Investigating the Biosynthesis of Unusual Peptide Natural Products
Lead Research Organisation:
John Innes Centre
Department Name: Contracts Office
Abstract
The overall goal of this research project is to employ complementary genetic and biochemical methods to probe the biosynthesis of unusual peptide-derived compounds. An example is bottromycin, which has potent antibacterial activity and possesses beta-methylated amino acids and a macrocyclic amidine. The bottromycin gene cluster represents a starting point for the discovery of other unusual peptide pathways. The objectives of this research programme are:
1. In vitro analysis of key bottromycin enzymes
Radical SAM methyltransferases (RSMTs) are a poorly characterised class of enzyme that requires a highly oxygen sensitive iron-sulfur cluster. A variety of methods will be tested for optimal protein expression, purification and reconstitution. This will be carried out in anaerobic conditions and biophysical techniques (EPR, CD, UV-Vis) will be used to assess iron-sulfur cluster reconstitution. Activity with peptide substrates will be analysed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Candidate amidine-forming cyclases will be co-expressed with their putative peptide substrate and modifications will be assessed by LC-MS. Confirmed cyclase(s) will be purified and further analysed by crystallography and mutagenesis.
2. Reconstitution of bottromycin biosynthesis
A synthetic biology approach will be used to generate partial bottromycin gene clusters, where different sets of genes will generate different intermediates or shunt metabolites. Reporter genes with colorimetric outputs will be encoded in synthetic clusters to quantify transcription.
3. Genome mining for peptide natural products
Genome mining has identified a number of putative gene clusters for ribosomal peptides that contain radical SAM proteins similar to those in the bottromycin cluster. These clusters will be probed by gene deletion and heterologous expression. Metabolic or biological changes will be examined following genetic manipulation, and novel compounds will be chemically characterised.
1. In vitro analysis of key bottromycin enzymes
Radical SAM methyltransferases (RSMTs) are a poorly characterised class of enzyme that requires a highly oxygen sensitive iron-sulfur cluster. A variety of methods will be tested for optimal protein expression, purification and reconstitution. This will be carried out in anaerobic conditions and biophysical techniques (EPR, CD, UV-Vis) will be used to assess iron-sulfur cluster reconstitution. Activity with peptide substrates will be analysed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Candidate amidine-forming cyclases will be co-expressed with their putative peptide substrate and modifications will be assessed by LC-MS. Confirmed cyclase(s) will be purified and further analysed by crystallography and mutagenesis.
2. Reconstitution of bottromycin biosynthesis
A synthetic biology approach will be used to generate partial bottromycin gene clusters, where different sets of genes will generate different intermediates or shunt metabolites. Reporter genes with colorimetric outputs will be encoded in synthetic clusters to quantify transcription.
3. Genome mining for peptide natural products
Genome mining has identified a number of putative gene clusters for ribosomal peptides that contain radical SAM proteins similar to those in the bottromycin cluster. These clusters will be probed by gene deletion and heterologous expression. Metabolic or biological changes will be examined following genetic manipulation, and novel compounds will be chemically characterised.
Organisations
- John Innes Centre, United Kingdom (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Cambridge (Collaboration)
- University of Lviv (Collaboration)
- University of Zagreb (Collaboration)
- University of Leon (Collaboration)
- Xiamen University, China (Collaboration)
- VCS Potatoes (Collaboration)
- University of Calabria, Italy (Collaboration)
- Fundacion MEDINA (Collaboration)
- Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (Collaboration)
- Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen, Germany (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Andrew William Truman (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Aron AT
(2020)
Reproducible molecular networking of untargeted mass spectrometry data using GNPS.
in Nature protocols
Crone W
(2016)
Dissecting Bottromycin Biosynthesis Using Comparative Untargeted Metabolomics
in Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Crone W
(2016)
Dissecting Bottromycin Biosynthesis Using Comparative Untargeted Metabolomics
in Angewandte Chemie
Eyles TH
(2018)
Rapid and Robust Yeast-Mediated Pathway Refactoring Generates Multiple New Bottromycin-Related Metabolites.
in ACS synthetic biology
Franz L
(2021)
Bottromycins - biosynthesis, synthesis and activity.
