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Academic

Dr Nick Watmough

Nick Watmough
Job Title Contact Location
Reader  N dot Watmough at uea dot ac dot uk
Tel: +44 (0)1603 59 2179  
Biology 2.42 
  • Personal
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Publications
  • External
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Career

  • University Academic Director for Postgraduate Research Degree Programmes (2012-2015)
  • Reader in Biochemistry, University of East Anglia (2001-present)
  • Associate Dean (LTQ), Faculty of Science, University of East Anglia (2007-2010) 
  • Wellcome Trust University Award Lecturer, University of East Anglia (1998-2003)
  • Wellcome Trust Career Development Award Fellow, University of East Anglia (1994-1998)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of East Anglia (1990-1994)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (1989-1990)
  • Ph.D. - University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1989)
  • B.Sc. - Biochemistry, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine (1982)


ResearcherID

http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-6643-2010

Website

http://www.cmsb.eu/

Key Research Interests

I am a biochemist with interests in heme containing proteins, respiratory enzymes and bioenergetics. In the recent past my research has focused on bacterial enzymes and is closely integrated with a number of other groups in the Centre for Molecular and Structural Biochemistry (CMSB). More recently I have started to collaborate with colleagues in the Biomedical Research Centre to better understand protein structure and function in cellular and animal models of disease.


Current Research Projects 

  • The mechanism of ETF:ubiquinone oxidoreductase in normal and disordered fatty acid metabolism
  • The role of cytoglobin in tumour hypoxia
  • The enzymology of nitrous oxide (N2O) formation and consumption of in bacteria
  • Understanding and optimising nitrogen fixation in crop legumes (with Phil Poole, John Innes Centre)


Life in our research group

Our research is done in the recently refurbished Colin Greenwood Laboratory which is shared with the groups of five other CMSB members; Richard Bowater, Tom Clarke, Andy Gates, Andrew Hemmings and David J. Richardson. The laboratory is superbly equipped for protein production and purification and the subsequent analysis of protein function using a range of biophysical methods which includes a facility for time-resolved spectroscopy that houses Applied Photophysics stopped-flow and laser flash spectrometers and a Cary 4000 UV/vis spectrophotometer. Other experiments to characterise the proteins in which we are interested are done collaboratively with CMSB colleagues in the School of Chemistry including Myles Cheesman and Julea Butt. As well as sharing a laboratory we hold informal weekly meetings in which members of all six research groups present their latest findings and obtain feedback from this diverse and dynamic group of biomolecular scientists. Group members also contribute to the Molecules and Pathways Theme Seminar Series and to annual meetings such as Microbes in Norwich and the BIO Colloquium. We also try to get to at least one national or international conference each year for example the European Nitrogen Cycle Meeting which next year will be held in Oslo. BIO undergraduate students who are interested in doing a final year project with me should feel free to make contact to discuss possible projects. Hosting summer students is always enjoyable and biochemistry undergraduates in their second or midpoint year from any university are welcome to contact me to support applications to the Nuffield Foundation, Wellcome Trust or the Biochemical Society.

PhD Positions

Please email me to discuss PhD opportunities and projects within the School of Biological Sciences

Postdocs & Fellows

I am always happy to discuss possibilities for postdoctoral work and collaborations. Possible funding routes include applying for career development fellowships, perhaps through those schemes sponsored by the Wellcome Trust or the EU (Marie Curie), with me acting as sponsor. Alternatively you may wish to consider a joint grant application with you as a named researcher.



Teaching Activities

  • BIO-1A3Y
  • BIO-1H61
  • BIO-2B01
  • BIO-2B30
  • BIO-3C02
Jump to: Article
Number of items: 39.

