HAPE Key projects and outputs

Current projects

• Transfer of MAP from soil to plant to silage (Quality Meat Scotland, 2013-14)
• Ecology of Cryptosporidium (Quality Meat Scotland, 2013-14)
• The capacity and pathogenic potential of bacteria that internalise into plant tissue (Food Standards Agency, 2014-16)
• Defining the interactions between plant cell walls and bacterial surface factors (The Leverhulme Trust, 2012-15)
• Effect of maintenance and different raw water quality parameters on ultraviolet (UV) disinfection in private water supplier in Scotland (Scottish Government and Scottish Water, 2013-14)
• Identification and characterisation of EHEC adherence factors that interact with plant tissue (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, 2011-14)
• Water for Biogas - Biogas for Water (Royal Society and Department for International Development, 2013-14)
• Aquavalens – Microbially Safe Drinking Water (EU FP7, 2013-18)
• TICKLESS tick control in sheep in Norway (Norwegian Research Council, 2011-14)
• Faecal Source Tracking and Sediment-indicator interactions (Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services, 2011-16)
• Development of a DNA archive for Waters in Scotland (Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services, 2011-16)

Past projects

• Centre of Excellence: Epidemiology, population health and infectious disease control (Scottish Government, 2006-2012)
• QMS Soil sampling and analysis to inform disease management and soil health (Quality Meat Scotland, 2011-2013)
• Pathogen surface characteristics and transport through catchments (Natural Environment Research Council, 2008-2012)
• Clostridia and indicator organisms dynamics through Anaerobic Digestion (WRAP, Society for Applied Microbiology, 2012)
• Potential of small-scale biogas digesters to improve livelihoods and long term sustainability of ecosystem services in sub-Saharan Africa (Department for International Development, 2012)
• Paraban sub-project on influence of environment on paraTB (Scottish Government, 2010-2013)
• Climate change and the host searching behaviour of ticks (University of Western Australia, 2012)
• Risk Assessment of Application of composted wastes to land (WRAP, 2008-2009)
• Water quality and ecosystem function (WP 3.4.1); Riparian and catchment processes (WP 3.4.2); Ecosystem resilience and recovery (WP 3.4.3); Evaluation best management practices (WP 3.5.2) (Scottish Government, 2006-2011).
• The role of animal dispersal in spreading and controlling tick-borne diseases (Macaulay Development Trust, 2007-2010)
• Ecological drivers of wildlife disease - a scoping study (Scottish Government, 2004-2006)
• Proof of concept- a novel technology for detection of multiple microbial species (Scottish Enterprise, 2008-2010)

Key outputs

• Avery, L.M., Anchang, K.Y., Tumsweige, V., Strachan, N and Goude, P.J. 2014. Potential for Pathogen Reduction in Anaerobic Digestion in Sub-Saharan Africa Biomass and Bioenergy (in press).
• Elliott, G.N., Hough, R.L., Avery, L.M., Maltin, C. and Campbell, C.D. 2014. Environmental risk factors in incidence of Johne’s disease. Critical Reviews in Microbiology (in press).
• Brennan, F.P., Moynihan, E., Griffiths, B., Hillier, S., Owen, J., Pendlowski, H., Avery, L. 2014. Clay mineral type effect on bacterial enteropathogen survival in soil. Science of the Total Environment 468-469, 302-305.
• Brennan, F.P., Grant, J., Botting, C., O'Flaherty, V., Richards, K., Abram, F. 2013. Insights into the low temperature adaptation and nutritional flexibility of a soil persistent Escherichia coli. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 84, 75-85.
• Moynihan, E., Richards, K., Ritz, K., Tyrrel, S., Brennan, F.P. 2013. The impact of soil type, biology and temperature on the environmental persistence of non-toxigenic E. coli O157. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 113B, 41-46.
• Wright, K.M., Chapman, S., McGeachy, K., Humphris, S., Campbell, E., Toth, I.K. and Holden, N.J. 2013. The endophytic lifestyle of Escherichia coli O157:H7: quantification and internal localization in roots. Phytopathology 103, 333-340.
• Rossez, Y., Holmes, A., Wolfson, E.B., Gally, D.L., Mahajan, A., Pedersen, H.L., Willats, W.G.T., Toth, I.K. and Holden, N.J. 2013. Flagella interact with ionic plant lipids to mediate adherence of pathogenic Escherichia coli to fresh produce plants. Environmental Microbiology (online early).
• Holden, N.J., Wright, F., MacKenzie, K., Marshall, J., Mitchell, S., Mahajan, A., Wheatley, R. and Daniell, T.J. 2013. Prevalence and diversity of Escherichia coli isolated from a barley trial supplemented with bulky organic soil amendments: green compost and bovine slurry. Letters in Applied Microbiology 58, 205-212.
• Pritchard, L., Holden, N.J., Bielaszewska, M., Karch, H. and Toth, I.K. 2012. Alignment-free design of highly discriminatory diagnostic primer sets for Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak strains. PLoS ONE 7, e34498.
• Elliott, G.N., Thomas, N., MacRae, M., Campbell, C.D., Ogden, I.D., Singh, B.K. 2012. Multiplex T-RFLP allows for increased target number and enhanced specificity: Detection of Salmonella enterica and six species of Listeria in a single test. PloS ONE.
• Holden, N.J. 2010. Plants as reservoirs for human enteric pathogens. CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources 5, 1-11.
• Holden, N., Pritchard, L. and Toth, I. 2009. Colonization outwith the colon: plants as an alternative environmental reservoir for human pathogenic enterobacteria. FEMS Microbiological Reviews 33(4), 689-703.(doi:10.1111/j.1574-6976.2008.00153.x)
• Avery, L.M., Booth, P., Campbell, C.D., Tompkins, D., Hough, R.L. 2012. Prevalence and survival of potential pathogens in source segregated green waste compost. The Science of the Total Environment 431, 128-138.
• Quilliam, R., Williams, A.P., Avery, L., Malham, S., Jones, D. 2011. Unearthing human pathogens at the agricultural-environment interface: A review of current methods for the detection of Escherichia coli O157 in freshwater ecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 140, 354-360.
• Hough, R.L., Booth, P., Avery, L.M., Rhind, S.M., Crews, C., Bacon, J., Campbell, C.D., Tompkins, D. 2012. Risk assessment of the use of PAS100 green composts in sheep and cattle production in Scotland. Waste Management 32, 117-130.
• Porter, R., Norman, R. and Gilbert, L. 2011. Controlling tick borne diseases through domestic animal management: a theoretical approach. Theoretical Ecology 4 (3), 321-339. (doi:10.1007/s12080-010-0080-2)
• Brennan, F. P., Kramers, G., Grant, J., O' Flaherty, V., Holden, N.M. and Richards, K. 2012. Evaluating E. coli transport risk in soil using dye and bromide tracers. Soil Science Society of America Journal 76(2), 663-673.
• Pritchard, L., Holden, N. J., Bielaszewska, M., Karch, H. and Toth I. K. 2012. Alignment-free design of highly discriminatory diagnostic primer sets for Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak strains. PloS One. 10.1371/journal.pone.0034498.
• Toth, I.K., Pritchard, L. and Birch, P.R.J. 2006. Comparative genomics reveals what makes an enterobacterial plant pathogen. Annual Review of Phytopathology 44, 305-336.

Full list of outputs

• PDF file: Centre for Human and Animal Pathogens in the Environment (HAP-E) outputs (359 KB)