plasmid-driven RNA interference in fish cell lines. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. – Animal 58, 189–193 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-022-00645-2

Lester, K, Highet, F, Gottsberger, R, Strauss, G, Reisenzein, H, Maixner, M, Elbeaino, T, Valentini, F, D’onghia, AM, Loomans, A, et al. (2020). Xylella fastidiosa and its insect vectors. 32pp. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4046684

Lester, K, Murphy, K, McCluskey, A, Cairns, R, Fraser, K, Kenyon, D. (2020). Xylella fastidiosa: An overview of research at SASA. Proceedings Crop Protection in Northern Britain 2020. 45-50. https://www.cpnb.org/

Park, KJ, Guy, M., Fuentes-Montemayor, E., Lester, K., A’Hara, S, Cottrell, J. (2018). PHC2018-06: Utilising samples collected in an existing biodiversity network to identify the presence of potential insect vectors of Xylella fastidiosa in the UK. 22pp. https://www.planthealthcentre.scot/publications/identify-presence-potential-insect-vectors-xylella-fastidiosa-scotland

Noguera, P, Grunow, B, Klinger, M, Lester, K, Collet, B, del-Pozo J. (2017). Atlantic salmon cardiac primary cultures: An in vitro model to study viral host pathogen interactions and pathogenesis. PLoS ONE. 12(7):e0181058. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181058

Collet, B, Collins, C, Lester, K. (2017). Engineered cell lines for fish health research. Developmental and Comparative Immunology. 80:34-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2017.01.013

Matejusova, I, Hall, M, McBeath, AJA, Urquhart, K, Simons, J, Fordyce, MJ, Lester, K, Ho, Y-M, Murray, W, Bruno, DW. (2016). Susceptibility of goldsinny wrasse, Ctenolabrus rupestris L. (Labridae), to viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) genotype III: Experimental challenge and pathology. Veterinary Microbiology. 186:164-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2016.02.022

Fourrier, M, Lester, K, Markussen, T, Falk, K, Secombes, CJ, McBeath, A, Collet, B. (2015). Dual mutation events in the haemagglutinin-esterase and fusion protein from an infectious salmon anaemia virus HPR0 genotype promote viral fusion and activation by an ubiquitous host protease. PLoS ONE. 10(10):e0142020. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0142020

Fourrier, M, Lester, K, Thoen, E, Mikalsen, A, Evensen, O, Falk, K, Collet, B, McBeath, A. (2014). Deletions in the Highly Polymorphic Region (HPR) of Infectious Salmon Anaemia Virus HPR0 haemagglutinin-esterase protein enhance viral fusion and influence the interaction with the fusion protein. Journal of General Virology. 95(5):1015-1024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.061648-0

Collet, B, Urquhart, K, Noguera, P, Larsen, K, Lester, K, Smail, D, Bruno, D. (2013). A method to measure an indicator of viraemia in Atlantic salmon using a reporter cell line. Journal of Virological Methods. 191(2):113-117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-013-1689-4

Matejusova, I, Lester, K, Li, Z, Bravo, J, Bland, F, Collet, B. (2013). Comparison of complete polyprotein sequences of two isolates of salmon alphavirus (SAV) type I and their behaviour in a salmonid cell line. Archives of
Virology. 158(10):2143–2146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-013-1689-4

Lester, K, Hall, M, Urquhart, K, Gahlawat, S, Collet, B. (2012). Development of an in vitro system to measure the sensitivity to the antiviral Mx protein of fish viruses. Journal of Virological Methods. 182(1-2):1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jviromet.2012.01.014

Collet, B, Lester, K. (2011). Establishment of a Chinook salmon cell line with an inducible gene expression system. In vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology – Animal. 47(10):695–697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-011-9466-8

Collet, B, Lester, K. (2011). Establishment of an Atlantic salmon kidney cell line with an inducible gene expression system. Journal of Biotechnology. 154(4):209-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2011.05.010

Chang, MX, Collet, B, Nie, P, Campbell, S, Lester, K, Secombes, CJ, Zou, J. (2011). Expression and functional characterization of the RIG-1 like receptors
MDA5 and LGP2 in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Journal of Virology. 85(16):8403-8412. https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.00445-10

Lester, K, Black, J, Bruno, DW. (2011). Prevalence of salmonid alphavirus in Scottish fish farms from 2006 to 2007. Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists. 31(5):199-204. https://eafp.org/download/2011-Volume31/issue-5/716%20Lester.pdf

Noguera, P, Collins, C, Bruno, D, Pert, C, Turnbull, A, McIntosh, A, Lester, K, Bricknell, I, Wallace, S, Cook, P. (2009). Red vent syndrome in wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in Scotland is associated with Anisakis simplex sensu stricto (Nematoda: Anisakidae). Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 87(3):199-215. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02141

Bowden, TJ, Lester, K, MacLachlan, P, Bricknell, IR. (2000). Preliminary Study Into the Short Term Effects of Adjuvants on Atlantic Halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.). Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists. 20(4):148-152.
https://eafp.org/download/2000-Volume20/Issue%204/20_148.pdf