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Department of Chemistry

Prof. Nigel Robinson, (Professor of Biology)


Researcher ID profile

(email at nigel.robinson@durham.ac.uk)

THE MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY OF METALS

About a third of proteins, and perhaps a half of enzymes, require metals. How do the correct metals locate to the correct proteins? My research group analyse the contributions of gene products associated with the (i) perception-, (ii) acquisition or export-, (iii) intracellular distribution or storage-, of essential metals. With so much of biological catalysis needing metals this research has widespread applications in biotechnology and implications in biomedical science. The lab is funded by BBSRC and industrial partners.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Tottey, S, Waldron, K.J, Firbank, S.J, Reale, B, Bessant, C, Sato, K, Cheek, T.R, Gray, J, Banfield, M.J, Dennison C. & Robinson, N.J. (2008) Protein-folding location can regulate manganese-binding versus copper- or zinc-binding Nature 455: 1138-1142 {faculty 1000 recommended}.

Robinson N.J. (2008) A bacterial copper metallothionein Nature Chemical Biology 4: 582-583.

Badarau, A, Firbank, S.J, Waldron, K.J, Yanagisawa, S, Robinson, N.J, Banfield, M.J. and Dennison, C. (2008) FutA2 is a ferric binding protein from Synechocystis PCC 6803 Journal of Biological Chemistry 283: 12520-12527.

Waldron, K.J, Rutherford, J.C, Ford, D. & Robinson, N.J. (2009) Metalloproteins and metal-sensing Nature 460: 823-830 {plus linked Nature podcast}.

Waldron, K.J. & Robinson, N.J. (2009) How do bacterial cells ensure that metalloproteins get the correct metal Nature Reviews Microbiology 7: 25-35.

Waldron, K.J, Firbank, S.J, Dainty, S.J, Perez-Rama, M, Tottey, S, Robinson, N.J. (2010) Structure and metal-loading of a soluble periplasm cupro-protein Journal of Biological Chemistry 285: 32504-32511.

Osman, D, Waldron, K.J., Denton, H, Taylor, C.M, Grant, A.J, Mastroeni, P, Robinson, N.J, Cavet, J.S. (2010) Copper homeostasis in salmonella is atypical and copper-CueP is a major periplasmic metal complex Journal of Biological Chemistry 285: 25259-25268 {faculty 1000 recommended}.

Paynter, J.J, Andres-Enguix, I, Fowler, P.W., Tottey, S, Cheng, W, Enkvetchakul, D, Bavro, V.N, Kusakabe, Y, Sansom, M.S, Robinson, N.J, Nichols, C.G., Tucker, S.J. (2010) Functional complementation and genetic deletion studies of KirBac channels: activatory mutations highlight gating-sensitive domains Journal of Biological Chemistry 285: 40754-40761.

Robinson, N.J, Winge D.R. (2010) Copper metallochaperones Annual Review of Biochemistry 79: 537-562.

Banci, L, Bertini, I, Ciofi-Baffoni, S, Poggi, L, Vanarotti, M, Tottey, S, Waldron, K.J, Robinson, N.J. (2010) NMR structural analysis of the soluble domain of ZiaA-ATPase and the basis of selective interactions with copper metallochaperone Atx1 Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry 15: 87-98.

Dainty, S.J, Patterson, C.J, Waldron, K.J, Robinson, N.J. (2010) Interaction between cyanobacterial copper chaperone Atx1 and zinc homeostasis Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry 15: 77-85.

Robinson, N.J. (2011) A platform for copper pumps. Nature 475: 41-42.

Foster, A.W., Robinson, N.J. (2011) Promiscuity and preferences of metallothioneins: the cell rules. BMC Biology 9: 25.

Tottey, S., Patterson, C.J., Banci, L., Bertini, I., Felli, I.C., Pavelkova, A., Dainty, S.J., Pernil, R., Waldron, K.J., Foster, A.W., Robinson, N.J. (2012) Cyanobacterial metallochaperone inhibits deleterious side reactions of copper. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109: 95-100 {faculty 1000 recommended}.

Tu, Y.W., Pohl, S., Gray, J., Robinson, N.J., Harwood, C.R., Waldron, K.J. (2012) Cellular iron distribution in Bacillus anthracis. Journal of Bacteriology 194: 932-940.

Napolitano, M., Rubio, M.A., Santamaría-Gómez, J., Olmedo-Verd, E., Robinson, N.J., Luque , I. (2012) Characterization of the response to zinc-deficiency in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 Journal of Bacteriology 194: 2426-2436. {plus linked commentary by Dietrich H. Nies 'Zinc-starvation response in a cyanobacterium revealed'}.

Foster, A.W., Patterson, C.J., Pernil, R., Hess, C.R., Robinson, N.J. (2012) A cytosolic Ni(II) sensor in a cyanobacterium: Nickel-detection follows nickel-affinity across four families of metal-sensors. Journal of Biological Chemistry 287: 12142-12151 {faculty 1000 recommended}.

Raven E, Le Brun NE, McMaster J, Reedijk J, Robinson NJ. (2013) Bioinorganic chemistry. Dalton Trans. {Epub ahead of print}.

Osman D, Patterson CJ, Bailey K, Fisher K, Robinson NJ, Rigby SE, Cavet JS. (2013) The copper supply pathway to a Salmonella Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SodCII) involves P(1) (B) -type ATPase copper efflux and periplasmic CueP. Mol Microbiol. 87: 466-77 {plus linked commentary}.

Patterson CJ, Pernil R, Dainty SJ, Chakrabarti B, Henry CE, Money VA, Foster AW, Robinson NJ. (2013) Co(II)-detection does not follow KCo(II) gradient: Channelling in Co(II)-sensing. Metallomics {Epub ahead of print, DOI: 10.1039/C3MT20241K}.

METALS IN BIOLOGY IN DURHAM

Includes the research groups of Ehmke Pohl, Corinna Hess, David Parker, Gareth Williams, Adrian Walmsley and Nigel Robinson. The Biophysical Sciences Institute in Durham encourages such mutidisciplinary science.