Dr Claudia Vickers
Research Fellow
Australian Institute for Bioengineering & Nanotechnology
Building No. 75,
Corner College and Cooper Roads,
The University of Queensland
St Lucia Qld 4072
p: +61 7 334 63158
f : +61 7 334 63973
h: http://www.uq.edu.au/~uqcvicke/
e: c.vickers@uq.edu.au
Research Focus
I am responsible for molecular biology in the CSSB and am also the team leader for the Sucrose-to-Bioproducts and the Industrial Isoprenoid Engineering programs. The Sucrose-to-Bioproducts program is focused developing E. coli strains for sucrose-based industrial bioprocesses. Sucrose (from sugarcane) is preferred over glucose (from starch) as a carbon source: it is cheaper, and has a superior environmental performance. Sucrose is also abundant and is a primary agricultural industry in Australia. However, most industrial E. coli strains cannot efficiently use sucrose. We are investigating sucrose utilization in E. coli with the aim of developing sucrose as a carbon and energy source for petrochemical replacements. We are using production the biopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), as a model compound for engineering high-level sucrose-based productivity in E. coli. (read more)
The Industrial Isoprenoid Engineering project is focused on engineering microbes for bulk-scale production of industrially-relevant isoprenoid compounds. We are using both E. coli and yeast as production organisms; yeast is already an efficient sucrose utiliser, and our sucrose-utilising E. coli strains from the Sucrose-to-Bioproducts program are being used in the isoprenoid engineering program. Our target compounds are isoprene (a chemical feedstock for synthetic rubbers) and higher-order isoprenoids with aviation fuel properties. (read more)
Qualifications
PhD (Molecular Biology), The University of Queensland/CSIRO Plant Industry
Honours I (Molecular Biology), The University of Queensland
BSc, The University of Queensland
Research Experience
Research Fellow, AIBN, The University of Queensland, Australia
Senior Research Officer, University of Essex, England
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, ARC Centre for Integrative Legume Research, The University of Queensland, Australia
Publications
Journal Articles
Jack D. Pettigrew FRS, Karen L. Bell, Adhil Bhagwandin, Eunice Grinan, Ngalla Jillani, Jean Meyer, Emily Wabuyele, Claudia E. Vickers (2012). Morphology, ploidy and molecular phylogenetics reveal a new diploid species from Africa in the baobab genus Adansonia (Malvaceae: Bombacoideae). Taxon 61(6):1241-1250.
Bruschi M, Boyes SJ, Sugiarto H, Nielsen LK, Vickers CE (2012) A transferable sucrose utilization approach for non-sucrose-utilizing Escherichia coli strains. Biotechnology Advances 30: 1001-1010. PMID: 21907272.
Vickers CE,
Klein-Marcuschamer D,
Krömer JO (2011)
Examining the feasibility of bulk commodity
Arafin Y, Sabri S, Sugiarto H, Kromer JO, Vickers CE, Nielsen LK (2011) Deletion of cscR in Escherichia coli W improves growth and poly-3-hydroxyburyrate (PHB) production from sucrose in fed batch culture. J. Biotechnol. Accepted, 6.7.2011. PMID: 21782859.
Wicks JR, Oldridge NB, Nielsen LK, Vickers CE (2011) Heart Rate Index - A Simple Method for Prediction of Oxygen Uptake. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 43: 2005-2012. PMID: 21364476.
Archer CT, Kim JF, Jeong H, Park JH, Vickers CE, Lee SY, Nielsen LK (2011) The genome sequence of E. coli W (ATCC 9637): comparative genome analysis and an improved genome-scale reconstruction of E. coli. BMC Genomics 12:9. PMID: 21208457.
Vickers CE, Blank LM, Kroemer JO (2010) Chassis cells for industrial biochemical production. Nature Chemical Biology 6: 875-877. PMID: 21079595.
Lee JW, Choi S, Park JH, Vickers CE, Nielsen LK, Lee SY (2010) Development of sucrose-utilizing Escherichia coli K-12 strain by cloning β-fructofuranosidases and its application for L-threonine production. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 88: 905-13. PMID: 20711572.
Vickers CE, Possell M, Hewitt CN, Mullineaux P (2010) Genetic structure and regulation of isoprene synthase in Poplar (Populus spp.). Plant Molecular Biology 73: 547-558.
Joachimsthal EL, Reeves RKH, Hung J, Nielsen LK, Ouwerkerk D, Klieve AV, Vickers CE (2010) Production of bacteriocins by Streptococcus bovis strains from Australian ruminants. Journal of Applied Microbiology 108: 428-436. PMID: 19614851.
Vickers CE, Gershenzon J, Lerdau MT, Loreto F (2009) A unified mechanism of action for volatile isoprenoids in plant abiotic stress. Nature Chemical Biology 5:283-291
Possell M, Ryan A, Vickers CE, Mullineaux P, Hewitt CN (2009) Effects of fosmidomycin on plant photosynthesis as measured by gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence. Photosynthesis Research 104 (1): 49 - 59
Vickers CE, Possell M, Cojocariu C, Velikova V, Laothawornkitcul J, Ryan A, Mullineaux PM, Hewitt CN (2009) Isoprene synthesis protects transgenic plants from oxidative stress. Plant, Cell & Environment 32(5):520-531
Laothawornkitkul J, Paul ND, Vickers CE, Possell M, Taylor JE, Mullineaux PM, Hewitt CN. 2008. Isoprene and herbivore choice. Plant Signal Behav 3(12):1141-2.
Laothawornkitkul J, Paul ND, Vickers CE, Possell M, Taylor JE, Mullineaux PM, Hewitt CN. 2008. Isoprene emissions influence herbivore feeding decisions. Plant Cell Environ 31(10):1410-5.
Vickers CE, Schenk PM, Li D, Mullineaux PM, Gresshoff PM. 2007. pGFPGUSPlus, a new binary vector for gene expression studies and optimising transformation systems in plants. Biotechnol Lett 29(11):1793-6.
Vickers CE, Xue G, Gresshoff PM. 2006. A novel cis-acting element, ESP, contributes to high-level endosperm-specific expression in an oat globulin promoter. Plant Mol Biol 62(1-2):195-214.
Wilkinson MJ, Owen SM, Possell M, Hartwell J, Gould P, Hall A, Vickers C, Nicholas Hewitt C. 2006. Circadian control of isoprene emissions from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Plant J 47(6):960-8.
Buzas DM, Lohar D, Sato S, Nakamura Y, Tabata S, Vickers CE, Stiller J, Gresshoff PM. 2005. Promoter trapping in Lotus japonicus reveals novel root and nodule GUS expression domains. Plant Cell Physiol 46(8):1202-12.
Schunmann PH, Richardson AE, Vickers CE, Delhaize E. 2004. Promoter analysis of the barley Pht1;1 phosphate transporter gene identifies regions controlling root expression and responsiveness to phosphate deprivation. Plant Physiol 136(4):4205-14.
Schenk PM, Vickers CE, Manners JM. 2003. Rapid cloning of novel genes and promoters for functional analyses. Transgenics 4:151-156.
Vickers CE, Xue GP, Gresshoff PM. 2003. A synthetic xylanase as a novel reporter in plants. Plant Cell Rep 22(2):135-40.
Xue GP, Patel M, Johnson JS, Smyth DJ, Vickers CE. 2003. Selectable marker-free transgenic barley producing a high level of cellulase (1,4-beta-glucanase) in developing grains. Plant Cell Rep 21(11):1088-94.