Projects per year
Personal profile
Administrative Posts
- Module organiser for Year 2 module “Microbiology” (2B28)
- Associate Dean Research in the Science Faculty at UEA
- Member of the University Honorary Degrees Committee
- Member of the University Senate Disciplinary Committee
Career
- 1970 BSc "Genetics", University of Edinburgh
- 1973 PhD University of Edinburgh
- 1973 – 1989 Research Scientist at John Innes Institute, Norwich, UK
- 1989 – present Professor Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
ResearcherID
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/D-1859-2009
Key Research Interests
I am a microbial geneticist, with interests in the ways that bacteria undertake biotransformations that relate to biogeochemical cycling and in the ways that these organisms regulate these processes in response to external factors.
Current Research Projects
- Identification of the ways in which bacteria catabolise the anti-stress molecule dimethylsulfoniopropionate that is made by many marine phytoplankton and whose breakdown by microbes represents a major step in the global sulfur cycle.
- Analysis of metal-responsive gene regulation in Rhizobium and in marine alpha-proteobacteria.
Life in our research group
We have used genetics set to determine how microbes catabolise dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a hugely abundant anti-stress molecule made by marine plankton, some seaweeds and a very few land plants. These studies identified a remarkable array of totally different ways in which different lineages of microbes break down DMSP. Some of these release the gaseous by-product dimethyl sulfide (DMS) which itself is environmentally influential – it is a potent chemo-attractant for marine animals and its oxidation products are “cloud condensation nuclei” that initiate cloud formation over the oceans. The “ddd” genes that are involved in DMS production are prone to rampant horizontal gene transfer, and have been transferred, at least once, between marine bacteria and various fungi. Their regulation also has interesting and unusual features. By examining the distribution of the ddd genes in individual genomes and in metagenomic data sets, we can deduce their abundance in different microbial lineages and in different environments, with implications on the eco-physiology of this important step in the global sulfur cycle. Our field work takes us to the far north of Norfolk, where we sample the salt marshes, the beaches and the occasional fish shop for interesting bacteria and fungi.
Although transition metals such as iron and manganese are important in the nutrition of bacteria in the seas, little is known of the ways in these are acquired or the ways in which the uptake genes are regulated. In a new programme, we use genetics and genomics to address these topics. This builds on earlier studies on the iron-regulon of the Rhizobia a group of bacteria that induce nitrogen-fixing nodules on legume plants. These bacteria use two global regulators, called Irr and RirA, which are very different from the conventional Fur global regulator, which represses many genes in many other bacteria, including the model species Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Working in concert, Irr is a heme-binding polypeptide that represses many genes under conditions of iron shortage - in contrast, the FeS-containing regulator RirA represses a different suite of genes under conditions where iron is in short supply.
Our work is much aided by productive collaborations with colleagues in Norwich (Nick Le Brun, Charles Brearley, Tony Davy, Phil Page, Phil Poole, Arnoud van Vliet, Yohan Chan, Allan Downie and Paul Nicholson) and elsewhere (such as Chris Dupont, Krystal Rypien, Michael Steinke, Dmitry Rodionov, Steve Giovanonni, Colin Murrell and Hendrik Schaefer).
PhD Positions
Click here for current PhD opportunities in Biological Sciences. But feel free to email me to discuss projects outside these areas and alternative sources of funding.
