Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Outputs (40)

A potential alternative to fungicides using actives-free (meth)acrylate polymers for protection of wheat crops from fungal attachment and infection (2023)
Journal Article
Crawford, L. A., Cuzzucoli Crucitti, V., Stimpson, A., Morgan, C., Blake, J., Wildman, R. D., …Avery, S. V. (2023). A potential alternative to fungicides using actives-free (meth)acrylate polymers for protection of wheat crops from fungal attachment and infection. Green Chemistry, 25(21), 8558-8569. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3gc01911j

Fungicidal compounds are actives widely used for crop protection from fungal infection, but they can also kill beneficial organisms, enter the food chain and promote resistant pathogen strains from overuse. Here we report the first field crop trial o... Read More about A potential alternative to fungicides using actives-free (meth)acrylate polymers for protection of wheat crops from fungal attachment and infection.

Cellular Responses and Targets in Food Spoilage Yeasts Exposed to Antifungal Prenylated Isoflavonoids (2023)
Journal Article
Kalli, S., Vallieres, C., Violet, J., Sanders, J., Chapman, J., Vincken, J., …Araya-Cloutier, C. (2023). Cellular Responses and Targets in Food Spoilage Yeasts Exposed to Antifungal Prenylated Isoflavonoids. Microbiology Spectrum, 11(4), Article e0132723. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01327-23

Prenylated isoflavonoids are phytochemicals with promising antifungal properties. Recently, it was shown that glabridin and wighteone disrupted the plasma membrane (PM) of the food spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces parabailii in distinct ways, which l... Read More about Cellular Responses and Targets in Food Spoilage Yeasts Exposed to Antifungal Prenylated Isoflavonoids.

Chloroquine resistance evolution in Plasmodium falciparum is mediated by the putative amino acid transporter AAT1 (2023)
Journal Article
Amambua-Ngwa, A., Button-Simons, K. A., Li, X., Kumar, S., Brenneman, K. V., Ferrari, M., …Anderson, T. J. (2023). Chloroquine resistance evolution in Plasmodium falciparum is mediated by the putative amino acid transporter AAT1. Nature Microbiology, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01377-z

Malaria parasites break down host haemoglobin into peptides and amino acids in the digestive vacuole for export to the parasite cytoplasm for growth: interrupting this process is central to the mode of action of several antimalarial drugs. Mutations... Read More about Chloroquine resistance evolution in Plasmodium falciparum is mediated by the putative amino acid transporter AAT1.

The influence of heteroresistance on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), investigated using weak-acid stress in food spoilage yeasts (2023)
Working Paper
Violet, J., Smid, J., Pielaat, A., Sanders, J., & Avery, S. V. The influence of heteroresistance on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), investigated using weak-acid stress in food spoilage yeasts

Populations of microbial cells may resist environmental stress by maintaining a high population-median resistance (IC50) or, potentially, a high variability in resistance between individual cells (heteroresistance); where heteroresistance would allow... Read More about The influence of heteroresistance on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), investigated using weak-acid stress in food spoilage yeasts.

Evaluating the potential of natural product combinations with sorbic acid for improving preservative action against food-spoilage yeasts (2023)
Journal Article
Harvey, H. J., Hendry, A. C., Archer, D. B., & Avery, S. V. (2023). Evaluating the potential of natural product combinations with sorbic acid for improving preservative action against food-spoilage yeasts. Fungal Biology, 127(7-8), 1218-1223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2023.01.004

Fungal control methods commonly involve the use of antifungals or preservatives, which can raise concerns about broader effects of these stressors on non-target organisms, spread of resistance and regulatory hurdles. Consequently, control methods ena... Read More about Evaluating the potential of natural product combinations with sorbic acid for improving preservative action against food-spoilage yeasts.

Discovery of Natural Products With Antifungal Potential Through Combinatorial Synergy (2022)
Journal Article
Augostine, C. R., & Avery, S. V. (2022). Discovery of Natural Products With Antifungal Potential Through Combinatorial Synergy. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, Article 866840. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.866840

The growing prevalence of antifungal drug resistance coupled with the slow development of new, acceptable drugs and fungicides has raised interest in natural products (NPs) for their therapeutic potential and level of acceptability. However, a number... Read More about Discovery of Natural Products With Antifungal Potential Through Combinatorial Synergy.

