Plant Microbial Interaction Group

I graduated from the University of Bath in 1998 with an honours degree in Applied Biology. This included a placement year at Rothamsted Research where I developed a method for specific PCR detection of the nematode biological control fungus Verticillium chlamydosporium in the rhizosphere. I then went on to study for a PhD at Rothamsted Research, while registered with the University of Reading, studying the molecular ecology of V. chlamydosporium, under the supervision of Professor Brian Kerry as well as Drs. Penny Hirsch & Simon Gowen. This project involved the development of a competitive PCR assay as well as RAPD-PCR protocols for studying population dynamics of V. chlamydosporium in soil and the rhizosphere of nematode infected and healthy plants.

My present research in Prof. Philip Poole’s laboratory is a functional study of all ABC and TRAP transporters of the nitrogen fixing bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti. This will be achieved by creating a suite of green fluorescent protein fusions to the promoters of the solute binding protein genes of these transporters in a TOPO adapted egfp and broad host range vector. The in vitro inducing conditions of each transporter can be deduced by screening S. meliloti 1021 conjugated with individual fusions against multiple carbon and nitrogen sources as well as ions using microtitre plates and a fluorescence plate reader. Once this is achieved individual fusions can be introduced into the rhizosphere and used as environmental biosensors. This will provide important temporal and spatial information about the factors that govern competition for growth in the plant rhizosphere and in nodulation competition in Rhizobia, as well as providing a real-time map of root exudation chemistry.

Publications

C. O. Morton, T. H. Mauchline, B. R. Kerry and P. R. Hirsch (2003) PCR-based DNA fingerprinting indicates host related genetic variation in the nematophagous fungus Pochonia chlamydosporia. Mycological Research 107 198-205.

S. D. Atkins, L. Hidalgo-Diaz, H. Kalisz, T. H. Mauchline, P. R. Hirsch, and B. R. Kerry (2003) Development of a new management strategy for the control of root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) in organic vegetable production. Pest Management Science 59 183-189.

T. H. Mauchline, B. R. Kerry & P. R. Hirsch (2002) Quantification in soil and the rhizosphere of the nematophagous fungus, Verticillium chlamydosporium by competitive PCR and comparison with selective plating. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68 1846-1853.

P. R. Hirsch, S. D. Atkins, T. H. Mauchline, C. O. Morton, K. G. Davies and B. R. Kerry (2001) Methods for studying the nematophagous fungus Verticillium chlamydosporium in the root environment. Plant and Soil 232 21-30.

D. Sosnowska, T. H. Mauchline, J. M. Bourne, and B. R. Kerry (2001) Screening of Polish, other European and tropical isolates of Verticillium chlamydosporium to assess their potential as biological control agents of root-knot nematodes. Journal of Plant Protection Research 41 77-84.

P. R. Hirsch, T. H. Mauchline, T. A. Mendum, and B. R. Kerry (2000) Detection of the nematophagous fungus Verticillium chlamydosporium in nematode infested plant roots using PCR. Mycological Research 104 435-439.

Presentations

Development of Sinorhizobium meliloti ABC transporters as environmental biosensors. 6th European Nitrogen Fixation Conference, Toulouse (2004).