2009-Present, Lecturer in Medical Microbiology, University of Strathclyde 2005-2009, Post-doctoral fellow, John Innes Centre, Norwich 2002-2005 PhD. Molecular microbiology, University of East Anglia 1999-2000 MSc. Human Molecular Genetics, Imperial College, London. 1996-99 BSc. (Hons.) Biochemistry, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
The unifying theme across my research is bacterial gene regulation. Bacteria must be able to efficiently respond to changes in their environment by altering the expression of specific genes. This is most commonly achieved at the transcriptional level by proteins that either activate or repress the activity of RNA-polymerase.
Research Areas:
1. Gene regulation and signaling by bacterial enhancer binding proteins 2. Nitric oxide sensing and metalloproteins (Rrf2 family) 3. Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenicity 4. E. coli and Streptomyces coelicolor nitrogen metabolism
Nitric oxide is a toxic radical gas that is produced by macrophage cells as a broad range antibiotic. Bacterial pathogens have evolved a number of systems for detoxifying nitric oxide such as flavorubredoxin and flavohemoglobin in E. coli . The expression of the genes encoding these proteins is nitric oxide dependent and is controlled by the transcriptional regulators NorR and NsrR respectively. Both proteins sense nitric oxide via metal centres that control their ability to activate or repress gene expression.
"Characterisation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa sigma factors using chromatin immunoprecipitation" Royal Society
Publications
Nicholas P. Tucker, Tamaswati Ghosh, Matthew Bush, Xiaodong Zhang and Ray Dixon (2009) Essential roles of three enhancer sites in σ54-dependent transcription by the nitric oxide sensing regulatory protein NorR. Nucleic Acids Research38, 1182-1194
Nicholas P. Tucker, Nick E. Le Brun, Ray Dixon and Matthew I. Hutchings (2009) There’s NO stopping NsrR, a global regulator of the bacterial NO stress response. TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY18, 149-156 Published (review)
Tucker N, D'autréaux B, Yousafzai FK, Fairhurst SA, Spiro S, Dixon R. (2008) Analysis of the nitric oxide-sensing non-heme iron center in the NorR regulatory protein. Journal of Biological Chemistry283, 908-918
Tucker N, Hicks MG, Clarke TA, Crack JC, Chandra G, Le Brun NE, Dixon R, Hutchings MI. (2008) The transcriptional repressor protein NsrR senses nitric oxide directly via a [2Fe-2S] cluster.. PLoS ONE3, e3623
Hunt NT, Greetham GM, Towrie M, Parker AW, Tucker NP.
(2011) Relationship between protein structural fluctuations and rebinding dynamics in ferric haem nitrosyls.. Biochemical Journal433, 459-468
Nicholas P. Tucker, Tamaswati Ghosh, Matthew Bush, Xiaodong Zhang and Ray Dixon (2009) Essential roles of three enhancer sites in σ54-dependent transcription by the nitric oxide sensing regulatory protein NorR. Nucleic Acids Research38, 1182-1194
Nicholas P. Tucker, Nick E. Le Brun, Ray Dixon and Matthew I. Hutchings (2009) There’s NO stopping NsrR, a global regulator of the bacterial NO stress response. TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY18, 149-156 Published (review)
Tucker N, D'autréaux B, Yousafzai FK, Fairhurst SA, Spiro S, Dixon R. (2008) Analysis of the nitric oxide-sensing non-heme iron center in the NorR regulatory protein. Journal of Biological Chemistry283, 908-918
Bush M, Ghosh T, Tucker N, Zhang X, Dixon R.
(2010) Nitric oxide-responsive interdomain regulation targets the sigma(54) -interaction surface in the enhancer binding protein NorR.. MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY77, 1278-1288 [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2010.07290.x]
Tucker N, Hicks MG, Clarke TA, Crack JC, Chandra G, Le Brun NE, Dixon R, Hutchings MI. (2008) The transcriptional repressor protein NsrR senses nitric oxide directly via a [2Fe-2S] cluster.. PLoS ONE3, e3623
Hunt NT, Greetham GM, Towrie M, Parker AW, Tucker NP.
(2011) Relationship between protein structural fluctuations and rebinding dynamics in ferric haem nitrosyls.. Biochemical Journal433, 459-468
Bush M, Ghosh T, Tucker N, Zhang X, Dixon R. (2011) Transcriptional regulation by the dedicated nitric oxide sensor, NorR: a route towards NO detoxification. Biochemical Society Transactions39, 289-293
D'autréaux B, Tucker N, Spiro S, Dixon R. (2008) Characterization of the Nitric Oxide-Reactive Transcriptional Activator NorR. Methods in Enzymology437, 235-251
