Roe Research group
This is the webpage of Andrew J. Roe's research group.
The major focus of our work is the model organism, Escherichia coli, which is very diverse and can exist as a both a commensal or a pathogen causing serious infections. How different strains regulate their responses to their surrounding environment is a key question and is illustrated below.
Figure 1: Image showing 3 different responses to the host metabolite D-serine. See O’Boyle et al., (2021).
As Escherichia coli is such a tractable organism, we utilize a wide variety of methods, ranging from microbiology and molecular biology, via biochemistry, to structural biology. We take full advantage our in house polyomics unit, a core facility at the University supporting transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics.
Grant funding from the BBSRC, Horizon EU and MRC provides support for our postdoctoral researchers: Rebecca McHugh, Ester Serrano, David Mark & Emily Addington.
Currently the group hosts four PhD students: Patricia Rimbi, Sofia Sandalli, Emily Horsburgh and Sam Tucker, covering a range of projects and techniques - see their individual pages for more details. Training and supporting early career scientists is a core philosophy for the group.
Past lab members have gone on to successful careers in many aspects of science and beyond. They form a key part of our science legacy and have contributed to over 90 papers and reviews. We are always keen to talk to motivated students or scientists at any stage of their career if they are keen to come to the lab for an experience, be it a summer placement, PhD project or personal Fellowship.
Research areas
Meet the team
Principal Investigator
Post-Doctoral Researchers
PhD Students
Recent Publications
O'Boyle, N., Douce, G.R., Farrell, G., Connolly, J., roe, a., Schembri, M. and Rattray, N. (2022) 'Distinct ecological fitness factors coordinated by a conserved regulator during systemic bloodstream infection', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(1), e2212175120, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2212175120.
Niche specificity:
Connolly, J.P., Turner, N.C., Serrano, E., Rimbi, P.T., Browning, D.F., O’Boyle, N. and Roe, A.J. (2022) 'Control of resistance against bacteriophage killing by a metabolic regulator in meningitis-associated Escherichia coli', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(45), e2210299119, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2210299119.
Connolly, J.P., Turner, N.C., Hallam, J.C., Rimbi, P.T., Flett, T., McCormack, M.J., Roe, A.J. and O'Boyle, N. (2021) 'd-Serine induces distinct transcriptomes in diverse Escherichia coli pathotypes', Microbiology, 167(10), 001093, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001093.
Connolly, J.P., Slater, S.L., O’Boyle, N., Goldstone, R.J., Crepin, V.F., Ruano-Gallego, D., Herzyk, P., Smith, D.G., Douce, G.R. and Frankel, G. (2018) 'Host-associated niche metabolism controls enteric infection through fine-tuning the regulation of type 3 secretion', Nature communications, 9(1), 4187, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06701-4.
Structure function:
Zambelloni, R., Beckham, K.S., Wu, H.-J., Elofsson, M., Marquez, R., Gabrielsen, M. and Roe, A.J. (2022) 'Crystal structures of WrbA, a spurious target of the salicylidene acylhydrazide inhibitors of type III secretion in Gram-negative pathogens, and verification of improved specificity of next-generation compounds', Microbiology, 168(7), 001211, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001211.
Kim, G., Azmi, L., Jang, S., Jung, T., Hebert, H., Roe, A.J., Byron, O. and Song, J.-J. (2019) 'Aldehyde-alcohol dehydrogenase forms a high-order spirosome architecture critical for its activity', Nature communications, 10(1), 4527, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12427-8.
Understanding and treating infections:
McHugh, R.E., Munnoch, J.T., Roe, A.J. and Hoskisson, P.A. (2022) 'Genome sequence of the aurodox-producing bacterium Streptomyces goldiniensis ATCC 21386', Access Microbiol, 4(5), acmi000358, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/acmi.0.000358.
McHugh, R.E., Munnoch, J.T., Braes, R.E., McKean, I.J., Giard, J., Taladriz-Sender, A., Peschke, F., Burley, G.A., Roe, A.J. and Hoskisson, P.A. (2022) 'Biosynthesis of aurodox, a Type III secretion system inhibitor from Streptomyces goldiniensis', Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 88(15), e00692-22, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.00692-22.
McCreath, G., Whitfield, P.D., Roe, A.J., Watson, M.J. and Sim, M.A. (2021) 'A Metabolomics approach for the diagnosis Of SecondAry InfeCtions in COVID-19 (MOSAIC): a study protocol', BMC Infectious Diseases, 21, 1-6, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06832-y.
Reviews:
Wale, K.R., Cottam, C., Connolly, J.P.R. and Roe, A.J. (2021) 'Transcriptional and metabolic regulation of EHEC and Citrobacter rodentium pathogenesis', Current Opinion in Microbiology, 63, 70-75, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2021.06.002.
Connolly, J.P., Roe, A.J. and O’Boyle, N. (2021) 'Prokaryotic life finds a way: insights from evolutionary experimentation in bacteria', Critical reviews in microbiology, 47(1), 126-140, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1040841X.2020.1854172.
O’Boyle, N., Turner, N.C., Roe, A.J. and Connolly, J.P. (2020) 'Plastic circuits: regulatory flexibility in fine tuning pathogen success', Trends in microbiology, 28(5), 360-371, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2020.01.002.