Profile

Career

Research

Overview

I have been interested for many years in how plants respond and adapt to environmental stresses, whether abiotic stress, such as physical injury and cold temperatures, or biotic stress, such as pathogen challenge and attack by pests and predators. We have studied a large multigene family of enzymes from Arabidopsis: these glycosyltransferases (GTs) play key roles in stress management and are involved in cellular homeostasis, whether changing the level and activity of hormones, detoxifying xenobiotics such as pesticides and herbicides, or regulating flux through pathways of secondary metabolism. We have also used a platform of 140 recombinant GTs as novel regio- and stereo-selective biocatalysts to change the properties and bioactivities of small molecules for pharmaceutical applications. Many plant natural products have known bio-activities. My group collaborates with Professor Paul Kaye to study the effects of plant natural products on the mammalian immune system.  We are investigating a range of small molecules and chemical scaffolds altered by diverse modifications such as glycosylation.  Artemisinin is also a plant natural product with important properties.  The chemical is produced in glandular trichomes of Artemisia annua and used as a key component of WHO-approved combination therapies to treat malaria. Together with Professor Ian Graham, I am leading a large multidisciplinary research group, the CNAP Artemisia Research Project.  Our work is developing new varieties of A. annua that have higher yields of artemisinin and agronomic features to benefit the many small-scale farmers of the crop in the developing world (www.york.ac.uk/org/cnap/artemisiaproject).  Artemisinin is the key component of anti-malarial drugs which are effective against all species of the malarial parasite including those resistant to therapies previously used.

Discoveries

Discovery that plant natural product scaffolds modulate the human immune response.

Discovery that natural variation of Artemisia annua can lead to the identification of individuals with high yields of artemisinin that can be used as parents for the development of new hybrids.

Awards

• Election to the European Molecular Biology Organisation (2001)
• Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) (2002)
• President of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders' Association (2003)
• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) (2003)
• Award from Yorkshire Forward: personal contribution to bioscience in the region (2004)
• Elected Fellow of the Society of Biology (2010)

Current projects

• A sustainable supply of artemisinin from high-yield Artemisia annua for treatment of malaria (joint with Professor Ian Graham) (Funding body: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
• Regiospecific glycosylation of immune potentiators: a novel platform for modifying adjuvant activity (joint with Professor Paul Kaye and Dr Eng-Kiat (Jack) Lim) (Funding body: Wellcome Trust)

Research group(s)

 The CNAP Artemisia Research Project team

Publications

Selected publications

Graham, I.A., Besser, K., Blumer, S., Branigan, C.A., Czechowski, T., Elias, L., Guterman, I., Harvey, D., Isaac, P.G., Khan, A.M., Larson, T.R., Li, Y., Pawson, T., Penfield, T., Rae, A.M., Rathbone, D.A., Reid, S., Ross, J., Smallwood, M.F., Segura, V., Townsend, T., Vyas, D., Winzer, T., Bowles, D.  (2010)  The genetic map of Artemisia annua L. identifies loci affecting yield of the antimalarial drug artemisinin.  Science 327, 328-331.

Cartwright A, Lim E-K, Kleanthous C and Bowles DJ (2008) A kinetic analysis of regiospecific glucosylation by two glycosyltransferases of Arabidopsis thaliana: domain swapping to introduce new activities Journal of Biological Chemistry 283: 15724-731

External activities

Memberships

Current

• Board Member of the TSB-funded Knowledge Transfer Network, "The Bioscience KTN"
• Chair of the Plant Sector Group of the Bioscience KTN
• Founder, Director and Chair of the Trustees, The Sheep Trust
• Member of Yorkshire Agricultural Society Council
• Founder, Aelred's Grange project

Previously

• Member of the Sainsbury Laboratory Governing Council 2004-2007
• Member of the Royal Society Working Group on Biofuels 2006-2007
• Co-Founder and Director of the National Non-Food Crops Centre 2003-2005
• Member of Government-Industry Forum on Non-Food Crops 2001-2004
• Membership of BBC Rural Affairs Advisory Committee 2002-2004
• Membership of OST GM Science Review Panel 2002-2004
• Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Plant Journal 1991-2002
• Editorial Board, Essays in Biochemistry 1992-2000
• Membership of ODA Scientific Advisory Committee of the Plant Sciences Programme 1993-1995
• Joint Chair, Proposal for Plant Cell Wall Programme (AFRC/SERC/BBSRC) 1993
• Membership of AFRC Institute of Plant Science Research Visiting Group 1993
• Membership of AFRC Plants and Environment Research Grants Board 1993-1994
• Chair, ODA Working Group into Rice Transformation for the UK 1994
• Author, CEST Science Review of Plant Biotechnology 1994
• Membership of BBSRC Molecular Plant Pathology Initiative Steering Group 1994
• Membership of ODA Plant Sciences Programme Second Programme Advisory Committee 1995-1997
• Membership of BBSRC Wealth Creating Products of Plants Initiative Research Grant Assessment Panel 1995-1996
• Membership of BBSRC Training Awards Panel 1995-1997
• External member on MAFF (DEFRA) Central Science Laboratory Ownership Board 1995-2001
• Membership of BBSRC Plant Cell Wall Initiative Steering Group 1996
• Membership of BBSRC Biochemistry and Cell Biology Committee 1996-1997
• Membership of BBSRC Committee on Studentships and Fellowships 1997-2000
• Membership of BBSRC Strategy Board 1997-1998
• Membership of BBSRC Innovation Advisory Panel 1997-1998
• Founder DTI-sponsored Plant Protein Club 1997-2001
• Membership of EU DGXII Directorate, Life Sciences and Technologies External Advisory Group on Cell Factories 1998-2003
• Membership of OST Foresight FCCI Industrial Task Force 1999-2001
• Membership of National Co-ordination Committee on the protection of biodiversity of the UK farm animal genetic resources 2001-2002
• Chair of the Advisory Group to the European Commission FP7 for the Thematic Priority 2 on "Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology" 2006-2008
• Director of the EU Framework 6, SSP project: EPOBIO, "Realising the Economic Potential of Sustainable Resources - bioproducts from non-food crops" 2005-2008
• Chair of the UK DTI-funded Knowledge Transfer Network, Bioscience for Business 2006-2008
• Board Member of the Steering Group of the US-EC Taskforce in Biotechnology Research, Bioproducts from Plants 2004-2008
• Board of Reviewing Editors, Science 2006-2008