Article

Clarke, TA, Edwards, MJ, Gates, AJ, Hall, A, White, GF, Bradley, J, Reardon, CL, Shi, L, Beliaev, AS, Marshall, MJ, Wang, Z, Watmough, NJ, Fredrickson, JK, Zachara, JM, Butt, JN and Richardson, DJ (2011) Structure of a bacterial cell surface decaheme electron conduit. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108 (23). pp. 9384-9389. ISSN 0027-8424

Clarke, Tom, Fairhurst, Shirley, Lowe, David J., Watmough, Nick and Eady, Robert R. (2011) Electron transfer and half-reactivity in nitrogenase. Biochemical Society Transactions, 39 (1). pp. 201-206. ISSN 0300-5127

Crack, J, Smith, LJ, Stapleton, MR, Peck, J, Watmough, N, Buttner, MJ, Buxton, RS, Green, J, Oganesyan, V, Thomson, AJ and Le Brun, NE (2011) Mechanistic Insight into the Nitrosylation of the [4Fe−4S] Cluster of WhiB-like Proteins. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 133 (4). pp. 1112-1121. ISSN 0002-7863

Field, S, Roldan, MD, Marritt, SJ, Butt, J, Richardson, D and Watmough, N (2011) Electron transfer to the active site of the bacterial nitric oxide reductase is controlled by ligand binding to heme b3. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1807 (4). pp. 451-457. ISSN 00052728

Martínez‑Espinosa, Rosa María, Cole, Jeffrey A., Richardson, David and Watmough, Nick (2011) Enzymology and ecology of the nitrogen cycle. Biochemical Society Transactions, 39 (1). pp. 175-178. ISSN 0300-5127

Ozturk, M and Watmough, NJ (2011) Mutagenesis of tyrosine residues within helix VII in subunit I of the cytochrome cbb3 oxidase from Rhodobacter capsulatus. Molecular Biology Reports, 38 (5). pp. 3319-3326.

Todd, J, Curson, A, Nikolaidou-Katsaraidou, N, Brearley, C, Watmough, N, Chan, Y, Bulman Page, P, Sun, L and Johnston, AWB (2010) Molecular dissection of bacterial acrylate catabolism - unexpected links with dimethylsulfoniopropionate catabolism and dimethyl sulfide production. Environmental Microbiology, 12 (2). pp. 327-343.

Watmough, Nick and Frerman, Frank E. (2010) The electron transfer flavoprotein: Ubiquinone oxidoreductases. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1797 (12). pp. 1910-1916. ISSN 00052728

Becker, C.F., Watmough, N.J. and Elliott, S.J. (2009) Electrochemical evidence for multiple peroxidatic heme states of the diheme cytochrome c peroxidase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Biochemistry, 48. pp. 87-95.

Flock, U., Lachmann, P., Reimann, J., Watmough, N.J. and Adelroth, P. (2009) Exploring the terminal region of the proton pathway in the bacterial nitric oxide reductase. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 103. pp. 845-850.

Richardson, D.J., Felgate, H., Watmough, N.J., Thomson, A.J. and Baggs, E. (2009) Mitigating release of the potent greenhouse gase N2O from the nitrogen cycle. Trends in Biotechnology, 27. pp. 288-297.

Watmough, N.J., Field, S.J., Hughes, R.J. and Richardson, D.J. (2009) The bacterial respiratory nitric oxide reductase. Biochemical Society Transactions, 37. pp. 392-399.

Flock, U, Thorndycroft, FH, Matorin, AD, Richardson, DJ, Watmough, NJ and Adelroth, P (2008) Defining the proton entry point in the bacterial respiratory nitric oxide reductase. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 283 (7). pp. 3839-3845.

Fielding, AJ, Usselman, RJ, Watmough, NJ, Simkovic, M, Frerman, FE, Eaton, GR and Eaton, SS (2008) Electron Spin Relaxation Enhancement Measurements of Interspin Distances in Human, Porcine and Rhodobacter Electron Transfer Flavoprotein-ubiquinone Oxidoreductase (ETF-QO). Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 190 (2). pp. 222-232.

Echalier, A, Brittain, T, Wright, T, Boycheva, S, Mortuza, GB, Fulop, V and Watmough, NJ (2008) Redox-linked structural changes associated with the formation of a catalytically competent form of the dihaem cytochrome c peroxidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Biochemistry, 47 (7). pp. 1947-1956.

Field, SJ, Thorndycroft, FH, Matorin, AD, Richardson, DJ and Watmough, NJ (2008) The Paracoccus denitrificans respiratory NO reductase (NorBC). Methods in Enzymology, 437. pp. 79-101.

