缅北禁地

I am a member of the Biosciences Institute and my work contributes to the Microbes in Health and Disease Theme

The following are members of my research team:

Graduate Students

Andrew Higginson, NLD BBSRC-funded PhD student

Emma Dobson, Faculty-funded PhD student

Leela Ghimire, NLD BBSRC-funded PhD student

Xuyan Zhang, China Scholarship Council-funded PhD student

Heritage Afolabi, LifeArc/Cystic Fibrosis Trust funded PhD student

Zara Emsley, ERC-funded PhD student

Postdoctoral Research Fellows

Dr Felicity Alcock, Wellcome-funded Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Dr Anna Barwinksa-Sendra, Wellcome-funded Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Dr Sam Benedict, ERC-funded Postdoctoral Research Assistant 

Dr Elizabeth Chan, Wellcome-funded Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Dr Nicole Mietrach, Wellcome-funded Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Dr Augustinas Silale (joint with Elisabeth Lowe), Wellcome-funded Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Dr Rowan Walters ERC-funded Postdoctoral Research Assistant 

Dr Yaping Yang Wellcome-funded Postdoctoral Research Assistant 

Education and Training

2018- Professor of Microbiology, Microbes in Health and Disease Theme, Cookson Building 缅北禁地

2017-2018 Professor of Molecular Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee

2007-2017 - Professor of Molecular Microbiology, Head of the Division of Molecular Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee

2004-2007 - MRC Senior Non Clinical Research Fellow based at John Innes Centre, Norwich

1996-2004 - Royal Society University Research Fellow based at John Innes Centre, Norwich

1993-1996 - University Research Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, University of Dundee

1992-1993 - Postdoctoral Research Assistant, University of Dundee with Prof D.H. Boxer

1988-1991 - Research Associate (RA1B) and PhD student, University of Birmingham with Prof J.B. Jackson

1988-1991 - Postgraduate: Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of Birmingham

1985-1988 - Undergraduate: B.Sc. Biochemistry (First Class Honours), University of Birmingham

Distinctions and Awards

2021 - Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences

2018 - Elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)

2017- Elected Member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation

2015 - Elected Member of the European Academy of Microbiology

2015 - Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

2011-2016 - Royal Society/Wolfson Merit Award Holder

2010 - Elected Fellow of the Society of Biology (FRSB)

2009 - Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE)

2004-2009 - Medical Research Council Senior Non Clinical Fellowship

2002 - The Microbiology Society Fleming Medal

1996-2004 - Royal Society University Research Fellowship

Funding

Work in the lab is supported by Wellcome, ERC, CF Trust-LifeArc, 缅北禁地 and the China Scholarship Council.

Research Interests

The bacterial Type VII protein secretion pathway

The Type VII secretion system (T7SS) is found primarily in Gram positive bacteria and we study it in the opportunistic human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium abscessus. We have identified a secreted nuclease substrate of the Staphylococcal T7SS, EsaD, which inhibits the growth of closely related strains. EsaD interacts with accessory proteins encoded at the T7SS gene cluster, EsaG, a neutralising antitoxin, EsaE, a putative chaperone that is required for EsaD secretion and three small helical partners (EsxB, EsxC and EsxD). Our results have demonstrated that the T7SS has anti-bacterial activity in addition to anti-eukaryotic function. More recently we have identified further T7SS-secreted antibacterial toxins in S. aureus including TspA, a membrane-depolarising toxin and TslA, a lipase toxin with a reverse domain arrangement.

Molybdenum Cofactor Mutant Strains

We have the following E. coli strains/plasmids freely available to the molybdenum/ tungsten enzyme community. If you require any of these please send me an e-mail (tracy.palmer@ncl.ac.uk). 

TP1000 (As MC4100 ΔmobAB::Kan) published in Palmer et al. (1996) Mol. Microbiol. 20, 875-884. Useful for expressing eukaryotic molybdoenzymes since it does not make the guanine dinucleotide form of the cofactor, instead accumulates MPT. Already used as standard by several groups.

TP1001 (As MC4100 ΔmobA, unmarked mutation). Unpublished. Exactly same strain background as TP1000 but has no antibiotic marker and therefore is useful if you wish to use kanamycin resistant plasmids.

TP1004 (As RK4353 ΔmobAB::Kan). Unpublished. Similar to TP1000 but in a slightly different strain background that may synthesise more moco.

TP1005 (As P4X ΔmobAB::Kan). Unpublished. Strain background, P4X is a methionine auxotroph and therefore is useful for selenomethionine substitution of proteins for crystallographic work. P4X is a much more 'wild type' strain of E. coli and anecdotally has much higher levels of native Mo-enzyme activity than many 'tamer' lab strains.

TP1010 (As BL21(DE3) ΔmobAB::Kan). Unpublished. mob mutant in the BL21 strain. Useful if you wish to express genes under control of the T7 phage promoter. However, be cautious, our experience suggests that BL21 is not a good host strain since its levels of native Mo-enzyme activity are very low.

TP1017 (As JM101 ΔmobAB::Kan). Unpublished. mob mutant in the JM101 background. JM101 has chromosomal lacI^q and is therefore a useful strain if you wish to express from any lac-controlled promoter (often present on many standard expression vectors).

Plasmid pTPR1. Unpublished. A medium copy number plasmid (based on pRK415) specifying tetracycline resistance. Carries a 5.9kb fragment of E. coli DNA covering the moa genes. Might be useful to boost MPT synthesis.

