Ms Elmarie van der Merwe
| MSc student | |
Department |
|
Zoology and Entomology |
|
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Member of:
My Supervisor/s
| Primary Supervisor | |
| Gudrun Dittrich-Schroder | |
Co Supervisor |
|
| Bernard Slippers |
I am originally from Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, and completed my BSc Microbiology & Biochemistry, as well as my BSc (Hons) in Integrated Pest Management at the North-West University, Potchefstroom. My research project was about evaluating the susceptibility of Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, larvae collected from MON810 to Bt maize events in South Africa.
Currently, I am an MSc Entomology student working on developing a CRISPR/Cas9 gene knockout protocol for Sirex noctilio. This involves finding a way to rear all life stages of S. noctilio in an artificial environment and microinjection of CRISPR/Cas9 into S. noctilio eggs.
News
FABI recognised excellence by members of the Institute at the recent FABI Awards ceremony.
A new new automatic log splitter affectionately named ‘Stompie Gonzales’ is making light work of the back-breaking task of splitting logs.
Three FABIans attended the 26th International Congress of Entomology (ICE) from 17-22 July, in Helsinki, Finland.
My Journal Articles
| Publication |
|---|
| van der Merwe E, Slippers B, Dittrich-Schröder G. (2023) Mechanical egg activation and rearing of first instar larvae of Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae). Insects 14(12):931.
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/12/931 |