Key publications
Wagley S, Morcrette H, Kovacs-Simon A, Yang Z, Power A, Tennant R, Love J, Murray N, Titball R, Butler C, et al (In Press). Bacterial dormancy: a subpopulation of viable but non-culturable cells demonstrates better fitness for revival.
PLoS Pathogens Full text.
Baugh AV, Howarth TM, West KL, Kerr LEJ, Love J, Parker DA, Fedenko JR, Tennant RK (2021). Draft Genome Sequence of Weissella paramesenteroides STCH-BD1, Isolated from Ensiled Sorghum bicolor.
Microbiology Resource Announcements,
10(7).
Abstract:
Draft Genome Sequence of Weissella paramesenteroides STCH-BD1, Isolated from Ensiled Sorghum bicolor
. Weissella paramesenteroides
. has potential as an industrial biocatalyst due to its ability to produce lactic acid. A novel strain of
. W. paramesenteroides
. was isolated from ensiled sorghum. The genome was sequenced using a hybrid assembly of Oxford Nanopore and Illumina data to produce a 2-Mbp genome and 22-kbp plasmid sequence.
.
Abstract.
Full text.
Morcrette H, Kovacs-Simon A, Tennant RK, Love J, Wagley S, Yang ZR, Studholme DJ, Soyer OS, Champion OL, Butler CS, et al (2020). Campylobacter jejuni 11168H Exposed to Penicillin Forms Persister Cells and Cells with Altered Redox Protein Activity.
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology,
10Abstract:
Campylobacter jejuni 11168H Exposed to Penicillin Forms Persister Cells and Cells with Altered Redox Protein Activity
The formation of persister cells is one mechanism by which bacteria can survive exposure to environmental stresses. We show that Campylobacter jejuni 11168H forms persister cells at a frequency of 10−3 after exposure to 100 × MIC of penicillin G for 24 h. Staining the cell population with a redox sensitive fluorescent dye revealed that penicillin G treatment resulted in the appearance of a population of cells with increased fluorescence. We present evidence, to show this could be a consequence of increased redox protein activity in, or associated with, the electron transport chain. These data suggest that a population of penicillin G treated C. jejuni cells could undergo a remodeling of the electron transport chain in order to moderate membrane hyperpolarization and intracellular alkalization; thus reducing the antibiotic efficacy and potentially assisting in persister cell formation.
Abstract.
Tennant RK, Ayine M, Power A, Gilman J, Hewlett M, James P, Singleton C, Parker D, Love J (2019). A Hybrid Sequencing Approach Completes the Genome Sequence of Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW 200.
Microbiology Resource Announcements,
8(3).
Full text.
Tennant RK, Holzer B, Love J, Tchilian E, White HN (2019). Higher levels of B-cell mutation in the early germinal centres of an inefficient secondary antibody response to a variant influenza haemagglutinin.
Immunology,
157(1), 86-91.
Abstract:
Higher levels of B-cell mutation in the early germinal centres of an inefficient secondary antibody response to a variant influenza haemagglutinin.
Designing improved vaccines against mutable viruses such as dengue and influenza would be helped by a better understanding of how the B-cell memory compartment responds to variant antigens. Towards this we have recently shown, after secondary immunization of mice with a widely variant dengue virus envelope protein with only 63% amino acid identity, that IgM+ memory B cells with few mutations supported an efficient secondary germinal centre (GC) and serum response, superior to a primary response to the same protein. Here, further investigation of memory responses to variant proteins, using more closely related influenza virus haemagglutinins (HA) that were 82% identical, produced a variant-induced boost response in the GC dominated by highly mutated B cells that failed, not efficiently improving serum avidity even in the presence of extra adjuvant, and that was worse than a primary response. This supports a hypothesis that over a certain level of antigenic differences, cross-reactive memory B-cell populations have reduced competency for affinity maturation. Combined with our previous observations, these findings also provide new parameters of success and failure in antibody memory responses.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
Tennant RK, Lux T, Sambles C, Kuhn N, Petticrew E, Oldfield R, Parker D, Hatton J, Moore K, Lee R, et al (2019). Palaeogenomics of the Hydrocarbon Producing Microalga Botryococcus braunii.
Scientific Reports,
9 Full text.
Publications by year
In Press
Wagley S, Morcrette H, Kovacs-Simon A, Yang Z, Power A, Tennant R, Love J, Murray N, Titball R, Butler C, et al (In Press). Bacterial dormancy: a subpopulation of viable but non-culturable cells demonstrates better fitness for revival.
PLoS Pathogens Full text.
Tennant R, Rutten P (In Press). Calibration Protocol - Conversion of OD600 to Colony Forming Units (CFUs) v1.
Tennant R, Rutten P (In Press). Calibration Protocol - Fluorescence Standard Curve with Fluorescein v1.
Tennant R, Rutten P (In Press). Calibration Protocol - Particle Standard Curve with Microspheres v1.
Tennant R, Rutten P (In Press). Standard iGEM Cell Measurement Protocol v1.
Beal J, Telmer C, Tennant R, Rutten P (In Press). iGEM Calibration Protocol - Flow Cytometry Cell Size v1.
Beal J, Telmer C, Tennant R, Rutten P (In Press). iGEM Calibration Protocol - Flow Cytometry Fluorescence v1.
2022
Tennant RK, Power AL, Burton SK, Sinclair N, Parker DA, Jones RT, Lee R, Love J (2022). In-situ sequencing reveals the effect of storage on lacustrine sediment microbiome demographics and functionality.
Environmental Microbiome,
17(1).
Abstract:
In-situ sequencing reveals the effect of storage on lacustrine sediment microbiome demographics and functionality
AbstractThe sediment microbiome is a demographically diverse and functionally active biosphere. Ensuring that data acquired from sediment is truly representative of the microbiome is critical to achieving robust analyses. Sample storage and the processing and timing of nucleic acid purification after environmental sample extraction may fundamentally affect the detectable microbial community and thereby significantly alter resultant data. Direct sequencing of environmental samples is increasingly commonplace due to the advent of the portable Oxford Nanopore MinION sequencing device. Here we demonstrate that storing sediment subsamples at − 20 °C or storing the cores at 4 °C for 10 weeks prior to analysis, has a significant effect on the sediment microbiome analysed using sedimentary DNA (sedDNA), especially for Alpha-, Beta- and Deltaproteobacteria species. Furthermore, these significant differences are observed regardless of sediment type. We show that the taxa which are predominantly affected by storage are Proteobacteria, and therefore recommend on-site purifications are performed to ensure an accurate representation of these taxa are observed in the microbiome. Comparisons of sedimentary RNA (sedRNA) analyses, revealed substantial differences between samples purified and sequenced immediately on-site, samples that were frozen before transportation, and cores that were stored at 4 °C prior to analysis. Our data therefore suggest that a more accurate representation of the sediment microbiome demography and functionality may be achieved by environmental sequencing as rapidly as possible to minimise confounding effects of storage.
Abstract.
Full text.
2021
Baugh AV, Howarth TM, West KL, Kerr LEJ, Love J, Parker DA, Fedenko JR, Tennant RK (2021). Draft Genome Sequence of Weissella paramesenteroides STCH-BD1, Isolated from Ensiled Sorghum bicolor.
Microbiology Resource Announcements,
10(7).
Abstract:
Draft Genome Sequence of Weissella paramesenteroides STCH-BD1, Isolated from Ensiled Sorghum bicolor
. Weissella paramesenteroides
. has potential as an industrial biocatalyst due to its ability to produce lactic acid. A novel strain of
. W. paramesenteroides
. was isolated from ensiled sorghum. The genome was sequenced using a hybrid assembly of Oxford Nanopore and Illumina data to produce a 2-Mbp genome and 22-kbp plasmid sequence.
.
Abstract.
Full text.
2020
Wagley S, Morcrette H, Kovacs-Simon A, Yang ZR, Power A, Tennant RK, Love J, Murray N, Titball RW, Butler CS, et al (2020). Bacterial dormancy: a subpopulation of viable but non-culturable cells demonstrates better fitness for revival.
Morcrette H, Kovacs-Simon A, Tennant RK, Love J, Wagley S, Yang ZR, Studholme DJ, Soyer OS, Champion OL, Butler CS, et al (2020). Campylobacter jejuni 11168H Exposed to Penicillin Forms Persister Cells and Cells with Altered Redox Protein Activity.
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology,
10Abstract:
Campylobacter jejuni 11168H Exposed to Penicillin Forms Persister Cells and Cells with Altered Redox Protein Activity
The formation of persister cells is one mechanism by which bacteria can survive exposure to environmental stresses. We show that Campylobacter jejuni 11168H forms persister cells at a frequency of 10−3 after exposure to 100 × MIC of penicillin G for 24 h. Staining the cell population with a redox sensitive fluorescent dye revealed that penicillin G treatment resulted in the appearance of a population of cells with increased fluorescence. We present evidence, to show this could be a consequence of increased redox protein activity in, or associated with, the electron transport chain. These data suggest that a population of penicillin G treated C. jejuni cells could undergo a remodeling of the electron transport chain in order to moderate membrane hyperpolarization and intracellular alkalization; thus reducing the antibiotic efficacy and potentially assisting in persister cell formation.
Abstract.
2019
Tennant RK, Ayine M, Power A, Gilman J, Hewlett M, James P, Singleton C, Parker D, Love J (2019). A Hybrid Sequencing Approach Completes the Genome Sequence of Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW 200.
Microbiology Resource Announcements,
8(3).
Full text.
Tennant RK, Holzer B, Love J, Tchilian E, White HN (2019). Higher levels of B-cell mutation in the early germinal centres of an inefficient secondary antibody response to a variant influenza haemagglutinin.
Immunology,
157(1), 86-91.
Abstract:
Higher levels of B-cell mutation in the early germinal centres of an inefficient secondary antibody response to a variant influenza haemagglutinin.
