Overview
Patrick Colledge joined the Hatherly Technical Services team in October 2023, aiding the smooth running of the laboratories within the building. His work includes removal and autoclaving of lab waste, carrying out risk assessments and responding and escalating queries from other staff within the building and department. His previous experience includes being awarded a BSc and MRes in Biological Science at Swansea University. His research interests include investigating the biochemical and molecular changes in microalgae and cyanobacteria exposed to different environmental conditions.
Qualifications
BSc Biology
MRes Bioscience
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by year
2023
Colledge P (2023). Gene regulation in fatty acid pathways in cyanobacteria exposed to far-red light.
Abstract:
Gene regulation in fatty acid pathways in cyanobacteria exposed to far-red light
Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic microorganisms that can utilise white, far-red or UV light. The organisms adapt their cellular metabolism to their environment by regulating their genetic expression to accumulate or reduce metabolites such as valuable polyunsaturated fatty acids. The production of high-value metabolites whilst using light and CO2 to grow make these organisms a successful candidate within the biotechnological industry. Far-red light is known to influence cyanobacteria, especially their photosynthetic apparatus. Thylakoid membranes are known to be altered by far-red light photoacclimation (FaRLiP). However, the role of fatty acid synthesis and desaturation during FarLip is little studied. This study examines the gene expression of 33 fatty acid-related genes when the cyanobacterium Chlorogloeopsis fritschii PCC 6912 is grown under far-red light compared to white light using RNA-seq data from the NCBI database. The transcriptomic analysis, encompassing a bioinformatic pipeline to process and quantify transcripts, found that only two genes of the 33 examined genes were differentially expressed. The two genes were down-regulated and encoded for a fatty acid desaturase (fad) and a pfaD/polyketide biosynthesis protein. The results suggest that fatty acid desaturation decreases in favour of saturated fatty acids. Furthermore, the identification of a pfa gene cluster may highlight a secondary path of polyunsaturated fatty acids within heterocyst cyanobacteria. This study also highlights the need for greater biological replicates within RNA-seq experiments and increased completeness in genome annotations in biotechnological databases.
Abstract.
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