Dr Richard Puxty

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick

Scientific Background

Research Interests

My lab is focussed on understanding how microbes evolve. Specifically, we are interested in how interactions with viruses shape evolution of the host. We study this mostly using laboratory model systems, and are currently working on marine picocyanobacteria, marine green algae, and various human bacterial pathogens. Currently, the lab is focussed on several key questions:

What is the function of the vast array of hypothetical genes in bacteriophages?
Why do bacteriophages infecting cyanobacteria encode photosysnthesis genes?
What is the function of bacteriophage encoded tRNA genes?
How does AMR intersect with bacteriophage infections?

Research Groups

Environment & Ecology

Microbiology & Infectious Disease

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: Collaborative, enabling, outcome-oriented.

Provision of Training

I like to take a strong lead in face-to-face laboratory training in the first year of PhD. Subsequently, I will encourage to seek any further training relevant to the project and career goals independently.

Progression Monitoring and Management

We will meet weekly during the first PhD year. Subsequently, you will be responsible for developing targets and goals for your project, but my door is always open.

Communication

I am known to email my team/PhD students at all hours of the day and night, however I will not expect you to do the same.

The team has a WhatsApp group chat with which we regularly communicate during the week and weekends. Whilst I expect you to keep up with my/team communications I will expect you to manage your work/life balance.

communications I will expect you to manage your work/life balance. I am happy to discuss any issues that are impacting your ability to fulfil your potential or my/our expectations.

Meetings

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me at least once per week. These meetings will be a mixture of face-to-face and via video chat or telephone. I am usually contactable for an instant response on every working day.

Work Patterns

Work in my lab requires being present on site (be it in a laboratory or at a field site) during the core hours of 10am - 3pm (or a subset if working part time).

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week's notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5,000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Primary supervisor for:

Engineering Photosynthesis with Phage-Derived Parts

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Engineering Photosynthesis with Phage-Derived Parts

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Branko Rihtman

University of Registration: University of Warwick

BBSRC Research Themes:

Renewable Resources and Clean Growth (Bio-energy, Industrial Biotechnology)
Understanding the Rules of Life (Microbiology, Plant Science)

Project Outline

Cyanophages carry auxiliary metabolic genes that hijack and rewire host photosynthesis during infection, redirecting electron flow and carbon fixation to serve viral replication. These genes represent millions of years of natural bioengineering, honed by selection to manipulate photosynthetic output. Yet the vast majority remain functionally uncharacterised and as such whether these genes can be used to engineer new photosynthetic phenotypes is unknown.

We have identified two genes from cyanophage genomes with striking, opposing effects when expressed heterologously in cyanobacteria: one dramatically rewires electron transport and boosts carbon fixation rates; the other, by contrast, suppresses it. Together they represent a natural toolkit of opposing dials for photosynthetic output — and a route to rationally engineering carbon fixation using phage-derived parts. Such engineering could ultimately be used to boost crop production or natural products derived from phototrophs.

Aims

Screen clone libraries of cyanophage genomes in a forward genetic screen to identify further genes capable of modulating host photosynthetic activity.
Characterise the molecular mechanism of the electron-transport-rewiring gene that enhances carbon fixation.
Characterise the molecular mechanism of the gene that suppresses carbon fixation, and determine whether the two genes act antagonistically or independently

Methodology

Aim 1 uses clone libraries of cyanophage genome fragments expressed heterologously in cyanobacteria, screened using chlorophyll fluorescence and carbon fixation as proxies for photosynthetic activity, to identify novel candidate genes. Aims 2 and 3 combine targeted expression, electron transport chain assays, and carbon fixation measurements (¹⁴C) to dissect how each gene rewires photosynthetic electron flow, with comparative transcriptomics and protein interaction studies to pinpoint molecular targets.

Hijacking Immunity: The Genetic Basis of Defence-Enhanced Phage Infection

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Hijacking Immunity: The Genetic Basis of Defence-Enhanced Phage Infection

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Branko Rihtman

University of Registration: University of Warwick

BBSRC Research Themes:

Understanding the Rules of Life (Immunology, Microbiology)

Project Outline

Background:

Bacteria wage a constant molecular arms race with the phages that infect them, deploying an armoury of immune systems to block infection. Phages counter-attack — masking their presence and disarming defences directly. But we've found something stranger: a phage that doesn't just evade bacterial immunity — it thrives on it. When defence systems are present, this phage infects more efficiently, not less. How is this possible?

This project will crack open the genetic basis of this counterintuitive phenomenon, turning an unexplained curiosity into an engineerable trait. If phages can be tuned to hijack bacterial defence rather than simply dodge it, we open a route to designer phages with predictably expanded host ranges — with direct applications in phage therapy against antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and in industrial biocontrol.

Aims

Characterise how infection is enhanced in defence-carrying strains, using growth kinetics and metabolomics to hunt for the signalling molecules driving this effect.
Use forward genetic screens — testing phage genome fragments for their ability to restore or boost infectivity in defence-susceptible phages — to pinpoint the molecular basis of enhanced infection.
Test portability: can these mechanisms transfer into other phage-host systems to rationally engineer improved host range and efficacy?

Methodology

Aim 1 combines standard phage growth assays with metabolomic profiling to identify candidate signalling molecules mediating the defence-triggered infectivity boost. Aim 2 applies forward genetics, screening phage genome fragments for their capacity to confer or enhance infectivity against defence-equipped hosts. Aim 3 transfers validated genetic elements into heterologous phage-host pairs to test generalisability, laying groundwork for rational phage engineering.

Co-supervisor on a project with Professor Laura Lehtovirta-Morley.