Application of microfluidic systems in modelling impacts of environmental structure on stress-sensing by individual microbial cells (2021)
Journal Article
Harvey, H. J., Chubynsky, M. V., Sprittles, J. E., Shor, L. M., Mooney, S. J., Wildman, R. D., & Avery, S. V. (2022). Application of microfluidic systems in modelling impacts of environmental structure on stress-sensing by individual microbial cells. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, 20, 128-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2021.11.039

Environmental structure describes physical structure that can determine heterogenous spatial distribution of biotic and abiotic (nutrients, stressors etc.) components of a microorganism's microenvironment. This study investigated the impact of microm... Read More about Application of microfluidic systems in modelling impacts of environmental structure on stress-sensing by individual microbial cells.

Microbial Metal Resistance within Structured Environments Is Inversely Related to Environmental Pore Size (2021)
Journal Article
Harvey, H. J., Mitzakoff, A. M., Wildman, R. D., Mooney, S. J., & Avery, S. V. (2021). Microbial Metal Resistance within Structured Environments Is Inversely Related to Environmental Pore Size. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 87(20), Article e01005-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01005-21

The physical environments in which microorganisms naturally reside rarely have homogeneous structure, and changes in their porous architecture may have effects on microbial activities that are not typically captured in conventional laboratory studies... Read More about Microbial Metal Resistance within Structured Environments Is Inversely Related to Environmental Pore Size.

Inkjet 3D Printing of Polymers Resistant to Fungal Attachment (2021)
Journal Article
He, Y., Vallières, C., Alexander, M. R., Wildman, R. D., & Avery, S. V. (2021). Inkjet 3D Printing of Polymers Resistant to Fungal Attachment. Bio-protocol, 11(9), Article e4016. https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.4016

Inkjet 3D printing is an additive manufacturing method that allows the user to produce a small batch of customized devices for comparative study versus commercial products. Here, we describe the use of a commercial 2D ink development system (Dimatix... Read More about Inkjet 3D Printing of Polymers Resistant to Fungal Attachment.

Potentiated inhibition of Trichoderma virens and other environmental fungi by new biocide combinations (2021)
Journal Article
Vallières, C., Alexander, C., & Avery, S. V. (2021). Potentiated inhibition of Trichoderma virens and other environmental fungi by new biocide combinations. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 105, 2867-2875. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11211-3

Fungi cause diverse, serious socio-economic problems, including biodeterioration of valuable products and materials that spawns a biocides industry worth ~$11 billion globally. To help combat environmental fungi that commonly colonise material produc... Read More about Potentiated inhibition of Trichoderma virens and other environmental fungi by new biocide combinations.

Influence of environmental and genetic factors on food protein quality: current knowledge and future directions (2021)
Journal Article
Szepe, K. J., Dyer, P. S., Johnson, R. I., Salter, A. M., & Avery, S. V. (2021). Influence of environmental and genetic factors on food protein quality: current knowledge and future directions. Current Opinion in Food Science, 40, 94-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2021.02.005

© 2021 Elsevier Ltd Dietary protein quality is commonly defined by the bioavailability of essential amino acids, a function of amino acid composition and protein digestibility. This review assesses the potential for manipulation of amino acid composi... Read More about Influence of environmental and genetic factors on food protein quality: current knowledge and future directions.

Evolving challenges and strategies for fungal control in the food supply chain (2021)
Journal Article
Davies, C. R., Wohlgemuth, F., Young, T., Violet, J., Dickinson, M., Sanders, J., …Avery, S. V. (2021). Evolving challenges and strategies for fungal control in the food supply chain. Fungal Biology Reviews, 36, 15-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbr.2021.01.003

Fungi that spoil foods or infect crops can have major socioeconomic impacts, posing threats to food security. The strategies needed to manage these fungi are evolving, given the growing incidence of fungicide resistance, tightening regulations of che... Read More about Evolving challenges and strategies for fungal control in the food supply chain.

Repurposing Nonantifungal Approved Drugs for Synergistic Targeting of Fungal Pathogens (2020)
Journal Article
Vallières, C., Singh, N., Alexander, C., & Avery, S. V. (2020). Repurposing Nonantifungal Approved Drugs for Synergistic Targeting of Fungal Pathogens. ACS Infectious Diseases, 6(11), 2950-2958. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00405

With the spread of drug resistance, new antimicrobials are urgently needed. Here, we set out to tackle this problem by high-throughput exploration for novel antifungal synergies among combinations of approved, nonantifungal drugs; a novel strategy ex... Read More about Repurposing Nonantifungal Approved Drugs for Synergistic Targeting of Fungal Pathogens.

Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments (2020)
Journal Article
Harvey, H. J., Wildman, R. D., Mooney, S. J., & Avery, S. V. (2020). Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, 18, 2860-2866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2020.09.030

© 2020 The Author(s) Spatial structure over scales ranging from nanometres to centimetres (and beyond) varies markedly in diverse habitats and the industry-relevant settings that support microbial activity. Developing an understanding of the interpla... Read More about Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments.

Top-Down Characterization of an Antimicrobial Sanitizer, Leading From Quenchers of Efficacy to Mode of Action (2020)
Journal Article
Wohlgemuth, F., Gomes, R. L., Singleton, I., Rawson, F. J., & Avery, S. V. (2020). Top-Down Characterization of an Antimicrobial Sanitizer, Leading From Quenchers of Efficacy to Mode of Action. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, Article 575157. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.575157

© Copyright © 2020 Wohlgemuth, Gomes, Singleton, Rawson and Avery. We developed a top-down strategy to characterize an antimicrobial, oxidizing sanitizer, which has diverse proposed applications including surface-sanitization of fresh foods, and with... Read More about Top-Down Characterization of an Antimicrobial Sanitizer, Leading From Quenchers of Efficacy to Mode of Action.

Soil aggregates by design: Manufactured aggregates with defined microbial composition for interrogating microbial activities in soil microhabitats (2020)
Journal Article
Harvey, H. J., Wildman, R. D., Mooney, S. J., & Avery, S. V. (2020). Soil aggregates by design: Manufactured aggregates with defined microbial composition for interrogating microbial activities in soil microhabitats. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 148, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107870

Differences in the structure of microbial communities are reported to exist between the inside and outside of soil aggregates, but the impacts of soil aggregation on microbial activity in soils, essential for soil health, have proven difficult to stu... Read More about Soil aggregates by design: Manufactured aggregates with defined microbial composition for interrogating microbial activities in soil microhabitats.

Discovery of (meth)acrylate polymers that resist colonization by fungi associated with pathogenesis and biodeterioration (2020)
Journal Article
Vallieres, C., Hook, A. L., He, Y., Crucitti, V. C., Figueredo, G., Davies, C. R., …Avery, S. V. (2020). Discovery of (meth)acrylate polymers that resist colonization by fungi associated with pathogenesis and biodeterioration. Science Advances, 6(23), Article eaba6574. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba6574

© 2020 The Authors. Fungi have major, negative socioeconomic impacts, but control with bioactive agents is increasingly restricted, while resistance is growing. Here, we describe an alternative fungal control strategy via materials operating passivel... Read More about Discovery of (meth)acrylate polymers that resist colonization by fungi associated with pathogenesis and biodeterioration.

The Preservative Sorbic Acid Targets Respiration, Explaining the Resistance of Fermentative Spoilage Yeast Species (2020)
Journal Article
Stratford, M., Vallières, C., Geoghegan, I. A., Archer, D. B., & Avery, S. V. (2020). The Preservative Sorbic Acid Targets Respiration, Explaining the Resistance of Fermentative Spoilage Yeast Species. mSphere, 5(3), https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00273-20

Copyright © 2020 Stratford et al. A small number (10 to 20) of yeast species cause major spoilage in foods. Spoilage yeasts of soft drinks are resistant to preservatives like sorbic acid, and they are highly fermentative, generating large amounts of... Read More about The Preservative Sorbic Acid Targets Respiration, Explaining the Resistance of Fermentative Spoilage Yeast Species.

Weak Acid Resistance A (WarA), a Novel Transcription Factor Required for Regulation of Weak-Acid Resistance and Spore-Spore Heterogeneity in Aspergillus niger (2020)
Journal Article
Geoghegan, I. A., Stratford, M., Bromley, M., Archer, D. B., & Avery, S. V. (2020). Weak Acid Resistance A (WarA), a Novel Transcription Factor Required for Regulation of Weak-Acid Resistance and Spore-Spore Heterogeneity in Aspergillus niger. mSphere, 5(1), https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.00685-19

Copyright © 2020 Geoghegan et al. Propionic, sorbic, and benzoic acids are organic weak acids that are widely used as food preservatives, where they play a critical role in preventing microbial growth. In this study, we uncovered new mechanisms of we... Read More about Weak Acid Resistance A (WarA), a Novel Transcription Factor Required for Regulation of Weak-Acid Resistance and Spore-Spore Heterogeneity in Aspergillus niger.