Kapetanaki, S.M., Field, S.J., Hughes, R.J.L., Watmough, N.J., Liebl, U. and Vos, M.H. (2008) Ultrafast Ligand Binding Dynamics in the Active Site of Native Bacterial Nitric Oxide Reductase. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics, 1777. pp. 919-924.

Usselman, R.J., Fielding, A.J., Frerman, F.E., Watmough, N.J., Eaton, G.R. and Eaton, S.S. (2008) Impact of Mutations on the Midpoint Potential of the [4Fe-4S]+1,+2 Cluster and on Catalytic Activity in Electron Transfer Flavoprotein-ubiquinone Oxidoreductase (ETF-QO). Biochemistry, 47. pp. 92-100.

Hsaio, H-C., Boycheva, S., Watmough, N.J. and Brittain, T. (2007) Activation of the cytochrome c peroxidase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The role of a heme-linked protein loop: a mutagenesis study. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 101. pp. 1133-1139.

Ozturk, M., Gurel, E., Watmough, N.J. and Mandaci, S. (2007) Site-directed mutagenesis of five conserved residues of subunit 1 of the cytochrome cbb3 oxidase in Rhodobacter capsulatus. Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 40. pp. 697-707.

Reeder, B.J., Cutruzzola, F., Bigotti, M.G., Watmough, N.J. and Wilson, M.T. (2007) Histidine and not tyrosine is required for the peroxide-induced formation of haem to protein cross-linked myoglobin. IUMB Life, 59. pp. 477-489.

Thorndycroft, F.H., Butland, G., Richardson, D.J. and Watmough, N.J. (2007) A new assay for nitric oxide reductase reveals two conserved glutamate residues form the entrance to a proton-conducting channel in the bacterial enzyme. Biochemical Journal, 401 (1). pp. 111-119. ISSN 0264-6021

Flock, U., Watmough, N.J. and Adelroth, P. (2005) Electron/proton coupling in bacterial nitric oxide reductase during reduction of oxygen. Biochemistry, 44. pp. 10711-10719.

Rasmussen, Tim, Brittain, Thomas, Berks, Ben C., Watmough, NJ and Thomson, AJ (2005) Formation of a cytochrome c–nitrous oxide reductase complex is obligatory for N2O reduction by Paracoccus pantotrophus. Dalton Transactions (21). p. 3501. ISSN 1477-9226

Cheesman, Myles, Oganesyan, Vasily, Watmough, Nick, Butler, C.S. and Thomson, Andrew J. (2004) The Nature of the Exchange Coupling between High-Spin Fe(III) Heme o3 and CuB(II) in Escherichia coli Quinol Oxidase, Cytochrome bo3: MCD and EPR Studies. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 126 (13). pp. 4157-4166. ISSN 0002-7863

Gronberg, K.L.C., Watmough, N.J., Thomson, A.J., Richardson, D.J. and Field, S.J. (2004) Redox-dependent open and closed forms of the active site of the bacterial respiratory nitric-oxide reductase revealed by cyanide binding studies. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279 (17). pp. 17120-17125. ISSN 0021-9258

Pitcher, R.S. and Watmough, N.J. (2004) The bacterial cytochrome cbb3 oxidases. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-Bioenergetics, 1655. pp. 388-399.

Pitcher, R.S., Brittain, T. and Watmough, N.J. (2003) Complex interactions of carbon monoxide with reduced cytochrome cbb3 oxidase from Pseudomonas stutzeri. Biochemistry, 42. pp. 11263-11271.

Field, S. J., Prior, Louise, Dolores Roldan, M, Cheesman, Myles, Thomson, Andrew J., Spiro, Stephen, Butt, Julea, Watmough, Nick and Richardson, David (2002) Spectral Properties of Bacterial Nitric-oxide Reductase. RESOLUTION OF pH-DEPENDENT FORMS OF THE ACTIVE SITE HEME b3. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277 (23). pp. 20146-20150.

Allen, J.W.A., Higham, C.W., Zajicek, R.S., Watmough, N.J. and Ferguson, S.J. (2002) Characterization of a stable, catalytically competent, all ferric nitrite bound complex of Paracoccus pantotrophus cytochrome cd1. Biochemical Journal, 366. pp. 883-888.

Gonzalez, G., Dioum, E.M., Bertolucci, C.M., Tomita, T., Ikeda-Saito, M., Cheesman, M.R., Watmough, N.J. and Gilles-Gonzalez, M-A. (2002) Nature of the displaceable heme-axial residue in the EcDos protein, a heme-based sensor. Biochemistry, 41. pp. 8414-8421.

Pitcher, R.S., Brittain, T. and Watmough, N.J. (2002) Cytochrome cbb3 Oxidase and Bacterial Microaerobic Metabolism. Biochemical Society Transactions, 30. pp. 653-658.

Pitcher, R.S., Cheesman, M.R. and Watmough, N.J. (2002) Molecular and Spectroscopic Analysis of the Cytochrome cbb3 Oxidase from Pseudomonas stutzeri. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277. pp. 31474-41483.

Richter, C.D., Allen, J.W.A., Higham, C.W., Koppenhofer, A., Zajicek, R.S., Watmough, N.J. and Ferguson, S.J. (2002) Cytochrome cd(1), reductive activation and kinetic analysis of a multifunctional respiratory enzyme. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277. pp. 3093-3100.

Butland, G., Spiro, S., Watmough, N.J. and Richardson, D.J. (2001) Two conserved glutamates in the bacterial nitric oxide reductase are essential for activity but not assembley of the enzyme. Journal of Bacteriology, 183 (1). pp. 189-199. ISSN 0021-9193

Fulop, V., Watmough, N.J. and Ferguson, S.J. (2001) Structure and enzymology of two bacterial diheme enzymes: cytochrome cd(1) nitrite reductase and cytochrome c peroxidase. Advances in Inorganic Chemistry, 51. pp. 163-204.

Hendriks, J.H.M., Prior, L., Baker, A.R., Thomson, A.J., Saraste, M. and Watmough, N.J. (2001) Reaction of carbon monoxide with the reduced active site of bacterial nitric oxide reductase. Bioochemistry, 40. pp. 13361-13369.

Kidd, R.D., Russell, J.E., Watmough, N.J., Baker, E.N. and Brittain, T. (2001) The role of beta chains in the control of the hemoglobin oxygen binding function: Chimeric human/mouse proteins, structure, and function. Biochemistry, 40. pp. 15669-15675.

Kobayashi, K., Koppenhofer, A., Ferguson, S.J., Watmough, N.J. and Tagawa, S. (2001) Intramolecular electron transfer from c heme to d(1) heme in bacterial cytochrome cd(1) nitrite reductase occurs over the same distances at very different rates depending on the source of the enzyme. Biochemistry, 40. pp. 8542-8547.

This list was generated on Fri Apr 5 08:27:43 2013 BST.

External Activities and Indicators of Esteem

  • Honorary Treasurer of the Biochemical Society
  • Director Portland Press Limited
  • Fellow of the Society of Biology
  • Sept 2010 – Co-organiser “Enzymology and ecology of the nitrogen cycle” Birmingham UK
  • July 2009 – Invited Speaker, ICBIC-14, Nagoya, Japan
  • October 2008 – Invited Speaker “Enzyme Mechanisms: Fast Reactions and Computational Approaches” Manchester, UK
  • July 2008 – Invited Speaker Satellite Meeting to the 15th European Bioenergetics Conference (EBEC) “Quinone Binding and Catalysis” Dublin, Ireland
  • July 2008 – Invited Participant, Workshop on the cbb3-type heme-copper oxidases, Center for Biomembrane Research, University of Stockholm, Sweden
  • June 2008 - Co-organiser "Transition Metals in Biochemistry", Norwich UK
  • January 2007 - Invited Speaker, “Metals in Biology” Gordon Research Conference, Ventura USA.

Administrative Posts/Responsibilities

  • University Academic Director for Postgraduate Research Degree Programmes (2012-2015)
  • Chair of the BIO Board of Examiners
  • Course Director Biochemistry Degree Programmes
  • Laser Safety Officer
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