Controlling greenhouse gas emissions by targeting G-quadruplex DNA/RNA structures in plant-associated bacteria

As well as carbon dioxide (CO2), other important climate-active gases are known to drive global warming. Importantly, nitrous oxide (N2O) also known as laughing gas, is the third most abundant greenhouse gas with 300-times greater global warming power than CO2 and it also contributes to the destruction of the ozone layer. Production of N2O is a by-product of modern farming, where after applying fertilizers, soil bacteria consume nitrate and generate N2O that is emitted from soil to the atmosphere. By understanding how bacteria do this and developing tools to control it, we could potentially reduce future biological N2O emissions, allowing recovery of the ozone layer and help reduce global climate change while continuing to feed expanding global populations.

This PhD project will develop understanding of how DNA and RNA structures control nitrogen
assimilation and N2O production in plant-associated bacteria and how we can use small-molecules to control these pathways in cells. The project will provide training in a wide-range of state-of-the-art biophysical, molecular biology and microbiological techniques, from characterizing different types of DNA/RNA structures, gene expression studies to ligand-binding assays. Led by Dr Andrew Gates, this project will be based in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the student will work collaboratively with Dr Yiliang Ding at the John Innes Centre and Dr Zoë Waller (UEA/UCL).

The student will have, or expect to obtain a first class, 2(i) or equivalent honours degree in Microbiology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Pharmacy or a related area.

Informal enquiries are welcomed; for further information please contact Dr Andrew Gates (a.gates@uea.ac.uk).

References

Cabrera, J.J. et al. (2016) An integrated biochemical system for nitrate assimilation and nitric oxide detoxification in Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Biochem J. 473, 297. doi.org/10.1042/BJ20150880

Waller Z.A.E. et al. (2016) Control of bacterial nitrate assimilation by stabilization of G-quadruplex DNA. Chemical Communications 52, 13511. doi.org/10.1039/C6CC06057A

Abdelhamid M.A.S. (2018) Redox-dependent control of i-Motif DNA structure using copper cations. Nucleic Acids Research. 46, 5886. doi.org/10.1093/nar/gky390

Lycus, P. et al. (2018) A bet-hedging strategy for denitrifying bacteria curtails their release of N2O. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, 11820. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805000115

Yang, X. et al. (2022) RNA G-quadruplex structure contributes to cold adaptation in plants. Nature. communications 13, 6224. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34040-y