Dr Colwyn Thomas
| Job Title | Contact | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Lecturer |
Colwyn dot Thomas at uea dot ac dot uk
Tel: +44 (0)1603 59 3866 |
Biology 1.19 |
Career
- B.Sc. - Plant Science, University College Cardiff (1981)
- Ph.D. - University College Cardiff (1984)
- Post-doctoral researcher, Department of Applied Genetics, John Innes Centre (1984-1988)
- Senior post-doctoral researcher, Sainsbury Laboratory, John Innes Centre (1989-2001)
- Lecturer in Biology, University of East Anglia (2001-2009)
- Senior Lecturer in Biology, University of East Anglia (2009-present)
Key Research Interests
Current Research Projects
- Genetic mapping and characterisation of new tomato Cf resistance genes to Cladosporium fulvum
- Investigation of the molecular basis for susceptibility to Beet Mild Yellowing and Beet Chlorosis viruses in Arabidopsis thaliana
- Investigation of the molecular basis for resistance and susceptibility to Turnip Yellows Virus in Arabidopsis thaliana and oilseed rape
Life in our research group
Despite significant advances in plant breeding and agriculture there is still a major challenge to reduce crop losses that result from diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes. The Norwich Research Park has a world class reputation in the study of molecular plant pathology. It is hoped that a greater understanding of the molecular interactions that result in susceptibility or resistance to pathogen infection will have direct applications in creating resistant crops. Research in my laboratory is focused on the study of model interactions between plant pathogenic fungi and viruses with their hosts. The fungus Cladosporium fulvum causes leaf mould disease in tomato but Cf genes present in some tomato cultivars confer immunity to infection. We are interested in identifying novel Cf resistance gene loci in the tomato genome to increase our understanding of plant defence mechanisms. Cf genes encode receptor-like proteins that detect specific fungal proteins and trigger a defence response that results in immunity to infection. A major challenge still is to determine how Cf proteins function at the molecular level so our research also involves genetic approaches to identify genetic suppressors of Cf gene function. With our collaborators at Brooms Barn and JIC we are also investigating the genetic basis of resistance or susceptibility to plant luteoviruses that cause substantial reductions in yield in significant UK crops such as sugar beet and oilseed rape.
PhD Positions
Please email me to discuss PhD opportunities and projects within the School of Biological Sciences.Teaching Activities
- Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics (BIO-M109 and BIO-M113)
- Plant Breeding (BIO-M621)
- Plant Genomics and Biotechnology (BIO-M112)
- Target traits for Crop Improvement (BIO-M114)
- Laboratory Research Project (BIO-M70X)
- Fundamentals of Molecular Biology and Genetics (BIO-1A13)
- Fundamentals of Cell Biology and Biochemistry (BIO-1A14)
- Skills for Biologists (BIO-1A4Y)
- Plant Biology (BIO-2B07)
- Genetics (BIO-2B17)
- Clinical Genetics (BIO-2B19)
- Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (BIO-3C20)
- Genomes, Genes and Genomics (BIO-3C41)
Article
Soumpourou, Eleni, Iakovidis, M., Chartrain, Laetitia, Lyall, V. and Thomas, C.M. (2007) The 'Solanum pimpinellifolium' 'Cf-ECP1' and 'Cf-ECP4' genes for resistance to 'Cladosporium fulvum' are located at the 'Milky Way' locus on the short arm of chromosome 1. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 115 (8). pp. 1127-1136. ISSN 0040-5752
Thomas, C.M. and Jones, J.D.G. (2007) Molecular analysis of Agrobacterium T-DNA integration in tomato reveals a role for left border sequence homology in most integration events. Molecular Genetics and Genomics, 278. pp. 411-420.
Ledger, WL, Anumba, D, Marlow, N, Thomas, CM and Wilson, E (2006) The costs to the NHS of multiple births after IVF treatment in the UK. British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 113 (1). pp. 21-5.
Rivas, S. and Thomas, C.M. (2005) Molecular interactions between tomato and the leaf mold pathogen Cladosporium fulvum. Annual Review of Phytopathology, 43. pp. 395-436.
Wulff, B.B.H., Kruijt, M., Collins, P.L., Thomas, C.M., Ludwig, A.A., De Wit, P.J.G.M. and Jones, J.D.G. (2004) Gene shuffling-generated and natural variants of the tomato resistance gene Cf-9 exhibit different auto-necrosis-inducing activities in Nicotiana species. Plant Journal, 40. pp. 942-956.
Wulff, B.B.H., Thomas, C.M., Parniske, M. and Jones, J.D.G. (2004) Genetic variation at the tomato Cf-4/Cf-9 locus induced by EMS mutagenesis and intralocus recombination. Genetics, 167 (1). pp. 459-470. ISSN 0016-6731
Briza, J., Niedermeierova, H., Pavingerova, D., Thomas, C.M., Klimyuk, V.I. and Jones, J.D.G. (2002) Transposition patterns of unlinked transposed Ds elements from two T-DNA loci on tomato chromosomes 7 and 8. Molecular Genetics and Genomics, 266. pp. 882-890.
Rivas, S. and Thomas, C.M. (2002) Recent advances in the study of tomato Cf resistance genes. Molecular Plant Pathology, 3. pp. 277-282.
Thomas, C., Kruger, J., Mulder, L., Jones, J. D. G., Smoker, M., Goldstein, C., Dixon, M. S. and Tang, S. (2002) A tomato cysteine protease required for Cf-2-dependent disease resistance and suppression of autonecrosis. Science, 296 (5568). pp. 744-747. ISSN 0036-8075
Bertioli, D.J., Guimraes, P.M., Jones, J.D.G., Thomas, C.M., Burrows, P.R., Monte, D.C. and Leal-Bertioli, S.C.D. (2001) Expression of tomato Cf genes and their corresponding avirulence genes in transgenic tobacco plants using nematode responsive promoters. Annals of Applied Biology, 138. pp. 333-342.
Wulff, B.B.H., Thomas, C.M., Smoker, M., Grant, M. and Jones, J.D.G. (2001) Domain swapping and gene shuffling identify sequences required for induction of an Avr-dependent hypersensitive response by the tomato Cf-4 and Cf-9 proteins. Plant Cell, 13 (2). pp. 255-272. ISSN 1040-4651
External Activities and Indicators of Esteem
- Mentor for the Gatsby Plant Science undergraduate programme
- External examiner at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at the University of Aberystwyth for the B,Sc in Genetics and taught Masters programmes in ‘Food and water Security’ and ‘Managing the Environment’
Administrative Posts/Responsibilities
- Member of BIO Teaching Executive
- Deputy Director of Admissions
- Deputy Director of Engagement in BIO
- Course Director for the M.Sc in 'Plant Genetics and Crop Improvement' which is delivered jointly with the John Innes Centre (JIC)
- Module organiser for Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics (BIO-M109 and BIO-M113); Plant Breeding (BIO-M621); Plant Genomics and Biotechnology (BIO-M112); Target traits for Crop Improvement (BIO-M114); Laboratory Research Project (BIO-M70X); Statistics for Plant Science (BIO-M18Y)
- Module organiser for Genomes, Genes and Genomics (BIO-3C41) and Genetics (BIO-2B17).
