Dr. Suhelen Egan
- Position: Lecturer
- Room: 301A, Biological Sciences
- Phone: (+61 2) 9385 8569
- Fax: (+61 2) 9385 1483
- email: s.egan@unsw.edu.au
Research Contribution
Suhelen Egan has made several significant contributions to the fields of marine microbial ecology, molecular microbiology, gene regulation, host interactions and the discovery of natural products from marine microbes.
Her impact on this field is evident from the 239 citations of her work (1996-2006 as measured by the ISI Science Citations index) and a total of $1.9 million in external funding over the last four years. Specifically, Dr. Egan has over ten years research experience in the development and utilisation of bioassays designed to study microbial interactions and identify new bioactive compounds. These studies have led to the identification of several new bioactive metabolites from marine bacteria, in particular from the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata. Dr.. Egan is experienced in molecular biology techniques as they apply to environmental isolates and has been instrumental in the development of these tools for marine microorganisms. She has successfully developed systems for the generation, characterisation and analysis of transposon and site-specific mutants in P. tunicata.
The ability to produce and analyse mutants in P. tunicata has proven invaluable for the study of the synthesis and regulation of expression of bioactive compounds in this organism. Specifically, through the identification and characterisation of the transcriptional regulator WmpR- a homolog of the Vibrio cholerae ToxR master regulator, S. Egan has pioneered studies on the coordinate regulation of secondary metabolites in P. tunicata. These studies have led to the development of proteomic tools for analysis of protein expression and protein purification in marine microbes. In addition to her extensive experience in the fields of molecular microbiology and microbial physiology, she has contributed significantly to the understanding of host-microbe interactions in the marine environment and the mechanisms by which these interactions are mediated.
Specifically, S. Egan has demonstrated that Pseudoalteromonas spp. live in association with higher organisms and can be found in different geographical waters leading to the discovery of new species within this genus. S. Egan was instrumental for the successful application to the Moore foundation for the sequencing of the P. tunicata genome, and she is currently heading the analysis on this and other marine microbial genomes and metagenomes.
The combination of high resolution bioassays, an understanding of ecosystem ecology and molecular tools is what makes Egan's research contribution unique and has enabled P. tunicata to become a model organism in the field of marine microbiology.
Active Research Projects
- Bioactive Natural Products from Marine Surface-Associated Bacteria
- Copiotrophy vs. Oligotrophy in the Marine Environment
- Host Interaction and Virulence in Marine Bacteria
Publications
- Lauro, F.M., McDougald, D., Thomas, T., Williams, T.J., Egan, S., Rice, S., DeMaere, M.Z., Ting, L., Ertan, H., Johnson, J., Ferriera, S., Lapidus, A., Anderson, I., Kyrpides, N., Munk, A.C., Detter, C., Brown, M.V., Robb, F.T., Kjelleberg, S. and Cavicchioli, R. (2009)
- The genomic basis of trophic strategy in marine bacteria.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106: 15527–15533. (Cover story and Commentary: Church, M.J. The trophic tapestry of the sea. 15519-15520.)
- Evans, F.F., Egan, S. and Kjelleberg, S. (2008)
- Ecology and Gene composition of Type II secretion in marine gamma proteobacteria
- Environmental Microbiology 10:1101-1107
- Hoke, D., Egan, S., Cullen, P.A. and Adler, B. (2008)
- LipL32 is an Extracellular Matrix-Interacting Protein of Leptospira and Pseudoalteromonas tunicata.
- Infection and Immunity 76:12063-2069
- Egan, S., Thomas, T. and Kjelleberg, S. (2008)
- Unlocking the diversity and biotechnological potential of marine surface associated microbial communities.
- Current Opinion in Microbiology, (in press May 2008)
- Mai-Prochnow A, Lucas-Elio P, Egan S, Thomas T, Webb JS, Sanchez-Amat A, Kjelleberg S (2008)
- Hydrogen peroxide linked to lysine oxidase activity facilitates biofilm differentiation and dispersal in several Gram negative bacteria
- Journal of Bacteriology. 2008 May 23.
- Matz, C., Webb, J.S., Schupp, P.J., Phang, S.Y., Penesyan, A., Egan, S., Steinberg, P. and Kjelleberg, S. (2008)
- Marine biofilm bacteria evade eukaryotic predation by targeted chemical defense.
- PLoS One. 3: e2744
- Thomas, T., Evans, F.F., Schleheck, D., Mai-Prochnow, A., Burke, C., Penesyan, A., Dalisay, D.S., Stelzer-Braid, S., Saunders, N., Johnson, J., Ferriera, S., Kjelleberg, S. and Egan, S. (2008)
- Analysis of the Pseudoalteromonas tunicata genome reveals properties of a surface-associated life style in the marine environment.
- PLoS One. 3: e3252.
- Burke, C., Thomas, T., Egan, S. and Kjelleberg, S (2007)
- The use of functional genomics for the identification of an antifungal gene cluster in the epiphytic marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata
- Environmental Microbiology, 9:814-818
- Evans, F.F., Raftery, M.J., Egan, S. and Kjelleberg, S. (2007)
- Profiling the secretome of the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata using amine-specific isobaric tagging (iTRAQ)
- Journal of Proteome Research, 6:967-75.
- Thomas, T., Egan, S., Burg, D., Ng, C., Ting, L. and Cavicchioli, R (2007)
- Integration of genomic and proteomics into microbial ecology
- Marine Ecology Progress Series, 332:291-299
- Stelzer, S., Egan, S., Larsen, M.R., Bartlett, D.H. and Kjelleberg, S. (2006)
- Unravelling the role of the ToxR-like Transcriptional regulator WmpR in the marine antifouling bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata
- Microbiology, 152: 1385-1394
- Franks, A., Egan, S., Holmström, C., James, S., Lappin-Scott, H. and Kjelleberg, S. (2006)
- Inhibition of Fungal Colonization by Pseudoalteromonas tunicata provides a competitive advantage during surface colonization
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 72:6079-6087
- Dalisay, D.S., Webb, J.S., Scheffel, A., Svenson, C., James, S., Holmström, C., Egan, S. and Kjelleberg, S. (2006)
- A Mannose-Sensitive Hemagglutinin (MSHA)- like pilus promotes attachment of Pseudoalteromonas tunicata to the surface of the green alga Ulva australis
- Microbiology, 152:2875-2883
- Mai-Prochnow, A., Evans, F., Dalisay-Saludes, D., Stelzer, S., Egan, S., James, S., Webb. J., and Kjelleberg, S. (2004)
- Biofilm development and cell death in the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 70: 3232-3238.
- Mai-Prochnow, A., Evans, F., Dalisay-Saludes, D., Stelzer, S., Egan, S., James, S., Webb. J., and Kjelleberg, S. (2004)
- Biofilm development and cell death in the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 70: 3232-3238.