Biography
2015 - Current: Associate Professor of Microbiology, Rhodes University
2010 - 2015: Senior lecturer, Rhodes University
2004 - 2010: Lecturer, Rhodes University
2009 - 2021: Head of Microbiology, Rhodes University
1997 - 2003: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of St Andrews, Scotland
1994 - 1997: Postdoctoral Fellow, Hadassah Medical School, Israel
1988 - 1992: PhD (University of the Witwatersrand)
Academic Teaching
Microbiology II: Introduction to virology; Microbial genetics
Microbiology III: Eukaryotic Cell Biology, Concepts in immunology
Research
Genetic and biological characterisation of baculovirus for the control of agricultural insect pests. Lepidopteran insects such as false codling moth, codling moth and diamondback moth are serious pests of citrus and other crops in Africa and worldwide, with considerable financial impact. Conventional pest management programmes rely on chemical insecticides which, although effective, can have negative environmental implications and lead to the development of pest resistance. Globally there has been increasing promise in the use of entomopathogenic microbes as biocontrol agents, specifically a group of naturally occurring insect viruses belonging to the baculovirus family. A range of baculovirus products, some locally produced, are registered for the control of insect pests in South Africa. This research, conducted in collaboration with the Centre for Biological Control, Rhodes University and Citrus Research International, South Africa, comprises a range of projects aimed at improving the efficacy of baculovirus biopesticides for control of economically important crop pests.
Current Student Supervision
Dr Michael Jukes (PhD, Rhodes University)
Dr Marcel van der Merwe (PhD, Rhodes University)
Siyabonga Poswa (MSc)
Siviwe Tole (MSc)
Tadiwa Kambani (MSc)
Recent publications
van der Merwe, M.; Jukes, M.D.; Knox, C.; Moore, S.D.; Hill, M.P. Naturally Occurring Yeasts Associated with Thaumatotibia leucotreta Can Enhance the Efficacy of the Cryptophlebia Leucotreta Granulovirus Pathogens, 12, 1237.
van der Merwe, M., Jukes, MD., Knox CM., Moore, SD., Hill, MP. 2022. Mutualism between Gut-Borne Yeasts and Their Host, Thaumatotibia leucotreta, and Potential Usefulness in Pest Management. Insects 2022, 13(3), 243.
Blachère-Lopez, C., Knox, C., Moore, S.M., Marsberg, T., Lopez-Ferber, M. 2021. CpGV-M Replication in Type I Resistant Insects: Helper Virus and Order of Ingestion Are Important. Viruses 2021, 13, 1695.
Upfold, NS., Luke, GA & Knox, CM. 2021. Occurrence of human enteric viruses in water sources and shellfish: a focus on Africa. Food and Environmental Virology Food and Environmental Virology 13, 1–31
Upfold NS., Ross C, Tastan Bishop Ö, Knox C. 2020. The In Silico Prediction of Hotspot Residues that Contribute to the Structural Stability of Subunit Interfaces of a Picornavirus Capsid. Viruses. 12(4):387.
Onosi O., Upfold NS, Jukes MD, Luke GA, Knox C. 2020. The First Detection of Human Bocavirus Species 2 and 3 in Raw Sewage and Mussels in South Africa. Food and Environmental Virology. 2020 Mar;12(1):84-88.
Onosi O., Nicole S. Upfold, Michael D. Jukes, Garry A. Luke and Caroline Knox. 2019. The first molecular detection of Aichi Virus 1 in raw sewage and mussels collected in South Africa. Food and Environmental Virology, 11: 96 - 100.
Wennmann, J.T., Eigenbrod, M., Marsberg, T., Moore, S.D., Knox, C.M., Hill, M.P., Jehle, J.A. 2019. Cryptophlebia peltastica nucleopolyhedrovirus is highly infectious to codling moth larvae and cells. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 85(17): 1-12.
Motsoeneng, B., Jukes, M.D., Knox, C.M., Hill, M.P., Moore, S.D. 2019. Genome analysis of a novel South African Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV-SA) with resistance-breaking potential. Viruses, 11, 658: 1-10.
