Dr Mark S Thomas
BSc, PhD
Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine and Population Health
Senior Lecturer
+44 114 215 9557
Full contact details
Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine and Population Health
The Medical School
Beech Hill Road
Sheffield
S10 2RX
- Profile
-
For enquiries, please contact – iicd-om-operational@sheffield.ac.uk
I obtained my PhD in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Southampton followed by postdoctoral stints in Masayasu Nomura’s lab at the Institute for Enzyme Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and at the University of California-Irvine. I then spent some time working in Richard Flavell's group at IPSR in Cambridge and with Robert Glass at the University of Nottingham. I joined the University of Sheffield in 1994.
- Research interests
-
Virulence mechanisms of pathogenic members of the Burkholderia, particularly B. cenocepacia and B. thailandensis. Areas of interest include:
- Iron acquisition mechanisms.
- Protein toxins and their mechanism of secretion.
- Response to environmental stress, particularly the role of extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factors.
- Mechanisms and regulation of antibiotic resistance.
Current projects
- The mechanism of toxin secretion by the type VI secretion systems of B. cenocepacia and B. thailandensis
- Identification and characterisation of secreted effector proteins of B. cenocepacia and B. thailandensis
- Mechanisms of stress sensing and response in pathogenic Burkholderia
- How does B. cenocepacia survive in a low iron environment?
- Role of TonB-dependent transport systems in Burkholderia.
- Mechanisms and regulation of antibiotic resistance in Burkholderia.
- Publications
-
Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Distinct modes of promoter recognition by two iron starvation σ factors with overlapping promoter specificities.. Journal of Bacteriology. View this article in WRRO
- Burkholderia cenocepacia utilizes a type VI secretion system for bacterial competition. MicrobiologyOpen. View this article in WRRO
- Structural insights into the function of type VI secretion system TssA subunits.. Nature Communications, 9. View this article in WRRO
- Iron Acquisition Mechanisms and Their Role in the Virulence of Burkholderia Species. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 7. View this article in WRRO
- An efficient system for the generation of marked genetic mutants in members of the genus Burkholderia. Plasmid, 89, 49-56. View this article in WRRO
- Investigation of the multifaceted iron acquisition strategies of Burkholderia cenocepacia. BioMetals, 28(2), 367-380. View this article in WRRO
- Regulation of virulence gene expression. Virulence, 5(8), 832-834. View this article in WRRO
- Pore-forming pyocin S5 utilizes the FptA ferripyochelin receptor to kill Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbiology (United Kingdom), 160(PART 2), 261-269.
- A novel method for the production of in vivo-assembled, recombinant Escherichia coli RNA polymerase lacking the alpha C-terminal domain. PROTEIN SCI, 20(6), 986-995.
- Regulation of sulfur assimilation pathways in Burkholderia cenocepacia through control of genes by the SsuR transcription factor.. J Bacteriol, 193(8), 1843-1853.
- The pobA gene of Burkholderia cenocepacia encodes a group I Sfp-type phosphopantetheinyltransferase required for biosynthesis of the siderophores ornibactin and pyochelin.. Microbiology, 157(Pt 2), 349-361.
- Anchoring the type VI secretion system to the peptidoglycan TssL, TagL, TagP,... what else?. Virulence, 1(6), 535-540.
- The UP element is necessary but not sufficient for growth rate-dependent control of the Escherichia coli guaB promoter.. J Bacteriol, 190(7), 2450-2457.
- In vivo expression technology identifies a type VI secretion system locus in Burkholderia pseudomallei that is induced upon invasion of macrophages.. Microbiology, 153(Pt 8), 2689-2699.
- Iron acquisition mechanisms of the Burkholderia cepacia complex.. Biometals, 20(3-4), 431-452.
All publications
Journal articles
- The Burkholderia cenocepacia iron starvation σ factor, OrbS, possesses an on-board iron sensor. Nucleic Acids Research.
- A role for tetraspanin proteins in regulating fusion induced by Burkholderia thailandensis. Medical Microbiology and Immunology. View this article in WRRO
- Correction to: A role for tetraspanin proteins in regulating fusion induced by Burkholderia thailandensis. Medical Microbiology and Immunology, 209(5), 643-652.
