Centre staff
Professor Tom Smith
Professor of microbiology
Phone 0114 225 3042
Email t.j.smith@shu.ac.uk
Research interests
Bacterial oxygenases, enzymology and applied microbiology
Bacterial oxygenases
Bacteria that can grow using hydrocarbons as their sole source of carbon and energy produce oxygenases that have the ability to perform specific oxygenation of a wide range of hydrocarbons and chlorinated organic compounds, many of which are unreactive towards oxidation by chemical means. Bacterial oxygenases are thus potentially useful in bioremediation and, thanks to the remarkable stereo- and regio-selectivity that such enzymes can demonstrate, have potential applications in the synthesis of fine chemicals.
Soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) from methane-oxidising bacteria naturally oxidises methane to methanol, which is the first step in biological oxidation of the potent greenhouse gas methane. It also co-oxidises a wide range of hydrocarbon and chlorinated hydrocarbon substrates. We are using mutagenesis-based methods to investigate and manipulate the very wide substrate range of sMMO and to investigate the mechanism of oxidation of the enzyme's kinetically unreactive substrate methane. This work is currently funded by a grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and is a collaboration with Professor J Colin Murrell at the University of Warwick. We are also working with Professor John Lipscomb (University of Minnesota) to study reaction kinetics in sMMO.
We are performing structure-function studies on alkene monooxygenase (AMO), which is produced by the alkene-oxidising bacterium Rhodococcus rhodochrous B-276 and can be used to produce high-value chiral epoxides.
New expression systems for biocatalysts
In addition to the expression systems that have already been developed for AMO and sMMO, work is also underway exploring the expression of stereoselective oxygenases in a bacterium that grows using methanol as its carbon and energy source in order to produce high-value biocatalysts using methanol as the feedstock. This project is in collaboration with Dr C Míguez and co-workers at the Biotechnology Research Institute, Montreal.
Molecular environmental microbiology of the hospital ward environment
We are applying molecular microbial ecology methods, including the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to study populations of microorganisms and resistance genes within the internal environment of hospital wards and other areas, as a new tool to study the role of the environment in hospital-acquired infections. This work is a collaboration with Dr Karen Stanley (Sheffield Hallam) and Mr Robert Kerry and Dr Robert Townsend (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust). It is funded by the Hospital Infection Society.
Microbiological applications in materials science
Research is underway into applications of bacteria within materials science, including inhibition of corrosion and biofouling and development of biosensors. This work is in collaboration with Professor Bob Akid and Dr Heming Wang of the Materials and Engineering Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University. Work on development of a novel coating containing 'good' bacteria for inhibition of biofouling and corrosion is currently supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Novel antimicrobial systems
Work is under way to develop a new controlled-release coating for local delivery of antibiotics and other therapeutic agents for use on orthopedic prostheses and other surgical implants. This work is a collaboration with Professor Bob Akid and Dr Heming Wang (Materials and Engineering Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University) and Dr Robert Townsend and Professor Ian Stockley (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS trust).
We are also working on isolation and characterisation of antimicrobial agents from natural products, including celery seeds. This work is a collaboration with Professor K D Rainsford (Sheffield Hallam University) and Dr Graham Stafford (School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield) and Dr Simon Jones (Department of Chemistry, University of Sheffield).
Bioremediation of heavy metal and organic pollutants
Microorganisms can be exploited to mitigate environmental pollution, by oxidising organic pollutants (such as hydrocarbons and chlorinated hydrocarbons) and by changing the speciation of heavy metals to make them less bioavailable. Work in collaboration with Dr Philip Gardiner investigates the potential of methane-oxidising and other environmental bacteria to remediate hexavalent chromium contamination. Other work is concerned with bioremediation of wastes from the petroleum industry.
Publications
Book chapters
Smith, T. J. and Murrell, J. C. 2011. Mutagenesis of soluble methane monooxygenase. In Methods in methane metabolism, Methods in Enzymology vol. 495. Eds. Rosenzweig, A. C. and Ragsdale, S. W: Elsevier. Accepted for publication
Moussard, H., Smith, T. J. and Murrell, J. C. 2010. DNA Stable Isotope Probing and Gene Mining, In Stable Isotope Probing and Related Technologies. Eds Murrell, J. C. and Whiteley, A.: ASM Press.
