Products and Pathways
Lead Research Organisation:
John Innes Centre
Department Name: Contracts Office
Abstract
The exponential rise in the numbers of sequenced genomes of plants and microbes presents unparalleled opportunities to expand and consolidate understanding of the biosynthesis and accumulation of valuable chemicals in Nature. We will exploit these opportunities using JIC’s excellent facilities for research on the synthesis of plant and microbial natural products with high actual or potential value as nutritionally-important components of food, as antibiotics, pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals, and as industrial raw materials. Discoveries in the preceding ISP have opened opportunities for broader and deeper investigations of how different metabolites are made, exploiting new methods of genome mining, systematic approaches to the expression and characterisation of whole metabolic pathways, and the capacity for rational design of new molecules in heterologous systems. Objective 1 explores the origins of chemical diversity in plants and microbes. For both types of organism, we will use our expertise in the identification of gene clusters for natural product pathways and in the transcriptional control of these pathways to uncover new chemical diversity. For bacteria, our focus is on classes of compounds with known on potential antibiotic properties. For plants, our focus is on species of known medicinal value. Objective 2 builds on our world-leading expertise in the synthesis and diversification of terpenes in plants. Its outcomes are relevant for the development of new therapeutics and industrial raw materials. In Objective 3 we seek to understand the assembly of macromolecular storage glucans, building from our deep understanding of the synthesis and turnover of glucan polymers. The outcomes will be used directly in the development of nutritionally improved crops, and have wider relevance for the development of new materials for industrial processes. Objective 4 brings together expertise in the accumulation of zinc and iron in plants to achieve an understanding of the homeostatic mechanisms involved. As in Objective 3, the outcomes feed into the development of nutritionally improved crops.
Organisations
- John Innes Centre, United Kingdom (Lead Research Organisation)
- BioAustralis (Collaboration)
- University of Queensland, Australia (Collaboration)
- Newcastle University, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- University of East Anglia, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- Xiamen University, China (Collaboration)
- University of York, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- University of Calabria, Italy (Collaboration)
- Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (Collaboration)
- Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen, Germany (Collaboration)
Publications
Appelhagen I
(2018)
Colour bio-factories: Towards scale-up production of anthocyanins in plant cell cultures.
in Metabolic engineering
Boobier S
(2017)
Can human experts predict solubility better than computers?
in Journal of cheminformatics
Boutanaev AM
(2018)
Multigenome analysis implicates miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) in metabolic diversification in eudicots.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Butelli E
(2019)
Noemi Controls Production of Flavonoid Pigments and Fruit Acidity and Illustrates the Domestication Routes of Modern Citrus Varieties
in Current Biology
Caputi L
(2018)
Missing enzymes in the biosynthesis of the anticancer drug vinblastine in Madagascar periwinkle.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Carqueijeiro I
(2018)
A BAHD acyltransferase catalyzing 19-O-acetylation of tabersonine derivatives in roots of Catharanthus roseus enables combinatorial synthesis of monoterpene indole alkaloids.
in The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology
Casini A
(2018)
A Pressure Test to Make 10 Molecules in 90 Days: External Evaluation of Methods to Engineer Biology.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Connorton JM
(2017)
Wheat Vacuolar Iron Transporter TaVIT2 Transports Fe and Mn and Is Effective for Biofortification.
in Plant physiology
Craggs PD
(2018)
The Mechanism of Acetyl Transfer Catalyzed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis GlmU.
in Biochemistry
| Title | Interacted with artist |
| Description | JIC hired an artist to celebrate 50 years of JIC in Norwich. I spent a lot of time interacting with this artist so that she could create an exhibit of our work. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | The public saw our research. |
| Description | Products and Pathways 1.1 Uncovering new chemical diversity Wilkinson, Truman, Martin, Osbourn Using a genomics-guided approach, the Truman group has discovered multiple thioviridamide-like molecules, cytotoxic RiPPs produced by actinomycetes. This discovery will aid our understanding of how these complex natural products are biosynthesised. Truman's group has also discovered the pathways to the metalloproteinase inhibitors actinonin and matlystatin. This aided in the generation of new unnatural matlystatin derivatives. o Frattaruolo, L., Lacret, R., Cappello, A. R., Truman, A. W. (2017) A Genomics-Based Approach Identifies a Thioviridamide-Like Compound with Selective Anticancer Activity. ACS Chemical Biology, 12, 2815-2822. o Leipoldt, F., Santos-Aberturas, J., Stegmann, D. P., Wolf, F., Kulik, A., Lacret, R., Popadic, D., Keinhörster, D., Kirchner, N., Bekiesch, P., Gross, H., Truman, A., Kaysser L. (2017) Warhead biosynthesis and the origin of structural diversity in hydroxamate metalloproteinase inhibitors. Nature Communications, 8, 1965. o Franz, L., Adam, S., Santos-Aberturas, J., Truman, A. W., and Koehnke, J. (2017) Macroamidine Formation in Bottromycins Is Catalyzed by a Divergent YcaO Enzyme. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139, 18158-18161. o Vior, N. M., Lacret, R., Chandra, G., Dorai-Raj, S., Trick, M., and Truman, A. W. (2018) Discovery and biosynthesis of the antibiotic bicyclomycin in distant bacterial classes. Applied and Environmental Microbiology AEM.02828-17. The Wilkinson group has identified a new methodology for the Accelerated Evolution of modular biosynthetic gene clusters which leads rapidly to the diversification of chemical space around valuable polyketide natural products. We delineated the biosynthetic pathway to the unusual ?-lactone antibiotic obafluorin in Pseudomonas fluorescens and identified a new family of L-threonine transaldolases involved in ?-hydroxy-?-amino acid biosynthesis. In collaboration with colleagues at UEA we have shown that the conserved actinobacterial two two-component system mtrAB links Streptomyces development to antibiotic production, and that its manipulation leads to increased titres and potentially the induction of cryptic compounds. o Wlodek, A. et al (2017) Diversity orientated biosynthesis via accelerated evolution of modular gene clusters. Nat. Commun. 8:1206. o Scott, T.A., et al (2017) An L-threonine transaldolase is required for L-threo-?-hydroxy-?-amino acid assembly during obafluorin biosynthesis. Nat. Commun. 8:15935. o Som, N.F., et al (2017) The conserved actinobacterial two-component system MtrAB coordinates chloramphenicol production with sporulation in Streptomyces venezuelae NRRL B-65442. Front. Microbiol. 8:1145. 1.2 Understand and harness terpene diversity O'Connor, Osbourn As part of their studies on iridoid biosynthesis, The O'Connor group has established a number of new, key biosynthetic enzymes in these pathways in the Lamiaceae. These biosynthetic genes will have impact in reconstituting these bioactive compounds in heterologous hosts. o Sherden, N.H., Lichman, B., Caputi, L., Zhao, D., Kamileen, M.O., Buell, C.R., O'Connor, S.E.. (2018) Identification of Iridoid Synthases from Nepeta species: Iridoid cyclization does not determine nepetalactone stereochemistry. Phytochemistry. 145, 48-56. The Osbourn group has also discovered a swathe of enzymes for the biosynthesis of sesterterpenes in the Brassicaceae, so opening up the way to access and engineer a previously inaccessible class of plant natural products. o Diverged Plant Terpene Synthases Reroute the Carbocation Cyclization Path towards the Formation of Unprecedented 6/11/5 and 6/6/7/5 Sesterterpene Scaffolds. Huang AC, Hong YJ, Bond AD, Tantillo DJ, Osbourn A. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2018 Jan 26;57(5):1291-1295. doi: 10.1002/anie.201711444. Epub 2017 Dec 28. o Unearthing a sesterterpene biosynthetic repertoire in the Brassicaceae through genome mining reveals convergent evolution. Huang AC, Kautsar SA, Hong YJ, Medema MH, Bond AD, Tantillo DJ, Osbourn A. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jul 18;114(29):E6005-E6014. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1705567114. Epub 2017 Jul 3. 1.3 Understand the assembly of glucan polymers and granules Smith, Field As part of their exploration of factors that control starch degradation in leaves at night, the Smith group has established that degradation in "natural" light conditions commences before the onset of complete darkness, during a period in which light levels are falling but light-driven starch synthesis is continuing. This overlap between starch synthesis and starch degradation during twilight permits a transition from light to dark without a fall in sugar availability in the leaf. Starch degradation does not commence in response to the same decline in light levels in the middle of the day, implying that this phenomenon is gated and is under the control of the circadian clock. They are investigating the elements of the clock required for this response, and the implications for starch granule surface dynamics of simultaneous synthesis and degradation. o Fernandez O., Ishihara H., George G. M., Mengin V., Flis A., Sumner D., Arrivault S., Feil R., Lunn J. E., Zeeman S. C., Smith A. M., Stitt M. (2017) Leaf Starch Turnover Occurs in Long Days and in Falling Light at the End of the Day. Plant Physiology 174 2199-2212 In connection with studies on granular beta-glucan metabolism in Euglena gracilis, the Field group has discovered a new family of carbohydrate-active enzyme (designated GH149), which encodes a beta-1,3-glucan phosphorylase. The methodologies that we have devised and implemented have also led to: the identification of unprededented Glc-1-P transferase activity and novel glycoprotein glycan modifications in Euglena; the structural characterisation and exploitation of a bacterial cellulose phosphorylase; rewriting the text book structure of plant cell wall rhamnogalacturonan II; and identification of plant cell wall glycoprotein glycosyltransferases o Identification of Euglena gracilis ?-1,3-glucan phosphorylase and establishment of a new glycosyl hydrolase family GH 149. S. Kuhaudomlarp, N. J. Patron, B. Henrissat, M. Rejzek, G. Saalbach, R. A. Field, J. Biol. Chem., accepted, doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA117.000936. o Exploring the glycans of Euglena gracilis. E. C. O'Neill, S. Kuhaudomlarp, M. Rejzek, J. U. Fangel, K. Alagesan, D. Kolarich, W. G. T. Willats, R. A. Field, Biology, 2017, 6, 45 doi:10.3390/biology6040045. o Fluorescent mannosides serve as acceptor substrates for glycosyltransferase and sugar-1-phosphate transferase activities in Euglena gracilis membranes. I. Ivanova, S. A. Nepogodiev, G. Saalbach, E. C. O'Neill, M. D. Urbaniak, M. A. J. Ferguson, S. S. Gurcha, G. S. Besra, R. A. Field, Carbohydr. Res., 2017, 438, 26-38. o Cellodextrin phosphorylase from Ruminiclostridium thermocellum: X-ray crystal structure and substrate specificity analysis. E. C. O'Neill, G. Pergolizzi, C. E. M. Stevenson, D. M. Lawson, S. A. Nepogodiev, R. A. Field, Carbohydr. Res., 2017, 451, 118-132. o Complex pectin metabolism by gut bacteria reveals novel catalytic functions. D. Ndeh, A. Rogowski, A. Cartmell, A. S. Luis, A. Baslé, J. Gray, I. Venditto, J. Briggs, X. Zhang, N. Terrapon, F. Buffetto, S. A. Nepogodiev, R. A. Field, M. A. O'Neill, B. Urbanowicz, G. J. Davies, D. W. Abbott, M.-C. Ralet, E. C. Martens, B. Henrissat, H. J. Gilbert, Nature, 2017, 544, 65-70. o Identification and evolution of a plant cell wall specific glycoprotein glycosyltransferase, ExAD. S. R. Moeller, X. Yi, S. M. Velásquez, S. Gille, P. L. M. Hansen, C. P. Poulsen, C. E. Olsen, H. H. Wandall, H. Clausen, M. Rejzek, R. A. Field, M. Pauly, J. M Estevez, J. Harholt, P. Ulvskov, B. L. Petersen, Sci. Rep., 2017, 7, 45341. doi: 10.1038/srep45341 1.4 Zinc and iron homeostasis in plants Balk, Sanders, Miller As part of the Balk group's efforts to unravel the pathways of metal cofactor assembly in plant cells, they have characterized the early steps of molybdenum cofactor (Moco) biosynthesis. They found a viable mutant in CNX2, the first step in Moco biosynthesis, in which the positioning of the iron-sulfur clusters is likely to be altered. This leads to lower production of the cyclic pyranopterin monophosphate intermediate. A novel mass spectrometry method was developed to detect cyclic pyranopterin. o Kruse I, Maclean AE, Hill L and Balk J (2018). Genetic dissection of cyclic pyranopterin monophosphate biosynthesis in plant mitochondria. Biochem J. 475, 495-509. doi: 10.1042/BCJ20170559 The Miller and Sanders groups have shown that in cereals the endosperm Zn content can be enhanced through expression of a transporter responsible for vacuolar zinc accumulation (Menguer et al. 2017). Detailed X-ray fluorescence analysis of longitudinal sections demonstrated evidence of homeostasis with the grain as there was a redistribution of grain Zn from aleurone to endosperm. This study provides the basis of a strategy for biofortification of cereal endosperm with Zn. In another paper an irradiated population of spring wheat was used to show that there is the capacity to increase by 4-fold grain iron and zinc without negatively impacting on crop productivity (Kenzhebayeva et al. 2017). o Menguer P, Vincent T, Miller AJ, Brown JKM, Vincze E, Borg S, Holm PB, Sanders D, Podar D (2017) Improving zinc accumulation in barley endosperm using HvMTP1, a transition metal transporter. Plant Biotechnology Journal (in press) doi:10.1111/pbi.12749* o Kenzhebayeva SS, Doktyrbay G, Capstaff NM, Sarsu F, Omirbekova NZ, Eilam T, Tashenev DK, Miller AJ (2017) Searching a spring wheat mutation resource for correlations between yield, grain size, and quality parameters. Journal of Crop Improvement 31 (2):209-228. doi:10.1080/15427528.2016.1276990* |
| Exploitation Route | All of these findings can be used by the academic community to serve as a springboard for further research in metabolism. The translation of this research is currently being explored via a multitude of different ways, with industry, biotech, breeders, farmers, food researchers and public engagement. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | Field has started a biotech company on research underpinned by the ISP funding. Osbourn and O'Connor work with the Norwich research park based LeafSystems to make high value molecules on a practical scale. Additionally, all of the research in this project has been submitted to the public domain and is used by the greater academic community. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Chemicals,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 | Nybomycin responsive mode follow on |
| Amount | £517,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/P021506/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2017 |
| End | 09/2020 |
| Description | A pipeline for antibiotic disovery |
| Organisation | University of East Anglia |
| Department | School of Biological Sciences UEA |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Natural products chemistry and biosynthesis; actinomycete genetics; genome mining; bioinformatics; anti-infective assays |
| Collaborator Contribution | Entomology; actinomycete biology; genetic regulation; bioinformatics; anti-infective assays |
| Impact | Publications and subseqeunt grant applications |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Biosynthesis of natural products from an Australian actinomycete strain library |
| Organisation | BioAustralis |
| PI Contribution | Biosynthesis; genome mining; natural products chemistry |
| Collaborator Contribution | Strain and compound provision; data on metabolite profiles; fermentation data |
| Impact | Successful grant applciations |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Biosynthesis of natural products from marine microbes, e.g. heronamide biosynthesis |
| Organisation | University of Queensland |
| Department | Institute for Molecular Bioscience |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Streptomyces genetics; natural products chemistry; biosynthesis; genome mining |
| Collaborator Contribution | Strain isolation and provision |
| Impact | Publication |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | CDs |
| Organisation | Newcastle University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Evaluation of a glycosynthase for novel cyclodextrin production |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of clone of wild type enzyme and active site mutant |
| Impact | Too early to judge |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| 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 |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| 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 | MD starch |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Experimental evaluation of glycan structure and enzyme sensitivityt |
| Collaborator Contribution | Microsecond molecular dynamics simulation to assess glycan-glycan interactions |
| Impact | Too early |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | PPase |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Work up of scalable synthesis of N-glycan analogues |
| Collaborator Contribution | Clone of N-glycan phosphorylase |
| Impact | Too early |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | University of Tübingen Actinonin Biosynthesis |
| Organisation | Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen |
| 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 | 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 | Chair and Organiser for RSC Directing Biosynthesis V 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 | Chaired the organising committee and conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.rsc.org/events/detail/22912/Directing%20Biosynthesis%20V |
| 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. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Invited Seminar at Bristol University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited seminar speaker at Bristol University - title 'The Plant Lytic Vacuole: Space-Filler, Garbage Bag, or Something More Interesting?' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invited speaker at York University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker to York University: Plant Biology Seminar - The Plant Lytic Vacuole: Space-Filler, Garbage Bag, or Something More Interesting? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| 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 | JIC50 public 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 | Open Day at JIC celebrating 50 years on the Norwich site. Soil columns featuring the N sensors were displayed to the public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.jic.ac.uk/news-and-events/blog-copy/2017/08/john-innes-celebrates-50-years-norwich-2017 |