Marsberg, T., Jukes, M.D., Rabalski, L., Knox, C., Moore, S.D., Krejmer-Rabalska, M., Szewczyk, B., Hill, M.P. 2018. Morphological and genetic characterisation of a novel Alphabaculovirus isolated from Cryptophlebia peltastica (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 157: 90-99.
Dubey, K.K., Garry A. Luke, Caroline Knox, Punit Kumar, Brett I. Pletschke, Puneet Kumar Singh and Pratyoosh Shukla. 2018. Vaccine and antibody production in plants: developments and computational tools. Briefings in Functional Genomics, 1–14.
Upfold, N., Ross, C., Tastan Bishop, O., Luke, G.A. and Knox, C. 2018. The generation and characterisation of neutralising antibodies against the Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) GDVII capsid reveals the potential binding site of the host cell co-receptor, heparan sulfate. Virus Research, 244: 153–163
van der Merwe, M., Michael D. Jukes, Martyna Krejmer-Rabalska, Lukasz Rabalski, John K. Opoku-Debrah, Sean D. Moore, Martin P. Hill, Boguslaw Szewczyk, Caroline Knox. 2017. Genome analysis and genetic stability of the Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus (CrleGV-SA), after 15 years of commercial use as a biopesticide. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18: 2327.
Vos, H. and Knox, C. 2017. The isolation and molecular identification of HAdV-D17 in raw sewage and mussel samples collected in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases. 1(1): 1-4.
Lloyd, M., Knox, C., Thackeray, S., Hill, M.P. and Moore, S.D. 2017. Isolation, identification and genetic characterisation of a microsporidium isolated from the carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). African Entomology. African Entomology 25(2): 529–533.
Ross, C., Tastan Bishop, O. and Knox, C. 2017. Interacting motif networks located in hotspots associated with RNA release are conserved in Enterovirus capsids. FEBS Lett. doi:10.1002/1873-3468.12663.
Ross, C., Upfold, N., Luke, G.A., Tastan Bishop, O. and Knox, C. 2016. Subcellular localisation of Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) capsid subunit VP1 vis-á-vis host protein Hsp90. Virus Research 222: 53-63.
Jukes, M.D., Motsoeneng, B.M., Knox, C.M., Hill, M.P. and Moore, S.D. 2016. The complete genome sequences of two South African betabaculoviruses: Phthorimaea operculella granulovirus and Plutella xylostella granulovirus. Archives of Virology 161: 2917–2920.
Opoku-Debrah, J., Hill, M., Knox, C.M. and Moore, S.D. 2016. Heterogeneity in virulence relationships between Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus isolates and geographically distinct host populations: lessons from codling moth resistance to CpGV-M. Biocontrol 61: 449-459.
Abdulkadir, F., Knox, C., Marsberg, T., Hill, M.P. and Moore, S.D. 2015. Genetic and biological characterisation of a novel Plutella xylostella granulovirus, PlxyGV-SA. Biocontrol. 60: 507-515.
Knox, C., Moore, S.D., Luke, G.A. and Hill, M.P. 2015. Baculovirus-based strategies for the management of insect pests: a focus on development and application in South Africa. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 25(1): 1-20.
Opoku-Debrah, J., Hill, M., Knox, C.M. and Moore, S.D. 2014. Comparison of the biology of geographically distinct populations of the citrus pest, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in South Africa. African Entomology. 22(3): 530–537.
Jukes, M.D., Knox, C.M., Hill, M.P. and Moore, S.D. 2014. The isolation and genetic characterisation of a South African strain of Phthorimaea operculella granulovirus, PhopGV-SA. Virus Research. 183, 85-88.
Contact details
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology,
Rhodes University
Grahamstown 6140
South Africa
Tel: +27 46 6038023
Fax: +27 46 6037576
Email: caroline.knox@ru.ac.za
Last Modified: Mon, 13 May 2024 09:32:06 SAST