Smith, T. J. 2009. Oxidation of alkenes by bacterial monooxygenases. In Encyclopedia of Industrial Biotechnology. Ed. Flickenger, M. C. Wiley. DOI:10.1002/9780470054581.eib466
Smith, T. J. and Murrell, J. C. 2009. Methanotrophs: biotechnological potential and emerging applications. In Encyclopedia of Industrial Biotechnology. Ed. Flickenger, M. C. Wiley. In press.
Smith . T. J., Trotsenko, Y. A. and Murrell, J. C. 2009. Physiology and biochemistry of the aerobic methane oxidizing bacteria. In Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology. Ed. Timmis, K. N. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Vol. 2, pp. 767-780.
Murrell, J. C. and Smith, T. J. 2009. Biochemistry and molecular biology of methane monooxygenase. In Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology. Ed. Timmis, K. N. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Vol. 2, pp. 1045-1056.
Smith, T. J. and Murrell, J. C. 2009. Methanotrophy/methane oxidation. In Encyclopedia of Microbiology. Ed. Schaechter, M. Elsevier. Vol. 3, pp. 293-298.
Smith, T. J. and Dalton, H. 2004. Biocatalysis by methane monooxygenase and its implications for the petroleum industry. In Petroleum Biotechnology, Developments and Perspectives. Ed. Vazquez-Duhalt, R. and Quintero-Ramirez, R. Elsevier. pp. 177-192.
Papers
Jiang, H., Chen, Y., Jiang, P., Zhang, C., Smith, T. J., Murrell, J. C. and Xing, X.-H. 2010. Methanotrophs: multifunctional bacteria with promising applications in environmental bioengineering. Biochem. Eng. J. 49, 277-288. DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2010.01.003
Li, N., Smith, T. J. and Zong, M.-H. 2010. Biocatalytic transformation of nucleoside derivatives. Biotechnology Advances 28, 348-366. DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2010.01.006
Lou, W.-Y., Chen, L., Zhang, B.-B., Smith, T. J. and Zong, M.-H. 2009. Using a water-immiscible ionic liquid to improve asymmetric reduction of 4-(trimethylsilyl)-3-butyn-2-one catalyzed by immobilized Candida parapsilosis CCTCC M203011 cells. BMC Biotechnology 9, 90. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6750-9-90.
Al Hasin, A., Gurman, S. J., Murphy, L. M., Perry, A., Smith, T. J. and Gardiner, P. H. E. 2010. Remediation of chromium (VI) by a methane-oxidising bacterium. Environ. Sci. Technol. 44, 400-405. DOI: 10.1021/es901723c.
Yang, R. Y., Li, N., Li, R.-F., Smith, T. J. and Zong, M. H. 2010. A highly regioselective route to arbutin esters by immobilized lipase from Penicillium expansum. Bioresource Technology 101, 1-5.
Lou, W.-Y., Wang, W., Smith, T. J. and Zong, M.-H. 2009. Biocatalytic anti-Prelog stereoselective reduction of 4'-methoxyacetophenone to (R)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanol with immobilized Trigonopsis variabilis AS2.1611 cells using an ionic liquid-containing medium. Green Chemistry 11, 1377-1384. DOI: 10.1039/b823502c
Zhou, Y., Taylor, B., Smith, T. J., Liu, Z.-P., Clench, M., Davies, N, and Rainsford, K. D. 2009. A novel compound from celery seed with a bactericidal effect against Helicobacter pylori. J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 61, 1067-1077.
Murrell, J. C. and Smith, T. J. 2009. Microbial biotechnology meets environmental microbiology. Microbial Biotechnology 2, 142-143.
Akid, R., Wang, H., Smith, T. J., Greenfield, D. and Earthman, J. C. 2008. Biological functionalisation of a sol gel coating for the mitigation of Microbial Induced Corrosion (MIC). Adv. Functional Mat. 18, 203-211.
Borodina, E., Nichol, T., Dumont, M. G., Smith, T. J. and Murrell, J. C. 2007. Mutagenesis of the 'leucine gate' to explore the basis of catalytic versatility in soluble methane monooxygenase. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73, 6460-6467.
Zong, M.-H., Duan, Z.-Q., Lou, W.-Y., Smith, T. J. and Wu, H. 2007. Preparation of sugar catalysts and detailed structural characterisation and evaluation for production of biodiesel. Green Chemistry 9, 434-437.
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