in Natural product reports
Franz L
(2017)
Macroamidine Formation in Bottromycins Is Catalyzed by a Divergent YcaO Enzyme.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Frattaruolo L
(2017)
A Genomics-Based Approach Identifies a Thioviridamide-Like Compound with Selective Anticancer Activity.
in ACS chemical biology
Horbal L
(2014)
The pathway-specific regulatory genes, tei15* and tei16*, are the master switches of teicoplanin production in Actinoplanes teichomyceticus.
in Applied microbiology and biotechnology
| Description | This research grant has helped support research across a variety of projects relating to the biosynthesis of peptide-based natural products from bacteria. This includes understanding how potent antibiotics are made, including bottromycin (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201604304/abstract, http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.7b09898, https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00495/full, http://www.nature.com/articles/s41589-020-0569-y), teicoplanin (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acschembio.6b00018 , https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00253-014-5969-z), bicyclomycin (http://aem.asm.org/content/early/2018/02/26/AEM.02828-17.abstract), actinonin and matlystatin (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-01975-6). Additional work has focused on the discovery of biosynthetic pathways to antibacterial and anticancer compounds, including ristocetin (http://aac.asm.org/content/58/10/5687.long) and thioviridamide-like molecules (http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acschembio.7b00677). The thioviridamide-like molecules are potent inhibitors of cancer cells, and our discovery of thioalbamide has led to follow-on work that identified its mechanism of action on cancer cells (https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/8/11/1408/htm) and the biosynthesis of thioviridamide-like molecules (http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/2020.12.17.423248). In total, this reflects a significant number of diverse natural products with potent biological activities, and this work provides information on how these molecules are made, including some very unusual enzymatic transformations that can inform future genome studies to discover new natural products. More fundamentally, we have developed methodology that assists with the computational identification of biosynthetic pathways to ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). This genome mining tool (RiPPER) is available online (https://github.com/streptomyces/ripper) and the associated study was published in 2019 (https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/47/9/4624/5420534). Here, we used RiPPER to uncover a large number of previously overlooked biosynthetic gene clusters and then chemically characterized a new family of RiPP natural products, the thiovarsolins. We also established a collaborative study on the discovery of Pseudomonas strains that can inhibit important plant pathogens. Here, we worked with Jake Malone (JIC) and VCS Potatoes to identify strains capable of inhibiting the potato pathogens Streptomyces scabies (common scab) and Phytophthora infestans (potato blight). We established an innovative genomics-based strategy to identify natural products associated with pathogen suppression. This work is currently available as a pre-print (http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/783258), which led to collaborative work with the Earlham Institute on a biofoundry workflow for the identification of genetic determinants of microbial growth inhibition (https://academic.oup.com/synbio/article/6/1/ysab004/6122745). |
| Exploitation Route | We have identified a wide array of interesting biosynthetic pathways that will be of significant interest to the natural products community, as well as researchers in biocatalysis and microbiology. This could include structural characterisation of enzymes, employment of enzymes as biocatalysts for challenging chemical reactions, analysis of the mechanism of action of these natural products, or the exploitation of the methodology that we report on other areas of natural products research. There could be industrial interest (e.g. biotechnology or pharmaceutical sectors) some of the new bioactive natural products we have discovered. To help achieve this, the research has been disseminated at multiple international conferences (by both myself and group members) as well as to potential industrial and agricultural partners at numerous events at the John Innes Centre. This has led to a UK-based biotechnology company using some of our bacterial strains for the development of a product to control plant diseases, and agricultural field trials of a bacterial isolate for the suppression of potato blight. The research grant has also helped support the training of a number of researchers (undergraduate students, post-docs, visiting academics) who could use the expertise developed in their future research careers. Group alumni have roles in local and USA biotechnology companies, UK universities and a lecturer in a Spanish university. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | Methodology supported by this grant led to the establishment of a collaboration with a local company (Celbius Ltd) to assess whether sonication can aid in natural product yield and/or ease of extraction. This was supported by an NPRONET Proof of Concept grant (code POC005_2) and was reported at an NPRONET meeting (Manchester, Oct 2016) to a mixed audience of academia and industry. Here, we showed that low-power sonication led to substantial changes in metabolic profiles of multiple actinobacterial strains (without affecting growth rates). Another collaboration (joint with Jake Malone, John Innes Centre) was established with a local company (VCS Potatoes Ltd) to assess the ability of soil-dwelling bacteria to control important plant diseases. This work has led to new methodology to assess bacterial soil populations and their ability to suppress plant diseases, as well as the establishment of further biocontrol projects with other companies (led by Jake Malone). This work was reported to industry members at Science for Innovation Showcase event at the John Innes Centre, where we subsequently discussed opportunities for large-scale field trials with a variety of interested parties. The biocontrol collaboration with Jake Malone has led to work with a UK-based biotechnology company, who aim to develop biocontrol strains based on the bacteria that we have isolated and studied. Field trials to assess the capacity of our strains to inhibit potato pathogens were carried out in 2020. The development of the RiPPER tool has led to interactions with a US-based biotechnology company who are interested in implementing RiPPER into their workflows. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | Contribution to SAW Antibiotics book |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | http://www.sawtrust.org/buy-the-books/saw-antibiotics/ |