Method for RNA extraction and transcriptomic analysis of single fungal spores (2019)
Journal Article
Geoghegan, I. A., Emes, R. D., Archer, D. B., & Avery, S. V. (2020). Method for RNA extraction and transcriptomic analysis of single fungal spores. MethodsX, 7, 50-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2019.12.002

Transcriptomic analysis of single cells has been increasingly in demand in recent years, thanks to technological and methodological advances as well as growing recognition of the importance of individuals in biological systems. However, the majority... Read More about Method for RNA extraction and transcriptomic analysis of single fungal spores.

Epoxy–amine oligomers from terpenes with applications in synergistic antifungal treatments (2019)
Journal Article
O’Brien, D. M., Vallieres, C., Alexander, C., Howdle, S. M., Stockman, R. A., & Avery, S. V. (2019). Epoxy–amine oligomers from terpenes with applications in synergistic antifungal treatments. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 7(34), 5222-5229. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9tb00878k

A bis-epoxide monomer was synthesised in two steps from (R)-carvone, a terpenoid renewable feedstock derived from spearmint oil, and used to prepare ?-aminoalcohol oligomers in polyaddition reactions with bis-amines without requiring solvent or catal... Read More about Epoxy–amine oligomers from terpenes with applications in synergistic antifungal treatments.

Extreme osmotolerance and halotolerance in food-relevant yeasts and the role of glycerol-dependent cell individuality (2019)
Journal Article
Stratford, M., Steels, H., Novodvorska, M., Archer, D. B., & Avery, S. V. (2019). Extreme osmotolerance and halotolerance in food-relevant yeasts and the role of glycerol-dependent cell individuality. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.03238

Osmotolerance and halotolerance are used to describe resistance to sugars and salt, respectively. Here, a comprehensive screen of more than 600 different yeast isolates revealed that osmosensitive species were equally affected by NaCl and glucose. Ho... Read More about Extreme osmotolerance and halotolerance in food-relevant yeasts and the role of glycerol-dependent cell individuality.

Novel combinations of agents targeting translation that synergistically inhibit fungal pathogens (2018)
Journal Article
Vallières, C., Raulo, R., Dickinson, M., & Avery, S. V. (2018). Novel combinations of agents targeting translation that synergistically inhibit fungal pathogens. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9, Article 2355. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02355

A range of fungicides or antifungals are currently deployed to control fungi in agriculture or medicine, but resistance to current agents is growing so new approaches and molecular targets are urgently needed. Recently, different aminoglycoside antib... Read More about Novel combinations of agents targeting translation that synergistically inhibit fungal pathogens.

Heterologous expression of a novel drug transporter from the malaria parasite alters resistance to quinoline antimalarials (2018)
Journal Article
Tindall, S. M., Vallières, C., Lakhani, D. H., Islahudin, F., Ting, K., & Avery, S. V. (in press). Heterologous expression of a novel drug transporter from the malaria parasite alters resistance to quinoline antimalarials. Scientific Reports, 8(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20816-0

Antimalarial drug resistance hampers effective malaria treatment. Critical SNPs in a particular, putative amino acid transporter were recently linked to chloroquine (CQ) resistance in malaria parasites. Here, we show that this conserved protein (PF3D... Read More about Heterologous expression of a novel drug transporter from the malaria parasite alters resistance to quinoline antimalarials.

Mitochondrial Ferredoxin Determines Vulnerability of Cells to Copper Excess (2017)
Journal Article
Vallières, C., Holland, S. L., & Avery, S. V. (2017). Mitochondrial Ferredoxin Determines Vulnerability of Cells to Copper Excess. Cell Chemical Biology, 24(10), 1228-1237.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2017.08.005

The essential micronutrient copper is tightly regulated in organisms, as environmental exposure or homeostasis defects can cause toxicity and neurodegenerative disease. The principal target(s) of copper toxicity have not been pinpointed, but one key... Read More about Mitochondrial Ferredoxin Determines Vulnerability of Cells to Copper Excess.

