缅北禁地

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Staff Profile

Dr Jon Marles-Wright

Senior Lecturer

  • Email: jon.marles-wright1@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 4855
  • Personal Website:
  • Address: Biosciences Institute
    M3.031A Cookson Building
    Framlington Place
    NE2 4HH
Background

Biography

Jon Marles-Wright obtained his PhD in structural biology from the University of Oxford, where he focused on understanding how human immune receptors interact with their targets. For his post-doctoral training he moved to the University of 缅北禁地, where his research focus moved to bacterial cell biology. Following a two-year career development fellowship at the University of 缅北禁地, where he developed his interest in the structural basis of metabolic compartmentalization within bacteria, Jon was appointed to a Chancellor’s Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh in 2012. Jon was appointed to his current position of Senior Lecturer in Microbial Biotechnology in June 2016.

Jon is an active member of the synthetic biology community and was awarded a SynBio LEAP fellowship in 2015. He has acted as an instructor for the University of Edinburgh iGEM team since 2014 and was co-lead of the team since 2015. The Edinburgh iGEM team have consistently won gold medals and last year won the award for best approach to Policy and Practices in the Undergraduate track. He has acted as Co-lead for the 缅北禁地 iGEM team since 2017.


Qualifications

MA (Biochemistry), University of Cambridge (2001)

D.Phil (Structural Biology), University of Oxford (2005)

PgCert (Academic Practice), University of Edinburgh (2015)


External Roles

Treasurer, Bioengineering and Bioprocessing Section of the European Federation of Biotechnology

Editor: Subcellular Biochemistry: Macromolecular Protein Complexes (Springer)

Grant Peer Review: Australian Research Council, ERC, BBSRC, Joint Genome Institute Synthetic Biology Program, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), INSTRUCT.

External Examiner: University of Glasgow, Biotechnology MSc; University of Edinburgh, Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology MSc.

Journal Peer Review: Microbiology, MBio, Molecular Microbiology, Nature Communications, PNAS, Trends in Biochemical Sciences, FEMS journals, FEBS Journals, ACS Journals, RSC Journals, Biochemistry.

Research

Background

Dr Marles-Wright's research uses structural biology, biochemistry and cell biology techniques underpinned by synthetic biology technologies to answer questions relating to the function of bacterial compartmentalization systems and their rational design as platforms for biotechnology and synthetic biology.  My group are interested in determining the structural and functional basis for the recruitment and encapsulation of proteins within metabolic compartments, and the biochemistry that occurs within these semi-permeable structures. Through an understanding of the basic biology and design principles of various compartments, we hope to use these as synthetic biology platforms for the production of valuable natural products, and as scaffolds for industrial biotechnology and nano-technology.

Impact

The major potential impacts of our research are related to the development of modular systems based on bacterial compartments for use in industrial biotechnology including: 1. platforms designed for the production of toxic proteins within compartments; 2. encapsulation of biosynthetic pathways for valuable natural products to minimize loss of intermediates and maximize metabolic efficiency; 3. use of compartments in bio-mining and bio-remediation for the sequestration and crystallization of toxic metal ions into nano-particles.

Teaching

Jon is the Degree Programme Director for the Biotechnology and Biodesign MRes programme.


He teaches on courses at all undergraduate and post-graduate stages, with an emphasis on microbial biotechnology, biochemistry, and structural biology.

Jon's lab hosts undergraduate and master's level projects and internships aligned with their research interests, with a focus on the biochemistry and structural biology of metal storage systems in bacteria and applications of protein biotechnology in biocatalysis. Please get in touch if you are interested in projects in these areas.

We are currently recruiting PhD studentships for projects related to our research interests. Informal enquiries are welcome at any time.

Publications

  • Articles

    • Coles NP, Elsheikh S, Gouda A, Quesnel A, Butler L, Achadu OJ, Islam M, Kalesh K, Occhipinti A, Angione C, Marles-Wright J, Koss DJ, Thomas AJ, Outeiro TF, Filippou PS, Khundakar AA. . Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2026, 425, 110617.
    • Ng PC, Adegbite O, Li T, Basle A, Marles-Wright J, Liu L-N. . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2025, 122(46), e2523723122.
    • Ashley B, Mathew S, Sajjad M, Zhu Y, Novikovs N, Basle A, Marles-Wright J, Campopiano DJ. . Communications Chemistry 2025, 8(1), 78.
    • Coles NP, Elsheikh S, Quesnel A, Butler L, Jennings C, Tarzi C, Achadu OJ, Islam M, Kalesh K, Occhipinti A, Angione C, Marles-Wright J, Koss DJ, Thomas AJ, Outeiro TF, Filippou PS, Khundakar AA. . ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2025, 16(4), 687-698.
    • Paloyan A, Soghomonyan T, Karapetyan M, Grigoryan H, Kruger A, Cuskin F, Marles-Wright J, Burkhardt C, Antranikian G. . Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 2025, 109(1), 172.
    • Beck IN, Arrowsmith TJ, Grobbelaar MJ, Bromley EHC, Marles-Wright J, Blower TR. . Nucleic Acids Research 2024, 52(4), 1909-1929.
    • Wang P, Li J, Li T, Li K, Ng PC, Wang S, Chriscoli V, Basle A, Marles-Wright J, Zhang Y-Z, Liu L-N. . Science Advances 2024, 10(48), eadr4227.
    • Ashley B, Basle A, Sajjad M, el Ashram A, Kelis P, Marles-Wright J, Campopiano DJ. . ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering 2023, 11(21), 7997–8002.
    • Paloyan A, Sargsyan A, Karapetyan MD, Hambardzumyan A, Kocharov S, Panosyan H, Dyukova K, Kinosyan M, Krueger A, Piergentili C, Stanley WA, Djoko KY, Basle A, Marles-Wright J, Antranikian G. . FEBS Journal 2023, 290(23), 5566-5580.
    • Heinz V, Jackel W, Kaltwasser S, Cutugno L, Bedrunka P, Graf A, Reder A, Michalik S, Dhople VM, Madej MG, Conway M, Lechner M, Riedel K, Bange G, Boyd A, Volker U, Lewis RJ, Marles-Wright J, Ziegler C, Pane-Farre J. . Communications Biology 2022, 5(1), 622.
    • Ross J, McIver Z, Lambert T, Piergentili C, Bird JE, Gallagher KJ, Cruickshank FL, James P, Zarazúa-Arvizu E, Horsfall LE, Waldron KJ, Wilson MD, Mackay CL, Baslé A, Clarke DJ, Marles-Wright J. . Science Advances 2022, 8(4), eabj4461.
    • Miksys A, Fu L, Made MG, Guerreiro DN, Kaltwasser S, Conway M, Ejder S, Bruckmann A, Marles-Wright J, Lewis RJ, O'Byrne C, Pané-Farré J, Ziegler C. . Communications Biology 2022, 5, 621.
    • Heaver SL, Le HH, Tang P, Baslé A, Mirretta Barone C, Vu DL, Waters JL, Marles-Wright J, Johnson EL, Campopiano DJ, Ley RE. . Nature Microbiology 2022, 7, 986-1000.
    • Bird JE, Marles-Wright J, Giachino A. . ACS Synthetic Biology 2022, 11(11), 3551–3563.
    • Giachino A, Focarelli F, Marles-Wright J, Waldron KJ. . FEMS microbiology ecology 2021, 97(2).
    • Ross J, Lambert T, Piergentili C, He D, Waldron KJ, Mackay CL, Marles-Wright J, Clarke DJ. . Chemical Communications 2020, 56(23), 3417-3420.
    • Serpico A, De Cesare S, Marles-Wright J, Akhtar MK, Loake GJ, Campopiano DJ. . Catalysis Science and Technology 2020, 10(19), 6533-6543.
    • Piergentili C, Ross J, He D, Gallagher KJ, Stanley WA, Adam L, Mackay CL, Baslé A, Waldron KJ, Clarke DJ, Marles-Wright J. . Journal of Biological Chemistry 2020, 295, 15511-15526.
    • Harris JR, Marles-Wright J. . Sub-cellular biochemistry 2019, 93, 1-22.
    • He D, Piergentili C, Ross J, Tarrant E, Tuck LR, Mackay CL, McIver Z, Waldron KJ, Clarke DJ, Marles-Wright J. . Biochemical Journal 2019, 476(6), 975-989.
    • Wichmann L, Dulai JS, Marles-Wright J, Maxeiner S, Szczesniak PP, Manzini I, Althaus M. . Journal of Biological Chemistry 2019, 294(33), 12507-12520.
    • Liu W, Luo Z, Wang Y, Pham NT, Tuck L, Pérez-Pi I, Liu L, Shen Y, French C, Auer M, Marles-Wright J, Dai J, Cai Y. . Nature Communications 2018, 9, 1936.
    • Ekström AG, Kelly V, Marles-Wright J, Cockroft SL, Campopiano DJ. . Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry 2017, 15(30), 6310-6313.
    • McLean CJ, Marles-Wright J, Custodio R, Lowther J, Kennedy AJ, Pollock J, Clarke DJ, Brown AR, Campopiano DJ. . Journal of Lipid Research 2017, 58, 137-150.
    • He D, Hughes S, Vanden-Hehir S, Georgiev A, Altenbach K, Tarrant E, Mackay CL, Waldron KJ, Clarke DJ, Marles-Wright J. . eLife 2016, 5, e18972.
    • Tuck LR, Altenbach K, Ang TF, Crawshaw AD, Campopiano DJ, Clarke DJ, Marles-Wright J. . Scientific Reports 2016, 22, 22108.
    • Jensen MBV, Horsfall LE, Wardrope C, Togneri PD, Marles-Wright J, Rosser SJ. . PLoS One 2016, 11(11), e0166128.
    • Wallock-Richards DJ, Marles-Wright J, Clarke DJ, Maitra A, Dodds M, Hanley B, Campopiano DJ. . Chemical Communications 2015, 51(52), 10483-10485.
    • Muller M, Reiss S, Schluter R, Mader U, Beyer A, Reiss W, Marles-Wright J, Lewis RJ, Pfortner H, Volker U, Riedel K, Hecker M, Engelmann S, Pane-Farre J. . Molecular Microbiology 2014, 93(6), 1259-1268.
    • Liebal UW, Millat T, Marles-Wright J, Lewis RJ, Wolkenhauer O. . BMC Systems Biology 2013, 7(1), 3.
    • Quin MB, Berrisford JM, Newman JA, Baslé A, Lewis RJ, Marles-Wright J. . Structure 2012, 20(2), 350-363.
    • Pitts AC, Tuck LR, Faulds-Pain A, Lewis RJ, Marles-Wright J. . PLoS ONE 2012, 7(10), e48360.
    • Pagett HE, Abrahams JL, Bones J, O'Donoghue N, Marles-Wright J, Lewis RJ, Harris JR, Caldwell GS, Rudd PM, Clare AS. . Journal of Experimental Biology 2012, 215(7), 1192-1198.
    • Mckee LS, Pena MJ, Rogowski A, Jackson A, Lewis RJ, York WS, Krogh KBRM, Vikso-Nielsen A, Skjot M, Gilbert HJ, Marles-Wright J. . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2012, 109(17), 6537-6542.
    • Marles-Wright J, Lewis RJ. . Proteins 2011, 79(6), 2015-2019.
    • Cartmell A, McKee LS, Pena MJ, Larsbrink J, Brumer H, Kaneko S, Ichinose H, Lewis RJ, Vikso-Nielsen A, Gilbert HJ, Marles-Wright J. . Journal of Biological Chemistry 2011, 286(17), 15483-15495.
    • Kawai Y, Marles-Wright J, Cleverley RM, Emmins R, Ishikawa S, Kuwano M, Heinz N, Bui NK, Hoyland CN, Ogasawara N, Lewis RJ, Vollmer W, Daniel RA, Errington J. . EMBO Journal 2011, 30(24), 4931-4941.
    • Marles-Wright J, Lewis RJ. . Biochemical Society Transactions 2010, 38, 928-933.
    • Yang X, Molimau S, Doherty GP, Johnston EB, Marles-Wright J, Rothnagel R, Hankamer B, Lewis RJ, Lewis PJ. . EMBO Reports 2009, 10(9), 997-1002.
    • Baur S, Marles-Wright J, Buckenmaier S, Lewis RJ, Vollmer W. . Journal of Bacteriology 2009, 191(4), 1200-1210.
    • Schirner K, Marles-Wright J, Lewis RJ, Errington J. . EMBO Journal 2009, 28(7), 830-842.
    • Marles-Wright J, Lewis RJ. . Communicative & Integrative Biology 2008, 1(2), 182-184.
    • Marles-Wright J, Grant T, Delumeau O, van Duinen G, Firbank S, Lewis P, Murray J, Newman J, Quin M, Race P, Rohou A, Tichelaar W, van Heel M, Lewis RJ. . Science 2008, 322(5898), 92-96.
    • Quin M, Newman J, Firbank S, Lewis RJ, Marles-Wright J. . Acta Crystallographica. Section F: Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications 2008, 64(3), 196-199.
    • Hardwick SW, Pané-Farré J, Delumeau O, Marles-Wright J, Hecker M, Lewis RJ. . Journal of Biological Chemistry 2007, 282(15), 11562-11572.
    • Marles-Wright J, Lewis RJ. . Current Opinion in Structural Biology 2007, 17(6), 755-760.

  • Book Chapters

    • Joynt D, Mathew S, Ashley B, Marles-Wright J, Campopiano DJ. . In: Yang Yang, ed. Enzyme Reprogramming. London: Academic Press Inc, 2025, pp.93-119.
    • Harris JR, Marles-Wright J. . In: Macromolecular Protein Complexes IV: Structure and Function. Cham: Springer Science and Business Media B.V, 2022, pp.v-vi.
    • Liu W, Tuck L, Marles-Wright J, Cai Y. . In: Eroshenko N, ed. Methods in Molecular Biology: Site Specific Recombinases. New York: Humana Press, 2017, pp.285-302.
    • Pane-Farre J, Quin MB, Lewis RJ, Marles-Wright J. . In: Macromolecular Protein Complexes. Springer New York, 2017, pp.1-41.

  • Editorials

    • Harris JR, Marles-Wright J. . Macromolecular Protein Complexes V : Structure and Function 2024, 104, v-vi.
    • Harris JR, Marles-Wright J. . Macromolecular Protein Complexes III: Structure and Function 2021, 96, v-vi.

  • Reviews

    • He D, Marles-Wright J. . New Biotechnology 2015, 32(6), 651–657.
    • Schneider S, Marles-Wright J, Sharp KH, Paoli M. . Natural Product Reports 2007, 24(3), 621-630.