| Description | Keynote Speech: Plants and Human Health at the Wellcome Trust China-UK Life Science Summit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote Speech: Plants and Human Health at the Wellcome Trust China-UK Life Science Summit |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Member of the Synthetic Biology Leadership Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Member of the Synthetic Biology Leadership Council |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Member of the UK Science Partnership for Animal and Plant Health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Member of the UK Science Partnership for Animal and Plant Health - quarterly meetings are held |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Member of the interviewing panel for Herchel Smith Professorship of Biochemistry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Member of the interviewing panel for Herchel Smith Professorship of Biochemistry position - University of Cambridge |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Membership of Scientific Advisory Committee to the Plant Energy Biology ARC Centre of Excellence |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Membership of Scientific Advisory Committee to the Plant Energy Biology ARC Centre of Excellence. An Australian National Centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | New Phytologist Next Generation Scientists meeting - Open Address |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Opening Address at New Phytologist Next Generation Scientists meeting - Scientific meeting |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Norwich Science Festival Training week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Parties of school children from across the region visited the Norwich Science Festival held in the Forum in Norwich city centre on the 18/19 October 2017. We displayed zinc staining of various different types of food grains to show the zinc rich parts of the seed. The display was also visited by members of the public who passed through the Forum. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Opening address at Breeders Day |
| 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 | Opening address at Breeders Day at the John Innes Centre |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Panel Meeting of Severo Ochoa and Maria de Maeztu Committee - Madrid, Spain |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Panel Meeting of Severo Ochoa and Maria de Maeztu Committee - Madrid, Spain |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Panel discussion for the Royal Society for Hay Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Hay Festival - panel discussion for the Royal Society exploring the public attitudes to the range of applications that genetic technologies might have, and the differences in such attitudes depending on context. This might look at the difference in public opinion in areas like food and medicine, for example, or explore concepts like 'naturalness' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| 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 | PrimeAg visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Eight visitors from PrimeAg visited JIC for half a day. Prime Agriculture LLP is a consultancy partnership of 11 BASIS and FACTS qualified agronomists, working with growers in in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire. http://www.primeag.co.uk/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.primeag.co.uk/ |
| Description | Royal Society fact finding visit to Beijing |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Royal Society fact finding visit to Beijing, 22 to 26 October for Royal Society's genetic technologies programme |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | School Science week presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Gave a one hour talk on the role that microbes and insects play in the carbon cycle and bioremediation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | School visit (Cambourne Cambs) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Spent two days presenting a cross curriculum presentation to two classes of Year 6 pupils at a primary school in collaboration with the SAW Trust (http://sawtrust.org/ ). Much debate and discussion about the topics of microbes, antibiotics, ecology and antimicrobial resistance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://sawtrust.org/buy-the-books/saw-antibiotics/ |
| Description | Scientific Advisory Board Member for Max PIanck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Golm, Germany |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Scientific Advisory Board Meeting for Max PIanck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Talk at Kew Gardens |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A Kew organized event called "State of the World's Plants" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | University of Geneva - PhD Retreat |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | University of Geneva - PhD Retreat, participation in a debate: " Technological advances - A new chance for changing public perception on GMOs". Also speaker title: 'The plant lytic vacuole: space-filler, garbage bag, or something more interesting'. A two-day retreat for PhD students in molecular plant sciences at universities in French-speaking Switzerland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | co-cahired borden research 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 | I organised and fund-raised the 2015 Plant metabolic engineering gordon research conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | sense about science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I am a panel member for sense about science- they forward me questions from the genera public about science and I provide answers in plain english. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016 |