University College Cork (UCC): Microbiology: Staff

Mark Achtman Teresa Barbosa David Clarke Avril Coghlan J. Kevin Collins Alan Dobson Max Dow Gerald F. Fitzgerald Cormac Gahan Colin Hill John Morgan John P. Morrissey Fergal O' Gara Niall O' Leary Paul O' TooleMichael B. PrenticeMartina Scallan Carmel Shortiss Douwe van Sinderen

Name: Prof. Michael B. Prentice
Position: Professor of Medical Microbiology
T: 353 (0)21 4901420
F: 353 (0)21 4903101
E: m.prentice@ucc.ie

Biography

Academic Career

1980: MB ChB University of Birmingham Medical School, UK.

1984: MRCP(UK) Royal College of Physicians, UK.

1990: MRCPath, Medical Microbiology, Royal College of Pathologists, UK.

1991-2: Smith and Nephew Research Fellow, Institut Pasteur, Paris.

1993-2004: Senior Lecturer in Medical Microbiology/Honorary Consultant Microbiologist, Barts and the London Medical School, London, UK.

1998: PhD in Microbiology, University of London.

2004-present: Professor of Medical Microbiology, NUI, Cork.

Additional Positions and Awards

2000: Fellowship of Royal College of Pathologists, UK (FRCPath).

2004-present: Consultant in Medical Microbiology, Cork University Hospital.

2004-present: Principal Investigator, Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, UCC.

2007: Fellowship of Faculty of Pathology Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (FFPathRCPI).

Teaching areas

Medical Microbiology to Undergraduate and Graduate Entry Medical Students, and Pharmacy students
Medical Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenicity to Science Undergraduates

Research interests and expertise

Bacterial genomics, especially Yersinia sp
Bacterial Microcompartments
Horizontal gene transfer in bacteria (phage mediated)

Research

Research Overview

My research centres on bacterial genomics and I have applied this to bacterial pathogenicity (especially Yersinia species), ancient DNA and the evolution of bacterial pathogens (Yersinia species and Mycobacterium tuberculosis). Study of horizontally transferred genes from bacterial genome comparisons has led to investigation of the structure and role of bacterial metabolic organelles (metabolosomes), and bacteriophage metagenomics.

Selected Recent Publications

Murphy, B.P., N. Drummond, T. Ringwood, E. O'Sullivan, J.F. Buckley, P. Whyte, M.B. Prentice, and S. Fanning, First report: Yersinia enterocolitica recovered from canine tonsils. Vet Microbiol, 2010. DOI 10.1016/j.vetmic.2010.05.033

Ojo, O.O., S. Sheehan, D.G. Corcoran, V. Nikolayevsky, T. Brown, M. O'Sullivan, K. O'Sullivan, S.V. Gordon, F. Drobniewski, and M.B. Prentice, Molecular Epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Clinical Isolates in Southwest Ireland. Infect Genet Evol, 2010. DOI 10.1016/j.meegid.2010.07.008

Parsons , J., S. Frank, D. Bhella, M. Liang, M.B. Prentice , D. Mulvihill, and M.J. Warren, Synthesis of Empty Bacterial Microcompartments, Directed Organelle Protein Incorporation, and Evidence of Filament-Associated Organelle Movement. Molecular Cell, 2010. 38: p. 305315.

Ojo, O., S. Sheehan, G.D. Corcoran, M. Okker, K. Gover, V. Nikolayevsky, T. Brown, J. Dale, S.V. Gordon, F. Drobniewski, and M.B. Prentice, Mycobacterium bovis strains causing smear-positive human tuberculosis, Southwest Ireland. Emerg Infect Dis, 2008. 14(12): p. 1931-4.

Parsons, J.P., S.D. Dinesh, E. Deery, H.K. Leech, A.A. Brindley, D. Heldt, S. Frank, C.M. Smales, H. Lunsdorf, A. Rambach, M.H. Gass, A. Bleloch, K.J. McClean, A.W. Munro, S.E.J. Rigby, M.J. Warren, and M.B. Prentice, Biochemical and structural insights into bacterial organelle form and biogenesis. J. Biol. Chem., 2008. 283(21): p. 14366-14375.

Sriramulu, D.D., M. Liang, D. Hernandez-Romero, E. Raux-Deery, H. Lunsdorf, J.B. Parsons, M.J. Warren, and M.B. Prentice, Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 20016 produces cobalamin-dependent diol dehydratase in metabolosomes and metabolises 1,2-propanediol by disproportionation. J Bacteriol, 2008. 190(13): p. 4559–4567.

Thomson, N.R., S. Howard, B.W. Wren, and M.B. Prentice, Comparative genome analyses of the pathogenic Yersiniae based on the genome sequence of Yersinia enterocolitica strain 8081. Adv Exp Med Biol, 2007. 603: p. 2-16.

Prentice, M.B. and L. Rahalison, Plague. The Lancet, 2007. 369(9568): p. 1196-1207.

Thomson, N.R., S. Howard, B.W. Wren, M.T.G. Holden, L. Crossman, G.L. Challis, C. Churcher, K. Mungall, K. Brooks, T. Chillingworth, T. Feltwell, Z. Abdellah, H. Hauser, K. Jagels, M. Maddison, S. Moule, M. Sanders, S. Whitehead, M.A. Quail, G. Dougan, J. Parkhill, and M.B. Prentice, The Complete Genome Sequence and Comparative Genome Analysis of the High Pathogenicity Yersinia enterocolitica Strain 8081. PLoS Genetics, 2006. 2(12): p. 2039-2051.

Research funding and grants

1. Department of Agriculture Food Institutional Research Measure. 1/07-12/09

" Epidemiology of Yersinia enterocolitica in animals and humans in Ireland”, 06-RD-D-419. Co-applicant with Professor Shay Fanning UCD as lead. €123,435 share of €557,110 total.

2. Science Foundation Ireland Research Frontiers Programme . 07/06- 11/09.

“Structural characterisation of a bacterial metabolic organelle” 05-RF-GEN053 €152,072

3. SFI Short Term Travel Fellowship (STTF) 16/6/09-17/7/09 Supplement to 05-RF-GEN053

“Cryoelectron microscopy of metabolosomes at Caltech”, €6480

Research Groups and collaborators

Collaborators

Bacterial microcompartments

Professor Martin Warren , School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

http://www.kent.ac.uk/bio/warren/research.html

Bacterial genome sequencing and bacteriophage metagenomics

Professor Julian Parkhill http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Users/parkhill/

and Dr Nick Thomson, nrt@sanger.ac.uk Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute