Plant Microbial Interaction Group

I gained my degree in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford in 1984. I stayed in Oxford to do a DPhil with Dr (now Prof.) Keith Dyke in the Microbiology Unit, on the export of beta-lactamases from Staphylococcus aureus. From 1988-1990 I was a post-doc in the lab of Dr (now Prof.) Jeff Errington in the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford, where I worked on the development of a protein expression vector for Bacillus subtilis. In 1990 I joined the staff at Institute of Food Research in Reading, where I spent the next nine years studying, amongst other things, the toxin genes of Clostridium botulinum. On the transfer of all work at IFR to the Norwich site in 1999, I studied, part time, for a HND in computing at Reading Technical College, which I obtained in June 2001.

My role in Prof. Phil Poole’s lab is one of providing expertise in database design and execution, together with skills in molecular biology.

Publications

P. S. Poole, C. Reid, A. East, M. Day, M. E. Leonard and D. Allaway (1999) Regulation of the mdh-sucCDAB operon in Rhizobium leguminosarum. FEMS Microbiology Letters 176 247-255.

J. A. Santos-Buelga, M. D. Collins and A. K. East (1998) Characterization of the genes encoding the botulinum neurotoxin complex in a strain of Clostridium botulinum producing type B and F neurotoxins. Current Microbiology 37 312-318.

A. K. East, M. Bhandari, S. Hielm and M. D. Collins (1998) Analysis of the botulinum neurotoxin type F gene clusters in proteolytic and nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium barati. Current Microbiology 37 262-268.

M. D. Collins and A. K. East (1998) A review: Phylogeny and taxonomy of the food-borne pathogen Clostridium botulinum and its neurotoxins. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 84 5-17.

M. Rodriguez Jovita, M. D. Collins and A. K. East (1998) Gene organization and sequence determination of the two botulinum neurotoxin gene clusters in Clostridium botulinum type A(B) strain NCTC 2916. Current Microbiology 36 226-231.

D. L. Walshaw, S. Lowthorpe, A. K. East and P. S. Poole (1997) Distribution of a sub-class of bacterial ABC polar amino acid transporter and identification of an N-terminal region involved in solute specificity. FEBS Letters 414 397-401.

M. Bhandari, K. D. Campbell, M. D. Collins and A. K. East (1997) Molecular characterization of the clusters of genes encoding the botulinum neurotoxin complex in Clostridium botulinum (Clostridium argentinense) type G and nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum type B. Current Microbiology 35 207-214.

A. K. East, M. Bhandari, J. M. Stacey, K. D. Campbell and M. D. Collins (1996) Organization and phylogenic interrelationships of genes encoding components of the botulinum toxin complex in proteolytic Clostridium botulinum types A, B, and F: Evidence of chimeric sequences in the gene encoding the non-toxic nonhemagglutinin component. International Journal of System Bacteriology 46 1105-1112.

M. D. Collins and A. K. East (1996) Phylogenetics of Clostridium botulinum and the botulinum neurotoxins. In Oxford Conference, Biomedical Aspects of Clostridial Neurotoxins, ed. H. Tranter. CAMR.

J. J. Cordoba, M. D. Collins and A. K. East (1995) Studies on the gene encoding botulinum neurotoxin type A of Clostridium botulinum from a variety of sources. Systematic and Applied Microbiology 18 13-22.

A. K. East and M. D. Collins (1994) Conserved structure of genes encoding components of botulinum neurotoxin complex M and the sequence of the gene coding for the nontoxic component in non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum type F. Current Microbiology 29 69-77.

R. A. Hutson, M. D. Collins, A. K. East and D. E. Thompson (1994) Nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum type B neurotoxin: comparison with other clostridial neurotoxins. Current Microbiology 28 101-110.

A. K. East, J. M. Stacey and M. D. Collins (1994) Characterisation of a hemagglutinin component of the botulinum neurotoxin complex from Clostridium botulinum types A and B. Systematic and Applied Microbiology 17 306-312.

K. D. Campbell, A. K. East, D. E. Thompson and M. D. Collins (1993) Studies of the large subunit ribosomal RNA genes and intergenic spacer regions of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum types B, E and F. Research in Microbiology 144 171-180.

D. E. Thompson, R. A. Hutson, A. K. East, D. Allaway, M. D. Collins and P. T. Richardson (1993) Nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for Clostridium barati type F neurotoxin: Comparison with other clostridial neurotoxins. FEMS Microbiology Letters 108 175-182.

A. K. East and M. D. Collins (1993) Molecular characterisation of DNA encoding 23S rRNA and 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer regions of Aeromonas hydrophila. FEMS Microbiology Letters 106 129-134.

S. J. Thornewell, A. K. East and J. Errington (1993) An efficient expression and secretion system based on Bacillus subtilis phage f105 and its use for the production of b-lactamase I from B. cereus. Gene 133 47-53.

K. D. Campbell, M. D. Collins and A. K. East (1993) Gene probes for the identification of botulinal neurotoxin gene and specific identification of types B, E and F. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 31 2255-2262.

A. Willems, A. K. East, P. Lawson and M. D. Collins (1993) Sequence of the gene coding for the neurotoxin of Clostridium botulinum type A associated with infant botulism: comparison with other clostridial neurotoxins. Research in Microbiology 144 547-556.

K. D. Campbell, M. D. Collins and A. K. East (1993) Nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for Clostridium botulinum (Clostridium argentinense) type G neurotoxin: genealogical comparison with other clostridial neurotoxins. Biochemical and Biophysical Acta 1216 487-491.

A. K. East, P. T. Richardson, D. Allaway, T.A. Roberts, M. D. Collins, and D. E. Thompson, (1992) Sequence of the gene encoding type F neurotoxin of Clostridium botulinum. FEMS Microbiology Letters 96 225-230.

A. K. East, D. Allaway and M. D. Collins (1992) Analysis of DNA encoding 23S rRNA and 16S-23S rRNA Intergenic Spacer regions from Plesiomonas shigelloides. FEMS Microbiology Letters 95 57-62.

A. K. East, D. E. Thompson and M. D. Collins (1992) Analysis of operons encoding 23S ribosomal RNA of Clostridium botulinum type A. Journal of Bacteriology 174 8158-8162.

A. K. East, S. P. Curnock and K. G. H. Dyke (1990) Change of a single amino acid in the leader peptide of a staphylococcal b- lactamase prevents the appearance of the enzyme in the medium. FEMS Microbiology Letters 69 249-254.

A. K. East and K. G. H. Dyke (1989) Cloning and sequence determination of six Staphylococcus aureus b-lactamases and their expression in Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Journal of General Microbiology 135 1001-1015.

A. K. East and J. Errington (1989) A new Bacteriophage vector for cloning in Bacillus subtilis and the use of f105 for protein synthesis in maxicells. Gene 81 35-43.