- Distinct modes of promoter recognition by two iron starvation σ factors with overlapping promoter specificities.. Journal of Bacteriology. View this article in WRRO
- Burkholderia cenocepacia utilizes a type VI secretion system for bacterial competition. MicrobiologyOpen. View this article in WRRO
- Structural insights into the function of type VI secretion system TssA subunits.. Nature Communications, 9. View this article in WRRO
- TssA from Burkholderia cenocepacia: expression, purification, crystallization and crystallographic analysis. Acta Crystallographica Section F Structural Biology Communications, 74(9), 536-542. View this article in WRRO
- TssA from Aeromonas hydrophila: Expression, purification and crystallographic studies. Acta Crystallographica Section F: Structural Biology Communications, 74(9), 578-582. View this article in WRRO
- Corrigendum: Iron Acquisition Mechanisms and Their Role in the Virulence of Burkholderia Species.. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 8.
- Iron Acquisition Mechanisms and Their Role in the Virulence of Burkholderia Species. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 7. View this article in WRRO
- Virulence profile: Mark Thomas. Virulence, 8(8), 1867-1869.
- An efficient system for the generation of marked genetic mutants in members of the genus Burkholderia. Plasmid, 89, 49-56. View this article in WRRO
- Investigation of the multifaceted iron acquisition strategies of Burkholderia cenocepacia. BioMetals, 28(2), 367-380. View this article in WRRO
- Regulation of virulence gene expression. Virulence, 5(8), 832-834. View this article in WRRO
- Pore-forming pyocin S5 utilizes the FptA ferripyochelin receptor to kill Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbiology (United Kingdom), 160(PART 2), 261-269.
- A novel method for the production of in vivo-assembled, recombinant Escherichia coli RNA polymerase lacking the alpha C-terminal domain. PROTEIN SCI, 20(6), 986-995.
- Regulation of sulfur assimilation pathways in Burkholderia cenocepacia through control of genes by the SsuR transcription factor.. J Bacteriol, 193(8), 1843-1853.
- The pobA gene of Burkholderia cenocepacia encodes a group I Sfp-type phosphopantetheinyltransferase required for biosynthesis of the siderophores ornibactin and pyochelin.. Microbiology, 157(Pt 2), 349-361.
- Anchoring the type VI secretion system to the peptidoglycan TssL, TagL, TagP,... what else?. Virulence, 1(6), 535-540.
- Downregulation of the Escherichia coli guaB promoter by upstream-bound cyclic AMP receptor protein.. J Bacteriol, 191(19), 6094-6104. View this article in WRRO
- Downregulation of the Escherichia coli guaB promoter by FIS.. Microbiology, 154(Pt 6), 1729-1738. View this article in WRRO
- The UP element is necessary but not sufficient for growth rate-dependent control of the Escherichia coli guaB promoter.. J Bacteriol, 190(7), 2450-2457.
- Iron acquisition mechanisms of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (BioMetals DOI: 10.1007/s10534-006-9065-4). BioMetals, 21(1), 105-106.
- In vivo expression technology identifies a type VI secretion system locus in Burkholderia pseudomallei that is induced upon invasion of macrophages.. Microbiology, 153(Pt 8), 2689-2699.
- Iron acquisition mechanisms of the Burkholderia cepacia complex.. Biometals, 20(3-4), 431-452.
- The C-terminal domain of the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase alpha subunit plays a role in the CI-dependent activation of the bacteriophage lambda p(M) promoter. NUCLEIC ACIDS RES, 35(7), 2311-2320. View this article in WRRO
- Fusion of antigen to Fas-ligand in a DNA vaccine enhances immunogenicity.. Vaccine, 25(12), 2306-2315.
- Regulation of sulfur assimilation pathways in Burkholderia cenocepacia: Identification of transcription factors CysB and SsuR and their role in control of target genes. J BACTERIOL, 189(5), 1675-1688.
- The ornibactin biosynthesis and transport genes of Burkholderia cenocepacia are regulated by an extracytoplasmic function sigma factor which is a part of the Fur regulon.. J Bacteriol, 188(10), 3631-3644.
- Enhancement of immune responses to an HIV gp120 DNA vaccine by fusion to TNF alpha cDNA.. Vaccine, 24(16), 3298-3308.
- An interferon gamma-gp120 fusion delivered as a DNA vaccine induces enhanced priming.. Vaccine, 23(30), 3984-3990.
- Escherichia coli can tolerate insertions of up to 16 amino acids in the RNA polymerase alpha subunit inter-domain linker.. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1678(1), 47-56.