Postdocs & fellows
- Dr Andrew RJ Curson
- Dr Jonathan D Todd (part-time)
- Mark Kirkwood (PhD Student)
- Emily Fowler (PhD student)
- Rob Green (PhD Student, with Arnoud van Vliet, Institute of Food Research)
Areas of Expertise
Teaching Interests
- Module organiser for Year 2 module “Microbiology” (2B28)
- Lecturer in Year 1 Module “Fundamentals of Molecular Biology and Genetics” (1A13)
- Lecturer in Year 2 Module “Genetics/Clinical Genetics” (2B17/19)
- Lecturer in Year 3 Module “Microbial Cell Biology” (3C10)
- Lecturer in Year 3 Module “Organisms and Environment” (3C45)
- Seminar leader in Year 1 Module “Skill for Biologists” (1A4Y)
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 11 Finished
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SGM Vacation Studentship - Hannah Watson
Society for General Microbiology
16/06/14 → 3/08/14
Project: Research
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The anaerobic microbes and their genes that make the environmentally important gas dimethyl sulfide
Society for General Microbiology
28/06/10 → 22/08/10
Project: Research
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Making and breaking DMS by salt marsh microbes - populations and pathways, revealed by stable isotope probing and molecular techinques
Johnston, A., Davy, A., Schaefer, H. & Todd, J.
Natural Environment Research Council
1/04/10 → 31/03/13
Project: Research
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Wolfson Fermentation Laboratory - expansion and refurbishment
Richardson, D., Bowater, R., Hutchings, M., Johnston, A. & Kelemen, G.
1/05/08 → 1/01/09
Project: Research
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Stabilisation of the RirA [4Fe–4S] cluster results in loss of iron-sensing function
Gray, E., Stewart, M. Y. Y., Hanwell, L., Crack, J. C., Devine, R., Stevenson, C. E. M., Volbeda, A., Johnston, A. W. B., Fontecilla-Camps, J. C., Hutchings, M. I., Todd, J. D. & Le Brun, N. E., 20 Sept 2023, In: Chemical Science. 14, 36, p. 9744-9758 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Citations (Scopus)17 Downloads (Pure) -
Oceanospirillales containing the DMSP lyase DddD are key utilisers of carbon from DMSP in coastal seawater
Liu, J., Xue, C-X., Wang, J., Crombie, A. T., Carrión, O., Johnston, A. W. B., Murrell, J. C., Liu, J., Zheng, Y., Zhang, X-H. & Todd, J. D., 27 Jul 2022, In: Microbiome. 10, 110.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile14 Citations (Scopus)15 Downloads (Pure) -
Mechanisms of iron- and O2-sensing by the [4Fe-4S] cluster of the global iron regulator RirA
Pellicer Martinez, M. T., Crack, J., Stewart, M., Bradley, J., Svistunenko, D. A., Johnston, A., Cheesman, M., Todd, J. & Le Brun, N., 17 Sept 2019, In: eLife. 8, e47804.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile29 Citations (SciVal)32 Downloads (Pure) -
Bacterial SBP56 identified as a Cu-dependent methanethiol oxidase widely distributed in the biosphere
Eyice, Ö., Myronova, N., Pol, A., Carrión, O., Todd, J., Smith, T. J., Gurman, S. J., Cuthbertson, A., Mazard, S., Mennink-Kersten, M. A. S. H., Bugg, T. D. H., Andersson, K. K., Johnston, A. W. B., Op den Camp, H. J. M. & Schäfer, H., 2017, In: The ISME Journal. 12, p. 145–160 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile59 Citations (Scopus)18 Downloads (Pure) -
Sensing iron availability via the fragile [4Fe-4S] cluster of the bacterial transcriptional repressor RirA
Pellicer Martinez, M., Bermejo Martinez, A., Crack, J., Holmes, J. D., Svistunenko, D., Johnston, A., Cheesman, M., Todd, J. & Le Brun, N., 2017, In: Chemical Science. 8, p. 8451-8463 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile31 Citations (SciVal)20 Downloads (Pure)
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Steering Committee, European Nitrogen Fixation Conference (External organisation)
Andrew Johnston (Member)
2015 → …Activity: Membership › Committee
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NERC Peer Review College (External organisation)
Andrew Johnston (Member)
2015 → …Activity: Membership › Peer review panel
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Society General Microbiology Meeting on Metagenomics
Andrew Johnston (Organiser)
2006Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in conference