| Description | Discovery of natural products that are critical for controlling plant pathogens (TRUMAN_J17DTP) |
| Amount | £95,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 1937478 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2017 |
| End | 09/2021 |
| Description | NPRONET Proof of Concept funding |
| Amount | £54,342 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NPRONET POC005_2 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2016 |
| End | 05/2016 |
| Description | NRP Science Links Seed Corn funding |
| Amount | £15,232 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Norwich Research Park |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2015 |
| End | 10/2015 |
| Description | Norwich Research Park BBSRC DTP PhD Studentship |
| Amount | £95,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2016 |
| End | 09/2020 |
| Description | Royal Society Enhancement Award |
| Amount | £99,859 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RGF/EA/180154 |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2017 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | Royal Society Enhancement Award |
| Amount | £170,640 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RGF\EA\181083 |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | Royal Society University Research Fellowships Renewal |
| Amount | £363,410 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | URF\R\180007 |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 09/2021 |
| Description | UK China AMR Call (Newton Fund) |
| Amount | £490,718 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/P007570/1 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2016 |
| End | 06/2019 |
| Description | Understanding how an antibiotic "warhead" is made by bacteria |
| Amount | £99,034 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 2060455 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 09/2022 |
| Title | RIPPER genome mining |
| Description | RiPPER is a command line computational tool that assists in the identification of biosynthetic gene clusters and associated precursor peptides for RiPPs, a large and important class of natural product. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This has assisted in research projects in my group and I have had contact with researchers in other groups who have benefited from the tool and the results we have reported from its use. It assisted in the identification of a new family of natural products, the thiovarsolins, which were characterised by my group. The identification of these natural products and the development of the tool were reported in a BioRxiv pre-print (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/494286v1) and have just been accepted for publication in Nucleic Acids Research. |
| URL | https://github.com/streptomyces/ripper |
| Description | Agrobacterium pathway discovery |
| Organisation | University of Zagreb |
| Country | Croatia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 1. Host laboratory for research visit (enzymology, chemical synthesis, mass spectrometry) 2. Input into design of experiments and analysis of data. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 1. Started project and designed experiments. 2. Prepared materials (enzymes, substrates) for project. |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary: microbiology, biochemistry, chemistry |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Calabria thioviridamides |
| Organisation | University of Calabria |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We established a project to discovery new thioviridamide-like molecules (TLMs) by the use of a genome mining method. This involved pathway identification, strain fermentation, pathway cloning and mutagenesis, and then purification and chemical analysis of the products of these pathways. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The group of Anna Rita Cappello determined the biological activity of our purified compounds against bacteria, fungi and human cell lines. |
| Impact | Publication: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acschembio.7b00677 This collaboration is multi-disciplinary. We carry out microbiology, genetics and chemistry and the partners carry out cell biology assays. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Glycopeptide discovery and activity |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 1. Isolation and identification of ristocetin from an Amycolatopsis producing strain. 2. Analysis of the ristocetin gene cluster. 3. Analysis of the vancomycin-zinc interaction alongside an interactions D-Ala-D-Ala and D-Ala-D-Lac using NMR and ITC. 4. Design of experiments and input into manuscript preparation. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 1. Project design. 2. Mutagenesis of actinomycetes for glycopeptide discovery and activity analysis. 3. Transcriptional analysis and bioassays with Streptomyces coelicolor. 4. Manuscript writing. |
| Impact | PubmedID: 25022591 PubmedID: 26797186 Multidisciplinary: chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | HIPS Bottromycin Biosynthesis |
| Organisation | Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres |
| Department | Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research, Saarbrucken |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Using tandem mass spectrometry, we characterised enzymatic transformations to the bottromycin precursor peptide. In addition, we generated mutant forms of the bottromycin producing organism (Streptomyces scabies) to determine the importance of a number of enzyme residues for catalysis. This was assessed by looking at the metabolites produced by these mutants using LC-MS. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They expressed and purified enzymes involved in bottromycin biosynthesis, and then carried out enzymatic assays. The products of these assays were then sent to us for analysis. They also carried out mutagenesis of these enzymes, which guided our mutations in Streptomyces scabies. |
| Impact | Publication: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.7b09898 |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Teicoplanin biosynthesis |
| Organisation | Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres |
| Department | Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research, Saarbrucken |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 1. Analysis of mutants in the teicoplanin biosynthetic pathway. 2. Manuscript writing. 3. Input into project design. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 1. Genetic modification of teicoplanin gene cluster. 2. Transcriptional analysis of teicoplanin gene cluster. 2. Manuscript writing. 3. Project design. |
| Impact | PubmedID: 25104028 PubmedID: 27285718 Multidisciplinary: microbiology, analytical chemistry, molecular biology. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Teicoplanin biosynthesis |
| Organisation | University of Lviv |
| Department | Department of genetics and biotechnology |
| Country | Ukraine |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 1. Analysis of mutants in the teicoplanin biosynthetic pathway. 2. Manuscript writing. 3. Input into project design. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 1. Genetic modification of teicoplanin gene cluster. 2. Transcriptional analysis of teicoplanin gene cluster. 2. Manuscript writing. 3. Project design. |
| Impact | PubmedID: 25104028 PubmedID: 27285718 Multidisciplinary: microbiology, analytical chemistry, molecular biology. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | University of León Collaboration |
| Organisation | Fundacion MEDINA |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | This collaboration was started to identify the natural products that were responsible for antifungal activity in Streptomyces clavuligerus following introduction of a regulatory gene into this strain. We also mapped the global changes to metabolism in this strain too using LC-MS. This led to the identification of a wide variety of tunicamycins, where a few specific versions of this molecule exhibited antifungal activity. We helped write the resulting research paper. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners led this research project, where they genetically manipulated Streptomyces clavuligerus and assessed changes to gene expression using microarrays. They also assessed the changes in production of other natural products known to be produced by Streptomyces clavuligerus , including the beta-lactam antibiotic cephamycin and the beta-lactamase inhibitor clavulanic acid. They led the writing of the research paper. |
| Impact | A paper was published in Frontiers in Microbiology that reports this work: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00580/abstract |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | University of León Collaboration |
| Organisation | University of Leon |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This collaboration was started to identify the natural products that were responsible for antifungal activity in Streptomyces clavuligerus following introduction of a regulatory gene into this strain. We also mapped the global changes to metabolism in this strain too using LC-MS. This led to the identification of a wide variety of tunicamycins, where a few specific versions of this molecule exhibited antifungal activity. We helped write the resulting research paper. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners led this research project, where they genetically manipulated Streptomyces clavuligerus and assessed changes to gene expression using microarrays. They also assessed the changes in production of other natural products known to be produced by Streptomyces clavuligerus , including the beta-lactam antibiotic cephamycin and the beta-lactamase inhibitor clavulanic acid. They led the writing of the research paper. |
| Impact | A paper was published in Frontiers in Microbiology that reports this work: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00580/abstract |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | University of Tübingen Actinonin Biosynthesis |
| Organisation | Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We sequenced the genome of the actinonin producing organism to identify its biosynthetic gene cluster, as well as identifying the gene cluster of the related compound matlystatin in a different organism. We carried out chemical feeding experiments to determine the biosynthesis of actinonin and also carried out feeding experiments to make novel matlystatin derivatives. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They independently identified the same gene clusters as ourselves. Following this, they cloning the matlystatin gene cluster and investigated its biosynthesis by mutating most genes in the pathway. They also carried out different feeding experiments to ourselves to support biosynthetic proposals. |
| Impact | Publication: http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/29213087 |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | VCS Potatoes |
| Organisation | VCS Potatoes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | This is a collaboration to identify Pseudomonas strains that can control potato pathogens. Working with the group of Dr Jake Malone (JIC), we have carried out all scientific aspects of this project, including sampling and genome sequencing of isolated strains, as well as phenotyping, genetics and natural product analysis of these strains. |
| Collaborator Contribution | VCS Potatoes have provided sites for sampling and field trials. Their input also includes technical expertise relating to potato disease and field trials. |
