I am currently working to find new treatment and control options for the plant pathogens Phytophthora agathidicida (causative agent of kauri dieback disease) and P. cinnamomi (pathogen of various commercially-important trees). This work involves high-throughput screening of existing antimicrobials, as well as discovery of novel antimicrobials from native NZ plants. Additionally, I am using next-generation sequencing and protein modelling to try and gain a better understanding
Lawrence, S. A., Burgess, E. J., Pairama, C., Black, A., Patrick, W. M., Mitchell, I., Perry, N. B., & Gerth, M. L. (2019). Mātauranga-guided screening of New Zealand native plants reveals flavonoids from kānuka (Kunzea robusta) with anti-Phytophthora activity. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2019.1648303
Lawrence, S. A., Floge, S. A., Davy, J. E., Davy, S. K., & Wilson, W. H. (2017). Exploratory analysis on Symbiodinium transcriptomes reveals potential latent infection by large dsDNA viruses. Environmental Microbiology, 19(10), 3909-3919. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.13782
Lawrence, S. A., Armstrong, C. B., Patrick, W. M., & Gerth, M. L. (2017). High-throughput chemical screening identifies compounds that inhibit different stages of the Phytophthora agathidicida and Phytophthora cinnamomi life cycles. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, 1340. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01340
Lawrence, S. A., & Poulin, R. (2016). Detection of the bacterial endosymbiont Neorickettsia in a New Zealand digenean. Parasitology Research, 115(11), 4275-4279. doi: 10.1007/s00436-016-5208-x
Lawrence, S. A., Wilkinson, S. P., Davy, J. E., Arlidge, W. N. S., Williams, G. J., Wilson, W. H., … Davy, S. K. (2015). Influence of local environmental variables on the viral consortia associated with the coral Montipora capitata from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, USA. Aquatic Microbial Ecology, 74(3), 251-262. doi: 10.3354/ame01743
Lawrence, S. A., Davy, J. E., Wilson, W. H., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., & Davy, S. K. (2015). Porites white patch syndrome: Associated viruses and disease physiology. Coral Reefs, 34(1), 249-257. doi: 10.1007/s00338-014-1218-2
Lawrence, S. A., Wilson, W. H., Davy, J. E., & Davy, S. K. (2014). Latent virus-like infections are present in a diverse range of Symbiodinium spp. (Dinophyta). Journal of Phycology, 50(6), 984-997. doi: 10.1111/jpy.12242
Lawrence, S. A., Davy, J. E., Aeby, G. S., Wilson, W. H., & Davy, S. K. (2014). Quantification of virus-like particles suggests viral infection in corals affected by Porites tissue loss [Note]. Coral Reefs, 33(3), 687-691. doi: 10.1007/s00338-014-1168-8
