Dr Sam Amsbury

School of Biosciences

Discovery Fellow

s.amsbury@sheffield.ac.uk

Full contact details

Dr Sam Amsbury
School of Biosciences

Profile

BBSRC Discovery Fellow, Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK (2020-present)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cell Wall Biochemistry, School of Biology, University of Leeds, UK (2016-2020)
PhD in Plant Molecular Biology, Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK (2012-2016)

Research interests

My research focuses on understanding how plant cell walls are assembled and maintained. Cell walls are incredibly complex polysaccharide networks that have crucial roles during plant development, including the regulation of cell expansion and plant growth. I am particularly interested in understanding how different components of the cell wall interact at a biochemical level and how these interactions impact plant growth and physiology.

Cell wall and stress responses

It is known that cell wall composition changes in response to various biotic and abiotic stresses but very little is known about the genetic architecture underpinning these responses. A major focus of my work is using advanced glycomic techniques to characterise cell wall compositional responses to a range of abiotic stresses that plants encounter during growth. By combining glycomics with genomics my research aims to identify and characterise novel genes controlling cell wall composition to enable targeted modification of cell walls.

Cell wall biomass as a renewable resource

Cell walls are among the biggest sources of biomass on the planet and their potential for use as a renewable resource is huge. Cell walls can be fragmented into small subunits and then reassembled by fermentation to create a large range of low carbon chemicals and biomaterials. This fragmentation and re-assembly is complex and energy intensive. By using classical genetics and modern glycomic profiling my research aims to identify novel cell wall processing genes that can simplify this cell wall fragmentation.

Publications

Journal articles

Bourdon M, Lyczakowski JJ, Cresswell R, Amsbury S, Vilaplana F, Le Guen M-J, Follain N, Wightman R, Su C, Alatorre-Cobos F , Ritter M et al (2023) Ectopic callose deposition into woody biomass modulates the nano-architecture of macrofibrils. Nature Plants, 9(9), 1530-1546.
Carroll S, Amsbury S, Durney CH, Smith RS, Morris RJ, Gray JE & Fleming AJ (2022) Altering arabinans increases Arabidopsis guard cell flexibility and stomatal opening. Current Biology, 32(14), 3170-3179.e4.
Kirk P, Amsbury S, German L, Gaudioso-Pedraza R & Benitez-Alfonso Y (2022) A comparative meta-proteomic pipeline for the identification of plasmodesmata proteins and regulatory conditions in diverse plant species. BMC Biology, 20(1). View this article in WRRO
Amsbury S & Benitez-Alfonso Y (2022) Immunofluorescence Detection of Callose in Plant Tissue Sections, 167-176.
Amsbury S (2022) Making a connection: cell-cell communication at the graft interface.. Plant Physiol, 188(1), 19-21.
Carrier M, Fournet R, Sirjean B, Amsbury S, Alfonso YB, Pontalier P-Y & Bridgwater A (2020) Fast Pyrolysis of Hemicelluloses into Short-Chain Acids: An Investigation on Concerted Mechanisms. Energy & Fuels, 34(11), 14232-14248.
Amsbury S (2020) Sensing Attack: The Role of Wall-Associated Kinases in Plant Pathogen Responses. Plant Physiology, 183(4), 1420-1421.
Amsbury S & Benitez-Alfonso Y (2019) Tightening the pores to unload the phloem. Nature Plants, 5(6), 561-562.
Abou-Saleh RH, Hernandez-Gomez MC, Amsbury S, Paniagua C, Bourdon M, Miyashima S, Helariutta Y, Fuller M, Budtova T, Connell SD , Ries ME et al (2018) Interactions between callose and cellulose revealed through the analysis of biopolymer mixtures. Nature Communications, 9(1).
Amsbury S, Kirk P & Benitez-Alfonso Y (2018) Emerging models on the regulation of intercellular transport by plasmodesmata-associated callose. Journal of Experimental Botany, 69(1), 105-115.
Carter R, Woolfenden H, Baillie A, Amsbury S, Carroll S, Healicon E, Sovatzoglou S, Braybrook S, Gray JE, Hobbs J , Morris RJ et al (2017) Stomatal Opening Involves Polar, Not Radial, Stiffening Of Guard Cells. Current Biology, 27(19), 2974-2983.e2. View this article in WRRO
Hunt L, Amsbury S, Mitchell AM, baillie A, Afsharinafar M, Swarup K, Denyer T, Swarup R, Hobbs J, Fleming AJ , Gray JE et al (2017) Formation of the Stomatal Outer Cuticular Ledge Requires a Guard Cell Wall Proline-Rich Protein. Plant Physiology, 174(2), 689-699. View this article in WRRO
Amsbury S, Hunt L, Elhaddad N, Baillie A, Lundgren M, Verhertbruggen Y, Scheller HV, Knox JP, Fleming AJ & Gray JE (2016) Stomatal Function Requires Pectin De-methyl-esterification of the Guard Cell Wall. Current Biology, 26(21), 2899-2906. View this article in WRRO
() OUP accepted manuscript. Plant Physiology.
Rongkaumpan G, Amsbury S, Andablo-Reyes E, Linford H, Connell S, Knox JP, Sarkar A, Benitez-Alfonso Y & Orfila C () Cell Wall Polymer Composition and Spatial Distribution in Ripe Banana and Mango Fruit: Implications for Cell Adhesion and Texture Perception. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10.

Preprints

Kirk P, Amsbury S, German L, Gaudioso-Pedraza R & Benitez-Alfonso Y () Comparative meta-proteomic analysis for the identification of novel plasmodesmata proteins and regulatory cues, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.