Seminar: Tuesday 24th Feb 12-1 pm. Venue: Biology Tea Room
Professor J Colin Murrell
Director of the Earth and Life Systems Alliance
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia
Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
E-mail: [email protected]
Bacterial growth on C1 compounds in the laboratory and in the
environment
My research over the last 30 years has centred around the physiology, biochemistry, molecular
biology, genetics and ecology of bacteria that grow on one carbon compounds such as methane,
methanol, methylated amines and dimethyl sulphide (methylotrophs). A particular focus has been on
the physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology of methane oxidising bacteria (methanotrophs)
and methylotrophs and their role in carbon cycling in the environment. One of the major challenges in
microbial ecology is to define “who does what” in the environment; ie which groups of microbes are
carrying out specific processes in the environment. We developed the technique of DNA Stable
Isotope Probing (SIP) to define the structure and function of microbes in studies on the methane cycle.
SIP allows the capture of specific information from key groups of microbes in the environment that are
carrying out a specific process. 13C- labelled substrate is incorporated into cell material of the active
microbial community involved in a specific process in environmental samples, eg methane oxidation.
This 13C-labelled material can be separated from non-labelled (12C) cell components from all other
non- utilizers or “dormant” methane oxidizers. 13C-labelled RNA provides phylogenetic information on
active cells and 13C-labelled DNA yields information on key functional genes encoding key steps in
biogeochemical processes eg methane monooxygenase. These techniques help us to define the
function of microbes involved in key biogeochemical cycles. DNA-SIP can be used in gene mining
studies and has the additional advantage of allowing access to the genomes of whole communities of
microbes carrying out a specific process in the environment. Targeted metagenomics and
metaproteomics, focusing down on key processes in the environment, will provide substantial
information on major physiological groups of organisms involved in cycling of trace gases such as
methane, dimethylsulfide and volatile organic compounds such as methanol and isoprene in the
marine and terrestrial environment.
Short Bio:
Colin Murrell is a Professor in Environmental Microbiology in the School of Environmental Sciences
and Director of the Earth and Life Systems Alliance (ELSA) on the Norwich Research Park. He has
wide ranging research interests centering around the microbiology of atmospheric trace gases such as
methane, dimethyl sulfide, methyl halides and isoprene and the metabolism of one carbon compounds
(methanol, methylamines, methanesulfonate) in the terrestrial, aquatic and marine environment.
Other areas of research include the microbiology of the rhizosphere, sea-surface microlayer, caves,
alkaline soda lakes, saltmarshes, cold water corals and cultural heritage microbiology, regulation of
gene expression by metals, microbial genomics, metagenomics, bioremediation, biocatalysis and
industrial biotechnology. His work over the past 30 years has resulted in around 260 publications and
six edited books.
Lab www.jcmurrell.co.uk