Designing improved vaccines against mutable viruses such as dengue and influenza would be helped by a better understanding of how the B-cell memory compartment responds to variant antigens. Towards this we have recently shown, after secondary immunization of mice with a widely variant dengue virus envelope protein with only 63% amino acid identity, that IgM+ memory B cells with few mutations supported an efficient secondary germinal centre (GC) and serum response, superior to a primary response to the same protein. Here, further investigation of memory responses to variant proteins, using more closely related influenza virus haemagglutinins (HA) that were 82% identical, produced a variant-induced boost response in the GC dominated by highly mutated B cells that failed, not efficiently improving serum avidity even in the presence of extra adjuvant, and that was worse than a primary response. This supports a hypothesis that over a certain level of antigenic differences, cross-reactive memory B-cell populations have reduced competency for affinity maturation. Combined with our previous observations, these findings also provide new parameters of success and failure in antibody memory responses.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
Tennant RK, Lux T, Sambles C, Kuhn N, Petticrew E, Oldfield R, Parker D, Hatton J, Moore K, Lee R, et al (2019). Palaeogenomics of the Hydrocarbon Producing Microalga Botryococcus braunii.
Scientific Reports,
9 Full text.
Gilman J, Singleton C, Tennant RK, James P, Howard TP, Lux T, Parker DA, Love J (2019). Rapid, Heuristic Discovery and Design of Promoter Collections in Non-Model Microbes for Industrial Applications.
ACS Synth Biol,
8(5), 1175-1186.
Abstract:
Rapid, Heuristic Discovery and Design of Promoter Collections in Non-Model Microbes for Industrial Applications.
Well-characterized promoter collections for synthetic biology applications are not always available in industrially relevant hosts. We developed a broadly applicable method for promoter identification in atypical microbial hosts that requires no a priori understanding of cis-regulatory element structure. This novel approach combines bioinformatic filtering with rapid empirical characterization to expand the promoter toolkit and uses machine learning to improve the understanding of the relationship between DNA sequence and function. Here, we apply the method in Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius, a thermophilic organism with high potential as a synthetic biology chassis for industrial applications. Bioinformatic screening of G. kaustophilus, G. stearothermophilus, G. thermodenitrificans, and G. thermoglucosidasius resulted in the identification of 636 100 bp putative promoters, encompassing the genome-wide design space and lacking known transcription factor binding sites. Eighty of these sequences were characterized in vivo, and activities covered a 2-log range of predictable expression levels. Seven sequences were shown to function consistently regardless of the downstream coding sequence. Partition modeling identified sequence positions upstream of the canonical -35 and -10 consensus motifs that were predicted to strongly influence regulatory activity in Geobacillus, and artificial neural network and partial least squares regression models were derived to assess if there were a simple, forward, quantitative method for in silico prediction of promoter function. However, the models were insufficiently general to predict pre hoc promoter activity in vivo, most probably as a result of the relatively small size of the training data set compared to the size of the modeled design space.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
2018
Murray AJ, Love J, Redwood MD, Orozco RL, Tennant RK, Woodhall F, Goodridge F, Macaskie LE (2018). Enhancement of Photosynthetic Productivity by Quantum Dots Application. In Stavrou VN (Ed)
Nonmagnetic and Magnetic Quantum Dots, IntechOpen.
Full text.
Tennant RK, Holzer B, Love J, Tchilian E, White HN (2018). Highly mutated memory cells drive an inefficient secondary antibody response to a variant protein.
Power A, Tennant RK, Jones RT, Tang Y, Du J, Worsley AT, Love J (2018). Monitoring Impacts of Urbanisation and Industrialisation on Air Quality in the Anthropocene Using Urban Pond Sediments.
Frontiers in Earth Science,
6 Full text.
Burton BR, Tennant RK, Love J, Titball RW, Wraith DC, White HN (2018). Variant proteins stimulate more IgM+ GC B-cells revealing a mechanism of cross-reactive recognition by antibody memory.
eLife Full text.
2017
Tennant RK, Sambles CM, Diffey GE, Moore KA, Love J (2017). Metagenomic Analysis of Silage.
Journal of Visualized Experiments,
119, e54936-e54936.
Full text.
Cook C, Dayananda C, Tennant RK, Love J (2017). ThirdāGeneration Biofuels from the Microalga, Botryococcus braunii. In Love J, Bryant J (Eds.) Biofuels and Bioenergy, Wiley.
2013
Tennant RK, Jones RT, Brock F, Cook C, Turney CSM, Love J, Lee R (2013). A new flow cytometry method enabling rapid purification of fossil pollen from terrestrial sediments for AMS radiocarbon dating.
JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE,
28(3), 229-236.
Author URL.
(2013). Flow sorting for fossil pollen. Nature, 497(7449), 291-291.
2012
Tennant RK, Jones RT, Love J, Lee R (2012). A new flow cytometry method enabling rapid purification of diatoms from silica-rich lacustrine sediments.
Journal of Paleolimnology,
49(2), 305-309.
Full text.