Latest Publications

Shannon F. Greer, Jamie Harrison, Daisy Bown, Maria Serrano, Rana Muhammed Fraz Hussain, Srayan Ghosh, Graham R. Teakle, Vardis Ntoukakis, David J. Studholme, Joana G. Vicente, Murray Grant

Black rot, caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), is the most damaging bacterial disease of vegetable brassicas (Brassica oleracea) worldwide. The prevalence of several genetically diverse Xcc races makes breeding for varietal resistance challenging. In this study, we have screened diversity fixed foundation sets (DFFSs) of B. oleracea and Brassica napus for resistance against isolates belonging to prevalent Xcc races 1, 4, 5 and 6. The DFFSs are designed to capture the genetic diversity available within the respective Brassica species gene-pools in smaller subsets of lines. Our findings revealed that resistances to race 1 and 4 were largely absent in B. oleracea but more prevalent in B. napus. Notably, resistance to race 4 was particularly common in B. napus (63% of lines showed resistance, 13% of lines showed partial resistance). Conversely, resistance to races 5 and 6 was more common in B. oleracea than in B. napus. In B. oleracea, there was no significant association between disease index and morphotype but, among the B. napus morphotypes, swede was the most susceptible to races 1, 5 and 6 but not to race 4. Ten B. oleracea and 67 B. napus lines showed resistance to more than one isolate. Further testing of a subset of these lines demonstrated that resistances were effective against additional diverse Xcc isolates in a race-specific, clade-specific or broad-spectrum manner. The resistant lines identified in this study offer a valuable resource for breeding programmes aimed to achieve durable and sustainable control of Xcc.

Plant Pathology, October 2025

Tafesse Kibatu, Sebsebe Demissew, Diriba Muleta, Getahun Haile, Seman Abrar, Denberu Kebede, Murray Grant, Sadik Muzemil, Tileye Feyissa

Enset is a staple food for approximately 25% of Ethiopia’s population. It is threatened by a range of biotic and abiotic stress, of which bacterial wilt is the most significant. This study investigated the enset bacterial wilt (EBW) status on farms in Gedeo, Kembata Tembaro, Gurage, Hadiya zones, and the Basketo special woreda of Southern Ethiopia. In addition, infected enset plant samples were collected from Hadiya, Kembata Tembaro, and Gedeo zones to assess bacterial strain diversity using physicochemical and morphological approaches. Representative Kebeles were selected using purposive sampling based on their agroecological conditions. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, questionnaires, group discussions, and field observation. The morphology of bacterial wilt isolates was characterized by color, texture, form, elevation, margin, and motility. In addition, a combination of oxidase, aesculin hydrolysis, catalase, gram reaction, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), gelatin liquefaction, and fructose, lactose, mannitol, and sorbitol utilization tests were conducted to capture physiochemical differences. Tolerance to salt and high temperatures was also evaluated. The bacterial wilt impact varies significantly across enset growing regions, with highlands experiencing the highest. This research emphasizes the importance of assessing both spatial and temporal variation, as well as integrating local knowledge and robust scientific approaches for effective bacterial wilt management and enset landrace conservation efforts. The research also provides valuable insights into the characteristics of bacterial wilt isolates in Southern Ethiopia. Analyses of morphology, potassium hydroxide solubility, catalase activity, and carbohydrate utilization were consistent, however, variations in bacterial isolates response to tests of easculin, oxidase, gelatin liquid, H₂S tests and response to osmotic and temperature exposures. This study reveals a strong association between the bacterial wilt effect and the enset growing regions. EBW exhibits seasonal fluctuations. Bacterial wilt isolates displayed consistent morphological characteristics. All isolates similarly utilized sorbitol, mannitol, lactose, and fructose carbohydrates. All isolates exhibited positive potassium hydroxide solubility and catalase activity. However, the isolates displayed variations in responses to easculin, oxidase, gelatin liquefaction, and H₂S production. The isolates also displayed variations in tolerance to salt and high temperatures. These variations can be valuable for understanding disease epidemiology and management.

Advances in Agriculture, January 2025

Naomi S. Prosser, Eamonn Ferguson, Jasmeet Kaler, Edward M. Hill, Michael J. Tildesley, Matt J. Keeling, Martin J. Green

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial factors are important for the uptake of livestock disease control measures by farmers and can differ by region, which would have implications for disease control nationally.

METHODS: We investigated altruism, trust, psychological proximity and the COM-B behaviour change framework in a survey of 475 British cattle farmers in 2020. Using regression models, we studied associations between the country farmers lived in and psychosocial and behaviour change factors. RESULTS: There were many between-country differences in farmers' psychosocial and COM-B profiles. Accounting for multiple tests, Scottish cattle farmers reported higher trust in governmental judgements for disease control and greater social opportunity to control disease than English cattle farmers.

LIMITATIONS: There were relatively low numbers of respondents from Scotland and Wales. As such, the results should be interpreted with caution. Northern Irish farmers could not be included in the analyses as there were too few responses.