BGM2061 Protein Trafficking and Biological Membranes Stage 2

MMB8048 Human Health and the Impact of Microbial Genomics Masters level

• Articles

  • Ulhuq F, Tooke AK, Mendonca C, Casabona G, Habersetzer J, Yang Y, Gomes MC, Alcock F, Mostowy S, Palmer T. . Microbiology 2025, 171(12).
  • Mariano G, Deme JC, Readshaw JJ, Grobbelaar MJ, Keenan M, El-Masri Y, Bamford L, Songra S, Blower TR, Palmer T, Lea SM. . Nature Communications 2025, 16, 2344.
  • Alcock F, Yang Y, Deme J, Casabona G, Mendonca C, Ulhuq F, Lea S, Palmer T. . Cell Reports 2025, 44(11), 116459.
  • Garrett SR, Higginson AB, Palmer T. . microLife 2024, 5, uqae013.
  • Gallego-Parrilla JJ, Severi E, Chandra G, Palmer T. . Microbiology 2024, 170(2), 001431.
  • Yang Y, Scott AA, Kneuper H, Alcock F, Palmer T. . Open Biology 2024, 14(8), 240060.
  • Wu Y, Bell A, Thomas GH, Bolam DN, Sargent F, Juge N, Palmer T, Severi E. . Microbiology 2024, 170(8), 001476.
  • Wu Y, Bell A, Thomas GH, Bolam DN, Sargent F, Juge N, Palmer T, Severi E. . Microbiology 2024, 170(3), 001448.
  • Yang Y, Boardman E, Deme J, Alcock F, Lea S, Palmer T. . mBio 2023, 14(5), e02100-23.
  • Macdonald E, Wright R, Connolly JPR, Strahl H, Brockhurst M, van Houte S, Blower TR, Palmer T, Mariano G. . PLoS Genetics 2023, 19(6), e1010784.
  • Severi E, Batista MB, Lannoy A, Stansfeld PJ, Palmer T. . Microbiology 2023, 169(2), 001298.
  • Mossop M, Robinson L, Jiang J-H, Peleg AY, Blakeway LV, Macesic N, Perry A, Bourke S, Ulhuq FR, Palmer T. . Journal of Medical Microbiology 2023, 72, 001703.
  • Garrett SR, Mietrach N, Deme J, Bitzer A, Yang Y, Ulhuq FR, Kretschmer D, Heilbronner S, Smith TK, Lea SM, Palmer T. . Nature Communications 2023, 14(1), 8438.
  • Bowran K, Garrett SR, van Vliet AHM, Palmer T. . Microbial Genomics 2023, 9(6), 001036.
  • Kaderabkova N, Bharathwaj M, Furniss RCD, Gonzalez D, Palmer T, Mavridou DAI. . Microbiology 2022, 168(8), 001217.
  • Garrett SR, Mariano G, Dicks J, Palmer T. . Microbial Genomics 2022, 8(8), 000868.
  • Garrett SR, Mariano G, Palmer T. . Access Microbiology 2022, 4, 000464.v3.
  • Bharathwaj M, Webb CT, Vadlamani G, Stubenrauch CJ, Palmer T, Lithgow T. . mBio 2021, 12(3), e01302-21.
  • Severi E, Rudden M, Bell A, Palmer T, Juge N, Thomas GH. . Microbial Genomics 2021, 7(6), 000614.
  • Bowran K, Palmer T. . Microbiology 2021, 167(3), 001034.
  • Alcock F, Palmer T. . PLoS Genetics 2021, 17, e1009261.
  • Passmore IJ, Coll F, Dow JM, Cuccui J, Palmer T, Wren BW. . Journal of Bacteriology 2020, 202, e00541-19.
  • Finney AJ, Buchanan G, Palmer T, Coulthurst SJ, Sargent F. . Microbiology 2020, 166(9), 854-860.
  • Ulhuq FR, Gomes MC, Duggan G, Guo M, Mendonca C, Buchanan G, Chalmers JD, Cao Z, Kneuper H, Murdoch S, Thomson S, Strahl H, Trost M, Mostowy S, Palmer T. . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2020, 117(34), 20836-20847.
  • Costa MAA, Owen RA, Tammsalu T, Buchanan G, Palmer T, Sargent F. . Microbiology 2019, 165(11), 1233-1244.
  • Petru M, Wideman J, Moore K, Alcock F, Palmer T, Dolezal P. . BMC Biology 2018, 16, 141.
  • Jager F, Kneuper H, Palmer T. . Microbiology 2018, 164(5), 816-820.
  • Cao Z, Casabona MG, Kneuper H, Chalmers JD, Palmer T. . Nature Microbiology 2017, 2(1), 16183.

• Note

  • Palmer T, Berks BC. . Current Biology 2024, 34(7), R267-R268.

• Reviews

  • Garrett SR, Palmer T. . FEMS Microbes 2024, 5, xtae006.
  • Boardman ER, Palmer T, Alcock F. . Microbiology 2023, 169(12), 001420.
  • Palmer T, Finney A, Saha CK, Atkinson GC, Sargent F. . Molecular Microbiology 2021, 115(3), 345-355.
  • Palmer T, Stansfeld PJ. . Molecular Microbiology 2020, 113(5), 861-871.
  • Unnikrishnan M, Constantinidou C, Palmer T, Pallen MJ. . Trends in Microbiology 2017, 25(3), 192-204.