Academic Staff

Dr Matthew B. Avison

B.Sc. in Biochemistry (1994), University of Bristol
Ph.D. in Biochemistry (1998), University of Bristol

Senior Lecturer in Microbiology

Contact Details
Dept. of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol,
School of Medical Sciences, Bristol, BS8 1TD
Tel: +44 (0)117 33 12036 (internal 12036)
Fax: +44 (0)117 33 12091
Email: matthewb.avison@bristol.ac.uk

Past Research

Signal transduction in primary fat cells
Control of translational initiation in Eukaryotes

Current Research

Novel Two-component signal transduction systems in bacteria - functional genomic analyses.
Regulation of chromosomal β-lactamase expression in Gram-negative bacteria of clinical importance - biochemical and molecular genetic analyses.
Functional analysis and regulation of multidrug efflux pump expression in Gram-negative bacteria.
Bioinformatic analysis of evolutionary rules in DNA.
Predicting evolutionary potential of mobile antimicrobial drug resistance genes.

Present co-workers

Dr James Cariss (Postdoc)
Mrs Aisha Alamri (PhD Student)
Mr Bruce Humphrey (PhD Student)
Miss Amy Tayler (PhD Student)

Present collaborators

Prof Alasdair MacGowan (CMM & Southmead Hospital)
Prof Charles Penn (Birmingham)
Prof Julian Parkhill & Dr Lisa Crossman (Sanger Institute, Cambridge)
Prof Keith Poole (Queens University, Canada)
Dr Juan Ayala (CBM, Madrid)
Dr Nigel Savery (Biochemistry)
Dr Vicky Enne (CMM)
Dr Max Dow (University College, Cork)

Recent Publications

Crossman, L.C., Gould, V.C., Dow, J.M., Vernikos, G.S., Okazaki, A., Sebaihia, M., Saunders, D., Arrowsmith, C., Carver, T., Peters, N., Adlem, E., Kerhornou, A., Lord, A., Murphy, L., Seeger, K., Squares, R., Rutter, S., Quail, M.A., Rajandream, M.A., Harris, D., Churcher, C., Bentley, S.D., Parkhill, J., Thomson, N.R. & Avison, M.B. (2008) The complete genome, comparative and functional analysis of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia reveals an organism heavily shielded by drug resistance determinants. Genome Biol. 9, R74, 13pp.

Cariss, S.J.L., Tayler, A.E. & Avison, M.B. (2008) Defining the growth conditions and promoter-proximal DNA sequences required for activation of gene expression by CreBC in Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 190, 3930-3939.

Okazaki, A. & Avison, M.B. (2008) Induction of L1 and L2 β-lactamase production in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is dependent on an AmpR-type regulator. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 52, 1525-1528.

Hobman, J.L., Patel, M.D., Hidalgo-Arroyo, G.A., Cariss, S.J.L., Avison, M.B., Penn, C.W. & Constantinidou, C. (2007) Comparative genomic hybridization detects secondary chromosomal deletions in Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 mutants and highlights instability in the flhDC region. J. Bacteriol. 189, 8786-9792.

Fouhy, Y., Scanlon, K., Schouest, K., Spillane, C., Crossman, L., Avison, M.B., Ryan, R.P. & Dow, J.M. (2007) Diffusible signal factor-dependent cell-cell signaling and virulence in the nosocomial pathogen Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. J. Bacteriol. 189, 4964-4968.

Okazaki, A. & Avison, M.B. (2007) Characterization of Aph(3')-IIc, an aminoglycoside resistance determinant from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 51, 359-360.

Morita, Y., Cao, L., Gould, V.C., Avison, M.B. & Poole K. (2006) nalD encodes a second repressor of the mexAB-oprM multidrug efflux operon of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J. Bacteriol. 188, 8649-8654.

Gould, V.C. & Avison, M.B. (2006) SmeDEF-mediated antimicrobial drug resistance in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates having defined phylogenetic relationships. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 57, 1070-1076.

Avison, M.B. (2006) Measuring Gene Expression. 324 pp. Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, UK & New York, USA. ISBN 0415-374723.

Gould, V.C., Okazaki, A. & Avison, M.B. (2006) β-Lactam resistance and β-lactamase expression in clinical Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates having defined phylogenetic relationships. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 57, 199-203.

Avison, M.B. (2005) New approaches to combating antimicrobial drug resistance. Genome Biol. 6, 243-246.

Avison, M.B. & Bennett, P.M. (2005) Bacterial genetics. In Topley & Wilson's Microbiology and Microbial Infection: Bacteriology, 10th Edition (Borrellio, S.P., Murray, P.R. & Funke, G., Eds.) pp 80-135. Hodder Arnold, London, UK.

Simm, A.M., Loveridge, E.J., Crosby, J., Avison, M.B., Walsh, T.R. & Bennett P.M. (2005) Bulgecin A: a novel inhibitor of binuclear metallo-β-lactamases. Biochem. J. 387, 585-590.

Significant Earlier Publications

Ford, P.J. & Avison, M.B. (2004) Evolutionary mapping of the SHV β-lactamase and evidence for two separate IS26-dependent SHV mobilization events from the Klebsiella pneumoniae chromosome. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 54, 69-75.

Avison, M.B., Niumsup, P., Nurmahomed, K., Walsh, T.R. & Bennett, P.M. (2004) Role of the 'cre/blr-tag' DNA sequence in regulation of gene expression by the Aeromonas hydrophila β-lactamase regulator, BlrA. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 53, 197-202.

Niumsup, P., Simm, A.M., Nurmahomed, K., Walsh, T.R., Bennett, P.M. & Avison, M.B. (2003) Genetic linkage of the penicillinase gene, amp, and blrAB, encoding the regulator of β-lactamase expression in Aeromonas spp. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 51, 1351-1358.

Dempsey, C.E., Ueno, S. & Avison, M.B. (2003) Enhanced membrane permiablization and antibacterial activity of a disulfide-dimerized magainin analogue. Biochemistry 42, 402-409.

Avison, M.B., Higgins, C.S., Ford, P.J., von Heldreich, C.J., Walsh, T.R. & Bennett, P.M. (2002) Differential regulation of L1 and L2 β-lactamase expression in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 49, 387-389.

Avison, M.B., Horton, R.E., Walsh, T.R. & Bennett, P.M. (2001) Escherichia coli CreBC is a global regulator of gene expression that responds to growth in minimal media. J. Biol. Chem. 276, 26955-26961.

Avison, M.B., Higgins, C.S., von Heldreich, C.J., Bennett, P.M. & Walsh, T.R. (2001) Plasmid location and molecular heterogeneity of the L1 and L2 β-lactamase genes of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 45, 413-419.

Avison, M.B., von Heldreich, C.J., Higgins, C.S., Bennett, P.M. & Walsh, T.R. (2000) A TEM-2 β-lactamase encoded on an active Tn1-like transposon in the genome of a clinical isolate of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 46, 879-884.