St. Leger is also known for developing transgenic technologies, including altering insect pathogens so that they carry genes encoding spider and scorpion toxins.[17][18][19][20] A field trial in Burkina Faso has shown that these engineered pathogens have the potential to control insect borne diseases such as malaria.[21] St. Leger has tested an array of "alternative engineering strategies to be consistent with the highly exploratory approach required for optimizing a pathogens biocontrol potential".[22] For example, engineering a mosquito pathogenic fungus to carry a gene for a human anti-malarial antibody so that the fungus targets the malarial parasite in the mosquito reduces the possibility of mosquitoes evolving resistance to the fungus.[23]
St. Leger is an advocate of online open education and since 2013 has co-taught with Dr. Tammatha O’Brien (https://tammatha.weebly.com/) a MOOC on the Coursera platform called Genes and the Human Condition [25] that has had more than 200,000 active learners.
Fang, Weiguo; Azimzadeh, Philippe; St. Leger, Raymond J. (2012). "Strain improvement of fungal insecticides for controlling insect pests and vector-borne diseases". Current Opinion in Microbiology. 15 (3). Elsevier: 232–238. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2011.12.012. ISSN 1369-5274. PMID 22245564.
^Lovett, B; St. Leger, R.J (2017). Heitman, Joseph; Howlett, Barbara J; Crous, Pedro W; Stukenbrock, Eva H; James, Timothy Y; Gow, Neil A. R (eds.). "The Insect Pathogens". The Fungal Kingdom. 5 (2017). doi:10.1128/9781555819583. ISBN 9781683670827. PMID 28256192.
^Fang, W; St. Leger, R.J (2010). "RNA binding proteins mediate the ability of a fungus to adapt to the cold". Environmental Microbiology. 12 (2010): 810–820. doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02127.x. PMID 20050869.
^Wang, S; O’Brien, T; Pava-Ripoll, M; St. Leger, R.J (2011). "Local adaptation of an introduced transgenic insect fungal pathogen due to new beneficial mutations". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (2011): 20449–20454. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10820449W. doi:10.1073/pnas.1113824108. PMC3251136. PMID 22143757.
^Wang, C; St. Leger, R.J (2007). "Metarhizium anisopliae perilipin homolog MPL1 regulates lipid metabolism, appressorial turgor pressure and virulence". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 282 (2007): 21110–21115. doi:10.1074/jbc.M609592200. PMID 17526497.
^Guo, N; Zhang, Q; Chen, X; Zhang, X; Xu, C; St. Leger, R.J; Fang, W (2017). "Alternative transcription start site selection in Mr-OPY2 controls lifestyle transitions in the fungus Metarhizium robertsii". Nature Communications. 8 (1): 1565. Bibcode:2017NatCo...8.1565G. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01756-1. PMC5691130. PMID 29146899.
^Wang, C; Hu, G.; St. Leger, R.J (2005). "Differential gene expression by Metarhizium anisopliae growing in root exudate and host (Manduca sexta) cuticle or hemolymph reveals mechanisms of physiological adaptation". Fungal Genetics and Biology. 42 (2005): 704–718. doi:10.1016/j.fgb.2005.04.006. PMID 15914043.
^Wang, C; St. Leger, R.J (2006). "A collagenous protective coat enables Metarhizium anisopliae to evade insect immune responses". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (2006): 2647–6652. Bibcode:2006PNAS..103.6647W. doi:10.1073/pnas.0601951103. PMC1458935. PMID 16614065.
^Wang, S; Fang, W; Wang, C; St. Leger, R.J (2011). "Insertion of an esterase gene into a specific locust pathogen (Metarhizium acridum) enables it to infect caterpillars". PLOS Pathogens. 7 (2011): e1002097. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1002097. PMC3121873. PMID 21731492.
^Hu, X; Zheng, P; Shang, Y; Su, Y; Zhang, X; Zhan, X; St. Leger, R.J.; Wang, C (2014). "Trajectory and genomic determinants of fungal-pathogen speciation and host adaptation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (2014): 16796–16801. Bibcode:2014PNAS..11116796H. doi:10.1073/pnas.1412662111. PMC4250126. PMID 25368161.
^Zhang, Q; Chen, X; Quo, N; Meng, Y; St. Leger, R.J; Fang, Weiguo (2019). "Horizontal gene transfer allowed the emergence of broad host range entomopathogens". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116 (2019): 7982–7989. doi:10.1073/pnas.1816430116. PMC6475382. PMID 30948646.