CONCLUSION: Cattle farmers differed in their psychosocial profiles by country. Our sample of Scottish farmers reported higher trust in, and felt better supported by, government in the context of disease control than the English farmers, which could be due to different disease control approaches between devolved governments. Understanding between-country differences in farmer psychosocial attributes has implications for animal health governance and approaches to disease control.

Veterinary Record, October 2025

Alexandra Lovatt, Jack Butler, Nicholas Dale

Connexins can act either as hemichannels to facilitate ion and small-molecule movement from the cytosol to the extracellular space or as gap junction channels to provide a pathway for solute exchange between cells. Connexins are ubiquitously expressed throughout the body and are implicated in a wide range of processes. The permselectivity of connexin hemichannels for small neurochemicals remains poorly understood. By coexpressing genetically encoded fluorescent sensors for ATP, glutamate, and lactate with a range of connexins, we examined the ability of different hemichannels to permit the release of these compounds under physiological conditions and in response to physiological stimuli (small changes in partial pressure of CO₂ and transmembrane depolarization). We found that some connexin hemichannels were relatively nonselective (Cx26, Cx32, Cx43, and Cx31.1) allowing passage of ATP, glutamate, and lactate. By contrast, other connexin hemichannels (Cx36, Cx46, and Cx50) were highly selective. Cx36 and Cx46 hemichannels allowed the release of ATP but not glutamate or lactate. The size of the permeating molecule cannot be the sole determinant of permselectivity. By contrast, Cx50 hemichannels permitted the release of lactate and glutamate but not ATP. We also found that the nature of the opening stimulus could alter the permselectivity of the hemichannel—for some of the relatively nonselective connexins, hemichannel opening via depolarization was ineffective at allowing the release of lactate. By performing a mutational analysis, informed by the differential selectivity of the closely related Cx46 and Cx50 hemichannels, we found that the charge on the N terminus and N terminus–transmembrane 2 interactions are key contributors to permselectivity for ATP.

Journal of Biological Chemistry, December 2025

Christophe Corre, Gideon A. Idowu, Lijiang Song, Melanie E. Whitehead, Lona M. Alkhalaf, Gregory L. Challis

The methylenomycins are highly functionalized cyclopentanone antibiotics produced by Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). A biosynthetic pathway to the methylenomycins has been proposed based on sequence analysis of the proteins encoded by the methylenomycin biosynthetic gene cluster and the incorporation of labeled precursors. However, the roles played by putative biosynthetic enzymes remain experimentally uninvestigated. Here, the biosynthetic functions of enzymes encoded by mmyD, mmyO, mmyF, and mmyE were investigated by creating in-frame deletions in each gene and investigating the effect on methylenomycin production. No methylenomycin-related metabolites were produced by the mmyD mutant, consistent with the proposed role of MmyD in an early biosynthetic step. The production of methylenomycin A, but not methylenomycin C, was abolished in the mmyF and mmyO mutants, consistent with the corresponding enzymes catalyzing the epoxidation of methylenomycin C, as previously proposed. Expression of mmyF and mmyO in a S. coelicolor M145 derivative engineered to express mmr, which confers methylenomycin resistance, enabled the resulting strain to convert methylenomycin C to methylenomycin A, confirming this hypothesis. A novel metabolite (premethylenomycin C), which readily cyclizes to form the corresponding butanolide (premethylenomycin C lactone), accumulated in the mmyE mutant, indicating the corresponding enzyme is involved in introducing the exomethylene group into methylenomycin C. Remarkably, both premethylenomycin C and its lactone precursor were one to two orders of magnitude more active against various Gram-positive bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium isolates, than methylenomycins A and C, providing a promising starting point for the development of novel antibiotics to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Journal of the American Chemical Society, October 2025

Leila T. Alexander, Océane M. Follonier, Andriy Kryshtafovych,| Kim Abesamis, Sabrina Bibi-Triki, Henry G. Box, Cécile Breyton, Françoise Bringel, Loic Carrique, Alessio d'Acapito, Gang Dong, Rebecca DuBois, Deborah Fass, JulianaMartinez Fiesco, Daniel R. Fox, Jonathan M. Grimes, Rhys Grinter, Matthew Jenkins, Roman Kamyshinsky, Jeremy R. Keown, Gerald Lackner, Michael Lammers, Shiheng Liu, Andrew L. Lovering,Tomas Malinauskas, Benoît Masquida, Gottfried J. Palm, Christian Siebold,Tiantian Su, Ping Zhang, Z. Hong Zhou, Krzysztof Fidelis, Maya Topf, John Moult, Torsten Schwed

This article presents an in-depth analysis of selected CASP16 targets, with a focus on their biological and functional significance. The authors highlight the most relevant features of the target proteins and discuss how well these were reproduced in the submitted predictions. While the overall performance of structure prediction methods remains impressive, challenges persist, particularly in modeling rare structural motifs, flexible regions, small molecule interactions, posttranslational modifications, and biologically important interfaces. Addressing these limitations can strengthen the role of structure prediction in complementing experimental efforts and advancing both basic research and biomedical applications.

Proteins (Structure, Function, Bioinformatics), October 2025