The candidate antimalarial drug MMV665909 causes oxygen-dependent mRNA mistranslation and synergises with quinoline-derived antimalarials (2017)
Journal Article
Vallieres, C., & Avery, S. V. (2017). The candidate antimalarial drug MMV665909 causes oxygen-dependent mRNA mistranslation and synergises with quinoline-derived antimalarials. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 61(9), Article e00459-17. https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.00459-17

To cope with growing resistance to current antimalarials, new drugs with novel modes of action are urgently needed. Molecules targeting protein synthesis appear to be promising candidates. We identified a compound (MMV665909) from the MMV Malaria Box... Read More about The candidate antimalarial drug MMV665909 causes oxygen-dependent mRNA mistranslation and synergises with quinoline-derived antimalarials.

The next generation fungal diversity researcher (2017)
Journal Article
Grube, M., Gaya, E., Kauserud, H., Smith, A. M., Avery, S. V., Fernstad, S. J., …Bendiksby, M. (2017). The next generation fungal diversity researcher. Fungal Biology Reviews, 31(3), 124-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbr.2017.02.001

Fungi are more important to our lives than is assumed by the general public. They can comprise both devastating pathogens and plant-associated mutualists in nature, and several species have also become important workhorses of biotechnology. Fungal di... Read More about The next generation fungal diversity researcher.

Metal-based combinations that target protein synthesis by fungi (2017)
Journal Article
Vallières, C., & Avery, S. V. (2017). Metal-based combinations that target protein synthesis by fungi. Advances in Microbial Physiology, 70, 105-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.ampbs.2017.01.001

A wide range of fungicides (or antifungals) are used in agriculture and medicine, with activities against a spectrum of fungal pathogens. Unfortunately, the evolution of fungicide resistance has become a major issue. Therefore, there is an urgent nee... Read More about Metal-based combinations that target protein synthesis by fungi.

Phenotypic heterogeneity in fungi: Importance and methodology (2016)
Journal Article
Hewitt, S. K., Foster, D. S., Dyer, P. S., & Avery, S. V. (2016). Phenotypic heterogeneity in fungi: Importance and methodology. Fungal Biology Reviews, 30(4), 176-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbr.2016.09.002

Phenotypic heterogeneity describes the variation that exists between individual cells, spores or other biological entities within genetically-uniform populations of fungi or other organisms. Studies over the last 10–-15 years have successfully used l... Read More about Phenotypic heterogeneity in fungi: Importance and methodology.

Open Source Drug Discovery with the Malaria Box Compound Collection for Neglected Diseases and Beyond (2016)
Journal Article
Phillips, M. A., Van Voorhis, W. C., Adams, J. H., Adelfio, R., Ahyong, V., Akabas, M. H., …Willis, P. A. (2016). Open Source Drug Discovery with the Malaria Box Compound Collection for Neglected Diseases and Beyond. PLoS Pathogens, 12(7), Article e1005763. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005763

A major cause of the paucity of new starting points for drug discovery is the lack of interaction between academia and industry. Much of the global resource in biology is present in universities, whereas the focus of medicinal chemistry is still larg... Read More about Open Source Drug Discovery with the Malaria Box Compound Collection for Neglected Diseases and Beyond.

The antimalarial drug primaquine targets Fe–S cluster proteins and yeast respiratory growth (2015)
Journal Article
Lalève, A., Vallieres, C., Golinelli-Cohen, M., Bouton, C., Song, Z., Pawlik, G., …Meunier, B. (2016). The antimalarial drug primaquine targets Fe–S cluster proteins and yeast respiratory growth. Redox Biology, 7, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2015.10.008

Malaria is a major health burden in tropical and subtropical countries. The antimalarial drug primaquine is extremely useful for killing the transmissible gametocyte forms of Plasmodium falciparum and the hepatic quiescent forms of P. vivax. Yet its... Read More about The antimalarial drug primaquine targets Fe–S cluster proteins and yeast respiratory growth.

Novel, synergistic antifungal combinations that target translation fidelity (2015)
Journal Article
Moreno-Martinez, E., Vallieres, C., Holland, S. L., & Avery, S. V. (in press). Novel, synergistic antifungal combinations that target translation fidelity. Scientific Reports, 5(16700), https://doi.org/10.1038/srep16700

There is an unmet need for new antifungal or fungicide treatments, as resistance to existing treatments grows. Combination treatments help to combat resistance. Here we develop a novel, effective target for combination antifungal therapy. Different a... Read More about Novel, synergistic antifungal combinations that target translation fidelity.