^Wang, J.B.; Lu, H.L.; St. Leger, R.J (2017). "The genetic basis for variation in resistance to infection in the Drosophila melanogaster genetic reference panel". PLOS Pathogens. 13 (2017): e1006260. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1006260. PMC5352145. PMID 28257468.
^Hu, G.; St. Leger, R.J (2004). "A phylogenomic approach to reconstructing the diversification of serine proteases in fungi". Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 17 (2004): 1204–1214. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2004.00786.x. PMID 15525405.
^Gao, Q; Ying, S.H; Zhang, Y; Xiao, G; Shang, Y; Duan, Z; Hu, X; Xue-Qin, X; Zhou, G; Peng, G; Luo, Z; Huang, W; Wang, B; Fang, W; Wang, S; Zhong, Y; Ma, L; St. Leger, R.J.; Zhao, G.; Pei, Y; Feng, M.G.; Xia, Y; Wang, C (2011). "Genome Sequencing and Comparative Transcriptomics of the Model Entomopathogenic Fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and M. acridum". PLOS Genetics. 7 (2011): e1001264. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1001264. PMC3017113. PMID 21253567.
^Liao, X; O'Brien, T; Fang, W; St. Leger, R.J (2014). "The plant beneficial effects of Metarhizium species correlate with their association with roots". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 98 (2014): 7089–7096. doi:10.1007/s00253-014-5788-2. PMC4153607. PMID 21350178.
^Liao, X; Lovett, B; Fang, W; St. Leger, R.J. (2017). "Metarhizium robertsii produces indole-3-acetic acid, which promotes root growth in Arabidopsis and enhances virulence to insects". Microbiology. 163 (2017): 980–991. doi:10.1099/mic.0.000494. PMID 28708056.
^Fang, W; Lu, H; King, G.F; St. Leger, R.J (2015). "Construction of a hypervirulent and specific mycoinsecticide for locust control". Scientific Reports. 4 (2014): 7345. doi:10.1038/srep07345. PMC4256560. PMID 25475694.
^Gallagher, James (31 May 2019). "GM fungus rapidly kills 99% of malaria mosquitoes, study suggests". BBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
^Saey, Tina. "A fungus weaponized with a spider toxin can kill malaria mosquitoes". Retrieved 31 May 2019.
^Bonner, Walt (2019-06-10). "Genetically-altered fungus murders mosquitoes with spider venom". foxnews.com. Fox News. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
^Lovett, B; Bilgo, E; Millogo, S.A; Ouattarra, A.K; Sare, I; Gnambani, E.J; Dabire, R.K; Diabate, A; St.Leger, R.J. (2019). "Transgenic Metarhizium rapidly kills mosquitoes in a malaria-endemic region of Burkina Faso". Science. 364 (2019): 894–897. Bibcode:2019Sci...364..894L. doi:10.1126/science.aaw8737. PMC4153607. PMID 21350178.
^Lovett, B; Bilgo, E; Diabate, A; St. Leger, R.J. (2019). "A review of progress toward field application of transgenic mosquitocidal entomopathogenic fungi". Pest Management Science. 75 (9): 2316–2324. doi:10.1002/ps.5385. PMID 20050869. S2CID 73507848.
^Fang, W; Vega-Rodriguez, J; Ghosh, A.K; Jacobs-Lorena, M; Khang, A; St. Leger, R.J. (2011). "Development of transgenic fungi that kill human malaria parasites in mosquitoes". Science. 331 (2011): 1074–1077. Bibcode:2011Sci...331.1074F. doi:10.1126/science.1199115. PMC4153607. PMID 21350178.
^National Research Council (2009). "Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia". The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/12455. ISBN 978-0-309-12494-2.
^St. Leger, R.J; O'Brien, T. "Genes and the Human Condition (from behavior to Biotechnology)". Coursera. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
^ESA. "Dr. Raymond J. St. Leger, ESA fellow". Retrieved 7 February 2020.
^Exeter University. "Professor Raymond J. St. Leger (DSc)". Exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
^Cutlip, Kimbra (2020-01-24). "UMD-led Study Named Most Impactful Paper Published in the Journal Science in 2019". umdrightnow.umd.edu. Retrieved 7 February 2020.