Dr Andrew Fenton
School of Biosciences
Lecturer in Microbial Pathogenesis
+44 114 222 2832
Full contact details
School of Biosciences
Firth Court
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
- Profile
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I started my lab in the School of Biosciences (formerly the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology) at the Florey Institute in December 2016. Before coming to Sheffield, my post-doctoral training took me to Harvard Medical School, where I discovered my love for Streptococcus pneumoniae.
This was a jointly supervised project in the labs of both Tom Bernhardt and David Rudner where I learned the deep sequencing and genetic approaches which I now apply in my lab.
Between 2010 and 2013, I worked in the Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology in Newcastle with Kenn Gerdes (now at the University of Copenhagen). Here I learned how to work on proteins in depth and drive towards understanding molecular mechanisms of biological processes.
My work focused mainly on the actin-like protein and major cell wall coordination factor MreB.
I completed a PhD in 2010 studying the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus in Liz Sockett’s lab. Predatory bacteria are fascinating and a lot of fun; here I learned how to be a scientist and the basics of a method very dear to me: time-lapse and florescence microscopy.
Things that make me happy are science (on good days), gaming, travelling and coffee.
Career history
- 2016 - present: Florey Institute Research Fellow, School of Biosciences, the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
- 2013 – 2016: Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
- 2010 – 2013: Research Associate, Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.
- 2006 – 2010: PhD, Institute of Genetics, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
- Research interests
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Work in my lab focuses on molecular mechanisms governing bacterial cell growth and division within the host environment. We study the ellipsoid-shaped model organism and human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Pneumonia and meningitis are leading causes of death in the world. These diseases are caused by a variety of bacteria but are commonly caused by invasive S. pneumoniae. How these bacteria grow and divide inside their hosts is fundamental to our understanding of these conditions. My lab focuses on S. pneumoniae growth and division processes. Specifically, how the process of cell wall biosynthesis is governed and coordinated to maintain the cell shape and integrity as the cells grow and divide.
As S. pneumoniae cell growth takes place exclusively within the human host, we study the cell host-cell interactions to provide context of cell growth processes. We study how S. pneumoniae cells adapt to environmental changes within hosts, resists clearance by the immune system and copes with antibiotic challenges.
We use genetic screens, biochemical assays and epifluorescence microscopy to advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind these processes.
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Next-generation microbiology : from comparative genomics to gene function. Genome Biology, 22(1). View this article in WRRO
- Phosphorylation-dependent activation of the cell wall synthase PBP2a in Streptococcus pneumoniae by MacP. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 115(11), 2812-2817. View this article in WRRO
- CozE is a member of the MreCD complex that directs cell elongation in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Nature Microbiology, 2. View this article in WRRO
- Shadowing the Actions of a Predator: Backlit Fluorescent Microscopy Reveals Synchronous Nonbinary Septation of Predatory Bdellovibrio inside Prey and Exit through Discrete Bdelloplast Pores. Journal of Bacteriology, 192(24), 6329-6335.
- Manipulating Each MreB of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus Gives Diverse Morphological and Predatory Phenotypes. Journal of Bacteriology, 192(5), 1299-1311.
- Direct interaction of FtsZ and MreB is required for septum synthesis and cell division in Escherichia coli. The EMBO Journal, 32(13), 1953-1965.
All publications
Journal articles
- Loss of Pde1 function acts as an evolutionary gateway to penicillin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(41). View this article in WRRO
- Phagosomal acidification Is required to kill Streptococcus pneumoniae in a Zebrafish model. Cellular Microbiology, 2022.
- Kinetic resolution by lithiation: highly enantioselective synthesis of substituted dihydrobenzoxazines and tetrahydroquinoxalines. Synthesis.
- Next-generation microbiology : from comparative genomics to gene function. Genome Biology, 22(1). View this article in WRRO
- DivIVA controls progeny morphology and diverse ParA proteins regulate cell division or gliding motility in Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11. View this article in WRRO
- A switch in surface polymer biogenesis triggers growth-phase-dependent and antibiotic-induced bacteriolysis.. eLife, 8. View this article in WRRO
- MacP, un régulateur de l’assemblage de la paroi cellulaire de la bactérie pathogène Streptococcus pneumoniae. médecine/sciences, 34(8-9), 642-645. View this article in WRRO
- Phosphorylation-dependent activation of the cell wall synthase PBP2a in Streptococcus pneumoniae by MacP. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 115(11), 2812-2817. View this article in WRRO
- Erratum: CozE is a member of the MreCD complex that directs cell elongation in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Nature Microbiology, 2(3).
- CozE is a member of the MreCD complex that directs cell elongation in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Nature Microbiology, 2. View this article in WRRO
- A Genetic Lung Cancer Susceptibility Test may have a Positive Effect on Smoking Cessation. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 24(3), 522-531.
- Genome analysis of a simultaneously predatory and prey-independent, novel Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus from the River Tiber, supports in silico predictions of both ancient and recent lateral gene transfer from diverse bacteria. BMC Genomics, 13(1), 670-670.
- Effects of Orally Administered Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus on the Well-Being and Salmonella Colonization of Young Chicks. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 77(16), 5794-5803.
- Predatory Bdellovibrio Bacteria Use Gliding Motility To Scout for Prey on Surfaces. Journal of Bacteriology, 193(12), 3139-3141.
- Spiral Architecture of the Nucleoid in Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. Journal of Bacteriology, 193(6), 1341-1350.
- Shadowing the Actions of a Predator: Backlit Fluorescent Microscopy Reveals Synchronous Nonbinary Septation of Predatory Bdellovibrio inside Prey and Exit through Discrete Bdelloplast Pores. Journal of Bacteriology, 192(24), 6329-6335.
- A coiled-coil-repeat protein ‘Ccrp’ in Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus prevents cellular indentation, but is not essential for vibroid cell morphology. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 313(2), 89-95.
- Manipulating Each MreB of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus Gives Diverse Morphological and Predatory Phenotypes. Journal of Bacteriology, 192(5), 1299-1311.
- Roles of Multiple Flagellins in Flagellar Formation and Flagellar Growth Post Bdelloplast Lysis in Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. Journal of Molecular Biology, 394(5), 1011-1021.
- Direct interaction of FtsZ and MreB is required for septum synthesis and cell division in Escherichia coli. The EMBO Journal, 32(13), 1953-1965.
- ZapE Is a Novel Cell Division Protein Interacting with FtsZ and Modulating the Z-Ring Dynamics. mBio, 5(2). View this article in WRRO
Chapters
- A Predatory Patchwork: Membrane and Surface Structures of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, Advances in Microbial Physiology (pp. 313-361). Elsevier
- Next-generation microbiology : from comparative genomics to gene function. Genome Biology, 22(1). View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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Joining the lab
If you are interested in joining the team, please contact me at: a.k.fenton@sheffield.ac.uk
Postdoctoral fellowships
Postdocs who wish to apply for fellowships to join the team are welcome. Please contact me to discuss project ideas.
Project students and internships
Students wishing to apply for summer internships are welcome and should send me a CV and a letter describing their interests, motivations and research experience.
- Teaching activities
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Level 1 modules
- MBB163 Microbiology