Whitworth, David - Aberystwyth University - Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences

研究领域

Signalling pathways in the social predator Myxococcus xanthus: the dynamics and specificity of protein-protein interactions. Nutrient acquisition - (regulation of phosphate metabolism) Responses to stress - (regulation of carotenoid synthesis, multicellular development) Protein-protein interactions - (signalling pathway connectivity - experimental and computational) Dynamic systems - (network properties, evolution and population behaviour/dynamics) Bioinformatics - (comparative genomics, evolution of signalling networks) Structural bioinformatics - (structure prediction, interaction modelling) My research focuses on bacterial signalling pathways and how they alter behaviour in response to a changing environment. In particular, I am interested in the social and predatory myxobacteria, and how they use two-component signalling pathways to co-ordinate group behaviour. Experimental work is investigating the protein-protein interactions between TCS transmitter and receiver domains, which define the structure of TCS pathways. As an extension of this work, we are also characterising the regulation of phosphate assimilation and its inter-relation with multicellular fruiting body formation, a regulon that involves at least seven TCS proteins. Benchwork is being complemented by theoretical studies. One such study uses comparative genomics to probe the evolution of TCSs, and has provided a method for predicting transmitter-receiver domain partnerships, many of which are being confirmed experimentally.

近期论文

查看导师新发文章（温馨提示：请注意重名现象，建议点开原文通过作者单位确认）

Lloyd, D., Whitworth, D. 2017. The myxobacterium Myxococcus xanthus can sense and respond to the quorum signals secreted by potential prey organisms. Frontiers in Microbiology 8 439 Cadair Edwards Rassner, S., Anesio, A., Girdwood, S.E., Hell, K., Gokul, J., Whitworth, D., Edwards, A. 2016. Can the bacterial community of a High Arctic glacier surface escape viral control? Frontiers in Microbiology 7 956 Cadair Kara, A., Vickers, M., Swain, M., Whitworth, D., Fernandez-Fuentes, N. 2016. MetaPred2CS: a sequence-based meta-predictor for protein-protein interactions of prokaryotic two-component system proteins. Bioinformatics 32 (21) pp. 3339-3341. Whitworth, D.E. 2016. Recasting a traditional laboratory practical as a “Design-your-own protocol” to teach a universal research skill. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 44 (4) pp. 377-380. Whitworth, D. 2015. An off-the-shelf, authentic and versatile undergraduate molecular biology practical course. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 43 (6) pp. 434-440. Whitworth, D.E., Slade, S.E., Mironas, A. 2015. Composition of distinct sub-proteomes in Myxococcus xanthus: metabolic cost and amino acid availability. Amino Acids 47 (12) pp. 2521-2531. Whitworth, D.E. 2015. Genome-wide analysis of myxobacterial two-component systems: genome relatedness and evolutionary changes. BMC Genomics 16 (1) 780 Cadair Kara, A., Vickers, M., Swain, M., Whitworth, D.E., Fernandez-Fuentes, N. 2015. Genome-wide prediction of prokaryotic two-component system networks using a sequence-based meta-predictor. BMC Bioinformatics 16 (1) 297 Cadair Ortet, P., Whitworth, D.E., Santaella, C., Achouak, W., Barakat, M. 2015. P2CS: updates of the prokaryotic two-component systems database. Nucleic Acids Research 43 ((D1)) pp. D536-D541. Cadair Whitworth, D., Morgan, B. 2015. Synergism between bacterial GAPDH and OMVs: disparate mechanisms but co-operative action. Frontiers in Microbiology 6 1231 Cadair