- Isolation and characterization of Burkholderia cenocepacia mutants deficient in pyochelin production: pyochelin biosynthesis is sensitive to sulfur availability.. J Bacteriol, 186(2), 270-277.
- Role of the RNA polymerase alpha subunits in CII-dependent activation of the bacteriophage lambda pE promoter: identification of important residues and positioning of the alpha C-terminal domains.. Nucleic Acids Res, 32(2), 834-841.
- Role of the stationary growth phase sigma factor RpoS of Burkholderia pseudomallei in response to physiological stress conditions. J BACTERIOL, 185(23), 7008-7014.
- Toxicity of the bacteriophage lambda cII gene product to Escherichia coli arises from inhibition of host cell DNA replication. VIROLOGY, 313(2), 622-628.
- Genetic analysis of bacteriophage lambda N-dependent antitermination suggests a possible role for the RNA polymerase alpha subunit in facilitating specific functions of NusA and NusE. ARCH MICROBIOL, 180(3), 161-168.
- Determinants of the C-terminal domain of the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase alpha subunit important for transcription at class I cyclic AMP receptor protein-dependent promoters. J BACTERIOL, 184(8), 2273-2280.
- Architecture of Fis-activated transcription complexes at the Escherichia coli rrnB P1 and rrnE P1 promoters. J MOL BIOL, 316(3), 501-516.
- Immunization with an interferon-gamma-gp120 fusion protein induces enhanced immune responses to human immunodeficiency virus gp120.. J Infect Dis, 184(11), 1423-1430.
- UP element-dependent transcription at the Escherichia coli rrnB P1 promoter: positional requirements and role of the RNA polymerase alpha subunit linker.. Nucleic Acids Res, 29(20), 4166-4178.
- The Burkholderia cepacia fur gene: co-localization with omlA and absence of regulation by iron.. Microbiology, 147(Pt 5), 1303-1314.
- pGSTp: an IVET-compatible promoter probe vector conferring resistance to trimethoprim.. Biotechniques, 29(5), 954-958.
- The Escherichia coli RNA polymerase alpha subunit linker: length requirements for transcription activation at CRP-dependent promoters.. EMBO J, 19(7), 1555-1566.
- Cell surface expression of CD154 inhibits alloantibody responses: A mechanism for the prevention of autoimmune responses against activated T cells?. Cell Immunol, 195(2), 157-161.
- Enhancement of immunogenicity of recombinant antigens by production of a cytokine-antigen fusion protein for vaccination.. Biochem Soc Trans, 25(2), 297S.
- A nested set of C-terminal deletions of the a subunit of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase define regions concerned with assembly, proteolysis, stabilization and transcriptional activation in vivo. Genes to Cells, 2(1), 81-94.
- Involvement of the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase alpha subunit in transcriptional activation by the bacteriophage lambda CI and CII proteins.. Gene, 122(1), 1-7.
- Escherichia coli rpoA mutation which impairs transcription of positively regulated systems.. Mol Microbiol, 5(11), 2719-2725.
- Identification of an enhancer element for the endosperm-specific expression of high molecular weight glutenin.. Plant Cell, 2(12), 1171-1180.
- Regulation of alpha operon gene expression in Escherichia coli. A novel form of translational coupling.. J Mol Biol, 196(2), 333-345.
- S4-α mRNA translation repression complex. I. Thermodynamics of formation. Journal of Molecular Biology, 196(2), 313-322.
- Translational regulation of the L11 ribosomal protein operon of Escherichia coli: Mutations that define the target site for repression by L1. Nucleic Acids Research, 15(7), 3085-3096.
- Secondary attachment site for bacteriophage lambda in the guaB gene of Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology, 168(2), 1048-1050.
- Nucleotide sequence and organisation of the gua promoter region of Escherichia coli. Gene, 36(1-2), 45-53.
- Molecular cloning and characterisation of the gua regulatory region of Escherichia coli K12. MGG Molecular & General Genetics, 195(1-2), 238-245.
Conference proceedings papers
- Distinct modes of promoter recognition by two iron starvation σ factors with overlapping promoter specificities.. Journal of Bacteriology. View this article in WRRO
- Teaching interests
-
Currently, I teach bacterial molecular genetics, microbial pathogenicity, and microbiology to science undergraduates, medical students and Masters students.