| Impact | Manuscript under review and currently available as a pre-print at bioRxiv (https://doi.org/10.1101/783258). |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Xiamen University Bicyclomycin Project |
| Organisation | Xiamen University |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In the process of fermenting a natural product antibiotic from a Streptomyces strain that will then be purified for use by collaborators in Xiamen University. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Assessing the biological activity and mechanism of action of the Streptomyces antibiotic. |
| Impact | Collaboration started recently so no outputs so far. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | SAW (Science, Art and Writing) Antibiotics Project at City of Norwich School. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with year 7 schoolchildren at a local school. I presented on microbes, antibiotics and disease, and the students then carried out creative writing and art projects based around the science. This was a full day project carried out alongside an artist, a writer, the schoolteacher and an outreach coordinator. The students prepared some fantastic poems and artwork. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | School visit from Ipswich High School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A small group of sixth-form students visited the research institute. I provided a tour of the labs and gave a presentation on antibiotics and Streptomyces bacteria. Following the visit, a student contacted me to obtain information on antibiotics for a school project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | 2020 Virtual Summer School on Applied Molecular Microbiology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was on the organising committee for this summer school. This is usually held in person every two years but was held virtually in 2020 due to the pandemic. Along with helping organise this event, I provided a seminar and led multiple small group discussions. This was attended by 40 postgraduate and post-doctoral researchers from around the world to learn about concepts and methods in natural product biosynthesis. Following the summer school, I have been contacted by multiple attendees regarding various aspects of the work I discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.jic.ac.uk/training-careers/summer-schools/applied-molecular-microbiology/2020-applied-mo... |
| Description | Antibiotic Hunters Exhibit at the Great British Biosciences Festival (London) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An exhibit to communicate the research we're doing to discover new antibiotics. This was a four-day festival, with VIPs on the first day, schools on the second (1500 pupils) and the public on the third and fourth (5000 in total). The exhibit was manned from researchers from a variety of groups in our department and a huge amount of interaction was made with the public. In connection with this, we prepared an animation to accompany the exhibit, which describes our research (linked in URL). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tdK9VX5gcY |
| Description | Antibiotic Hunters Stand at Science in Norwich Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Exhibit at a science fair in the centre of Norwich. Comprehensive feedback from the public was obtained by an independent reviewer to inform future outreach activities. Example feedback provided below: - Very many participants had a positive experience at the stand; none recorded a negative one. - Many responses noted the enthusiasm, knowledge, friendliness and approachability of all volunteers staffing the stand. - The relative simplicity of the materials at the stand, and the focus and clarity of the message, helped make the stand accessible. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Antibiotic Hunters stand at the Big Bang Science Fair (Birmingham) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Outreach exhibit at a large national science fair attended by thousands of schoolchildren, as well as interested members of the public. Lots of interactions with schools and lots of requests for information about the research. Provided an opportunity to determine the level of understanding of this area of science in schoolchildren. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Blog post for science website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Interview with the scientific website Sparrho on the discovery and development of antibiotics |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://blog.sparrho.com/post/121265105627/the-medicine-makers |
| Description | Centre Of Excellence For Plant And Microbial Science (CEPAMs) Symposium 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Poster presented at the Centre Of Excellence For Plant And Microbial Science (CEPAMs) Symposium 2019, held in Shanghai, China. This led to interactions with numerous researchers at Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) Institutes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Dubrovnik Summer School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I provided a seminar and led multiple small group discussions as part of the Dubrovnik Summer School in Applied Molecular Microbiology. This was attended by 45 postgraduate and post-doctoral researchers from around the world to learn about concepts and methods in natural product biosynthesis. Following the summer school, I have been contacted by multiple attendees regarding various aspects of the work I discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.jic.ac.uk/training-careers/summer-schools/applied-molecular-microbiology/ |