Erratum: Genes involved in the induction of liver growth by peroxisome proliferators (Toxicol. Res. (2014) DOI: 10.1039/c3tx50110h) (2014)
Journal Article
Amer, A. H., Wall, R. J., Malla, S., Aboobaker, A., Sang, F., Avery, S. V., …Bell, D. R. (2014). Erratum: Genes involved in the induction of liver growth by peroxisome proliferators (Toxicol. Res. (2014) DOI: 10.1039/c3tx50110h). Toxicology Research, 3(5), 401. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TX90012J

The authors would like to add an additional acknowledgement as follows: We wish to acknowledge Fikry Abushofa for technical assistance.

Genes involved in the induction of liver growth by peroxisome proliferators (2014)
Journal Article
Amer, A. H., Wall, R. J., Malla, S., Sang, F., Aboobaker, A., Avery, S. V., …Bell, D. R. (2014). Genes involved in the induction of liver growth by peroxisome proliferators. Toxicology Research, 3(5), 315-323. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3tx50110h

The mechanisms regulating the induction of hepatic DNA synthesis by PPARα agonists are currently incompletely understood, and we set out to determine whether there are different mechanisms of induction for PPARα agonists and other hepatic growth agen... Read More about Genes involved in the induction of liver growth by peroxisome proliferators.

Population heterogeneity and dynamics in starter culture and lag phase adaptation of the spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii to weak acid preservatives (2014)
Journal Article
Stratford, M., Steels, H., Nebe-von-Caron, G., Avery, S., Novodvorska, M., & Archer, D. (2014). Population heterogeneity and dynamics in starter culture and lag phase adaptation of the spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii to weak acid preservatives. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 181, 40-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.04.017

The food spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii shows great resistance to weak-acid preservatives, including sorbic acid (2, 4-hexadienoic acid). That extreme resistance was shown to be due to population heterogeneity, with a small sub-population of... Read More about Population heterogeneity and dynamics in starter culture and lag phase adaptation of the spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii to weak acid preservatives.

The antimalarial drug quinine interferes with serotonin biosynthesis and action (2014)
Journal Article
Islahudin, F., Tindall, S. M., Mellor, I. R., Swift, K., Christensen, H. E., Fone, K. C., …Avery, S. V. (2014). The antimalarial drug quinine interferes with serotonin biosynthesis and action. Scientific Reports, 4(3618), https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03618

The major antimalarial drug quinine perturbs uptake of the essential amino acid tryptophan, and patients with low plasma tryptophan are predisposed to adverse quinine reactions; symptoms of which are similar to indications of tryptophan depletion. As... Read More about The antimalarial drug quinine interferes with serotonin biosynthesis and action.

Phenotypic heterogeneity is a selected trait in natural yeast populations subject to environmental stress (2013)
Journal Article
Holland, S. L., Reader, T., Dyer, P. S., & Avery, S. V. (2014). Phenotypic heterogeneity is a selected trait in natural yeast populations subject to environmental stress. Environmental Microbiology, 16(6), 1729-1740. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12243

Populations of genetically uniform microorganisms exhibit phenotypic heterogeneity, where individual cells have varying phenotypes. Such phenotypes include fitness-determining traits. Phenotypic heterogeneity has been linked to increased population-l... Read More about Phenotypic heterogeneity is a selected trait in natural yeast populations subject to environmental stress.

Cell wall perturbation sensitizes fungi to the antimalarial drug chloroquine (2013)
Journal Article
Islahudin, F., Khozoie, C., Bates, S., Ting, K., Pleass, R. J., & Avery, S. V. (2013). Cell wall perturbation sensitizes fungi to the antimalarial drug chloroquine. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 57(8), https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.00478-13

Chloroquine (CQ) has been a mainstay of antimalarial drug treatment for several decades. Additional therapeutic actions of CQ have been described, including some reports of fungal inhibition. Here we investigated the action of CQ in fungi, including... Read More about Cell wall perturbation sensitizes fungi to the antimalarial drug chloroquine.

The essential iron-sulfur protein Rli1 is an important target accounting for inhibition of cell growth by reactive oxygen species (2012)
Journal Article
Alhebshi, A., Sideri, T. C., Holland, S. L., & Avery, S. V. (2012). The essential iron-sulfur protein Rli1 is an important target accounting for inhibition of cell growth by reactive oxygen species. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 23(18), https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E12-05-0413

Oxidative stress mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is linked to degenerative conditions in humans and damage to an array of cellular components. However, it is unclear which molecular target(s) may be the primary “Achilles’ heel” of organisms... Read More about The essential iron-sulfur protein Rli1 is an important target accounting for inhibition of cell growth by reactive oxygen species.