There have been a few more papers published from Nick's lab recently, most notably a paper that was published in Nature, the most prestigious scientific journal around. It even got a bit of press interest too, with a piece on the BBC website. I hope to put the Pdf files online here when i get a chance, but in the mean time you can find links to the abstracts in the publications list below.
Research Interests.
My research is divided into two main areas; gene regulation and the biochemistry of signal reception. The latter being particularly focussed on nitric oxide. My research has predominantly focussed on the model organism Escherichia coli, since it is easy to grow in culture and is related to a number of medically important bacteria. I am particularly interested in the bacterial proteins that mediate transcription initiation by the alternate sigma factor, s54. Essentially, sigma factors are required for promoter DNA specific binding of RNA polymerase, the protein responsible for the production of messenger RNA (the transcript from which proteins are translated). s54 requires an accessory protein called an enhancer binding protein (EBP), which binds to specific DNA sequences upstream of the site of transcription initiation. The EBP contacts RNA polymerase (RNAP) by DNA looping (see figure below, in this case the EBP is NorR).
The EBP that I currently work on is called NorR. NorR responds to the toxic free radical nitric oxide (NO) via a novel iron centre in its signalling domain, known as a GAF domain. This mechanism of NO sensing is a novel one and is still poorly understood. But since the macrophage cells of the mammalian immune system produce NO as a broad spectrum antibiotic, bacterial responses to NO are of considerable importance.
Publications: Dr. Nick Tucker.
1) Tucker, N.P., D'Autreaux, B., Studholme, D.J., Spiro, S., and Dixon, R. (2004). DNA binding activity of the Escherichia coli nitric oxide sensor NorR suggests a conserved target sequence in diverse proteobacteria. Journal of Bacteriology. 186, 6656-6660.
2) Tucker, N.P., D'Autreaux, B., Spiro, S., and Dixon, R. (2005). DNA binding properties of the Escherichia coli nitric oxide sensor NorR: towards an understanding of the regulation of flavorubredoxin expression. Biochemical Society Transactions. 33, 181-183.
3) D'Autreaux, B., Tucker, N.P., Dixon, R., and Spiro, S. (2005). A non-haem iron centre in the transcription factor NorR senses nitric oxide. Nature. 437, 769-772.
4) Tucker, N.P., D'Autreaux, B., Spiro, S., and Dixon, R. (2006). Mechanism of transcriptional regulation by the Escherichia coli nitric oxide sensor NorR. Biochemical Society Transactions. 34, 191-194.
Presentations at International Conferences.
Invited to speak at the 62nd. Biochemical Society / EMBO Harden conference April 2006: NO, a radical in control. The Biological diversity of nitric oxide metabolism and signalling. Cirencester, UK.
Invited to speak at the Biochemical Society sponsored 11th European nitrogen cycle meeting in Granada, Spain, 2005; “Mechanism of transcriptional regulation by the NO sensing transcription factor NorR.”
Invited to speak at the Biochemical Society sponsored 10th European nitrogen cycle meeting as well as presenting a poster, Norwich, 2004; “DNA binding properties of the Escherichia coli nitric oxide sensor NorR.”