| Description | International Research Alliance for Antibiotic Discovery and Development (IRAADD) Workshop Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Attendance and presentation as part of the International Research Alliance for Antibiotic Discovery and Development (IRAADD) Workshop Meeting (Saarbruecken, Germany), which is a Europe-wide network of researchers and industry partners involved in antibiotic discovery and development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Interview with BBC Radio Five Live for a podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview with BBC Radio Five Live for a podcast relating to the science of weather. In particular, the smell and role of bacterial metabolites. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Interview with science writer (Kat Arney) about antibiotic discovery and combating antimicrobial resistance. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview with science writer (Kat Arney) about antibiotic discovery and combating antimicrobial resistance. In particular a focus on the re-purposing of old antibiotics for treating multi-drug resistant infections. This was in relation to an in-depth article she is preparing on AMR and antibiotic discovery, which was later published in the Daily Mail. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5623417/Could-antibiotics-mens-beards-soil-weapons-battle... |
| Description | Invited talk at China-UK AMR Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A UKRI-funded workshop held in Beijing to discuss ongoing and recent UK-China research projects on AMR (antimicrobial resistance), as well as future directions and prospects for this research area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk at Environmental Genomics and Advanced Microbiological Techniques Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk about using mass spectrometry-based metabolomics in microbiology to PhD students attending an Environmental Genomics and Advanced Microbiological Techniques Workshop at the University of East Anglia. I received multiple questions after the seminar. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk at Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk entitled "Deciphering the biosynthesis of peptidic natural products" given at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Germany |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Invited talk at Plant-Microbe Interactions Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Seminar provided on Streptomyces-Pseudomonas interactions at a Plant-Microbe Interactions Workshop organised at the John Innes Centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk at the University of East Anglia (BIO Open Lecture) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk entitled "Deciphering the biosynthesis of peptide antibiotics" given at the University of East Anglia (BIO Open Lecture) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Invited talk at the University of Ghent |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk on natural product discovery at the University of Ghent (Belgium). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk at the University of Leeds |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk for the seminar series in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds. Participation in a discussion about my research with a group of MSc students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | JIC 50 Open Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Outreach stand for Department of Molecular Microbiology as part of an Open Day in relation to the 50th anniversary of the John Innes Centre in Norwich. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.jic.ac.uk/news-and-events/blog-copy/2017/09/open-day/ |
| Description | Meeting with Science Museum about an exhibition on antibiotics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A meeting with Science Museum staff about content for a new exhibit on antimicrobial resistance. Information leaflets were prepared, along with information about the wide array of AMR research taking place across the Norwich Research Park. UEA later became formally involved in this "Superbugs" exhibition. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/superbugs-fight-our-lives |
| Description | Presentation at Science for Innovation Showcase Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Provided presentation entitled "Discovery and biosynthesis of bacterial peptides with antibacterial and anticancer activities" to an audience of industry and research council representatives invited to the John Innes Centre. Participated in a follow-up panel discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation at Xiamen University (China) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation given to faculty, post-docs and students at Xiamen University in China. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation to Bayer Agronomy team |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and discussion with the agronomy team at Bayer about biocontrol products |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | School visit (INTO Norwich) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | One hour presentation entitled "Looking for drugs made by bugs" presented to international students participating in the Newton Programme at INTO Norwich. Purpose was to communicate my research to A-level students interested in science. Following the presentation, the teacher reported: "The students have been very keen to discuss points you raised in class (we are studying antibiotics this week) and were excited to see the links between the knowledge they have gained through their AS studies and your research." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Science Museum Superbugs Late Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | "Antibiotic Hunters" exhibit at a Science Museum Superbug Late Event. This was an adult-only event held in the evening at the Science Museum in London and attended by thousands of people. The exhibit was organised jointly between members of my research group and members of the Wilkinson group (also at JIC). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Talk given at the 1st International RiPPS Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk given on natural product discovery at the 1st International RiPPS Conference, held in Granada, Spain |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.rippsconference.org/ |
| Description | Year 10 Science Camp Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A talk on natural product discovery to attendees of the year 10 Science Camp at the John Innes Centre. This was followed by questions on antibiotic and anticancer compound discovery. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.jic.ac.uk/training-careers/work-experience/year-10-science-camp/ |