Professor Brett Neilan
- Position: Professor
- Room: 344, Biological Sciences
- Phone: (+61 2) 9385 3235
- Fax: (+61 2) 9385 1483
- email: b.neilan@unsw.edu.au
ARC Federation Fellow 2008 - 2012
Professional Experience
- NASA Planetary Biology Fellowship (Stanford University, 1995).
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellowship (Humboldt University of Berlin, 1996).
- Australian Research Council Postdoctoral (1997-9), Research (2000-4),Professorial (2005-7), and Federation (2008-) Fellowships (University of New South Wales).
Research Contribution
The Neilan research group at UNSW is considered to be one of the world's leaders in the genetics of toxic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). As its founding member, Professor Neilan has undertaken the research that has led to the discovery of all four biochemical pathways responsible for the production of potent bacterial and algal toxins that contaminate our water supplies and accumulate in seafood.
The results of this basic research and other studies of the evolution of cyanobacteria have revolutionised an entire field of environmental biology.
Brett's current research encompasses two main areas; 1) The origins, evolution, diversity and unique physiologies of microbial life on Earth, especially in extreme ecosystems such as stromatolites, volcanoes, Antarctica, as well as in symbioses, and 2) Non-ribosomal peptide, polyketide, and alkaloid biosynthesis in aquatic bacteria and algae as the basis for the production of toxins, traditional medicines and potential pharmaceuticals.
Work on these projects involves the disciplines of microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry. Brett has been recognised as an international expert and one of the top molecular biologists in the field. Achievement has been measured by numerous invited reviews, seminars and visiting appointments, including an adjunct professorship at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Nationally, the research has been awarded Australian Museum Eureka Prizes (2001, 2005, 2009), the Australian Academy of Science Fenner Medal in Biological Research (2004), the Walter Burfitt Prize (Royal Society of NSW, 2006), and a Federation Fellowship (Australian Research Council, 2008). Research has been continually funded by the ARC for the last 15 years and has involved the research training of 30 PhD students, and in collaboration with colleagues in Germany, USA, Italy, Japan and Norway.
More than one hundred and sixty peer-reviewed publications have arisen from this research.
Honours & Awards
- NSW Scientist of the Year for Environment, Water and Climate Change Sciences, 2009
- Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation, Australian Museum, 2009
- Fenner Award for Research, Australian Society for Microbiology, 2008
- Australian Academy of Science Korean Fellowship, 2006
- Walter Burfitt Prize, NSW Royal Society, 2005
- Eureka Prize for Interdisciplinary Science, Australian Museum, 2005
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellows, Berlin, 2004
- Tall Poppy Science Award, Australian Institute for Political Science, 2004
- Fenner Medal in Biology, Australian Academy of Science, 2004
- Adjunct Professor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hydrobiology, 2002
- Eureka Prize for Scientific Research, Australian Museum, 2001
- Australian Society for Microbiology Research Trust Award, 1998
- Kanagawa Museum of Natural History Award (Australian Academy of Sciences, 1998
Active Research Projects
- Characteristics of Restriction Modification Enzyme Present in Zymomonas Mobilis
- Discovery and Molecular Engineering of Novel Antibiotics
- Genetics of Marine Toxin Biosynthesis
- Metabolic Engineering of Zymomonas mobilis for Value-adding Commodities
- Prokaryote-Eukaryote Symbiosis
- Stromatolites and the Origins of Life
Publications
- Jungblut ADJ, Allen, MA, Burns BP, Neilan BA. (2009)
- Lipid biomarker analysis of cyanobacterial dominated microbial mats in meltwater ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica
- Organic Geochem 40, 258-269
- Allen, M.A., Goh, F., Burns, B.P. & Neilan, B.A. (2009)
- Bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic diversity of microbial mat communities in the hypersaline lagoon of Shark Bay.
- Geobiology 7, 82-96.
- Goh, F., Allen, M.A., Kawaguchi, T., Decho, A.W., Neilan, B.A. and Burns, B.P. (2009)
- Determining the specific microbial populations and their spatial distribution within the stromatolite ecosystem of Shark Bay.
- ISME J. 3: 383-96.
- Leuko, S., Raftery, M., Burns, B.P., Walter, M.R., and Neilan, B.A. (2009)
- Global protein-level responses of Halobacterium salinarum NRC-1 to prolonged changes in external sodium chloride concentrations.
- J Proteome Res. 8, 2218-25.
- Burns, B.P., Anitori, R., Butterworth, P., Henneberger, R., Goh, F., Allen, M.A., Ibanez-Peral, R., Bergquist, P.L., Walter, M.R., Neilan, B.A. (2009)
- Modern analogues and the early history of microbial life.
- Precambrian Res (in press)
- Mihali TK, Kellmann R, Muenchoff J, Barrow KD, Neilan BA (2008)
- Characterization of the gene cluster responsible for cylindrospermopsin biosynthesis.
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology 74:716-722.
- Kellmann R, TK Mihali, YJ Jeon, R Pickford, F Pomati, Neilan BA (2008)
- Biosynthetic Intermediate analysis and functional homology reveal a saxitoxin gene cluster in cyanobacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2008, p. 4044-4053, Vol. 74, No. 13
- Burns, B.P., Walter, M.R. and Neilan, B.A. (2008)
- Stromatolites.
- In: From Fossils to Astrobiology. Seckbach J and Walsh M (Eds). Springer, New York, pp 143-158.
- Allen, M.A., Goh, F., Leuko, S., Igo, A.E., Mizuki, T., Usami, R., Karnekura, M., Neilan, B.A. & Burns B.P. (2008)
- Haloferax elongans sp nov and Haloterax mucosum sp nov., isolated from microbial mats from Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, Australia
- International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 58: 798-802.
- Castiglioni, S., Pomati, F., Miller, K., Burns, B.P., Zuccato, E., Calamari, D. and Neilan, B.A. (2008)
- Novel homologs of the multiple resistance regulator marA in antibiotic-contaminated environments.
- Water Research. 42: 4271-4280
- Jeon, Y.J., Fong, J.C.N., Riyanti, E.I., Neilan, B.A., Rogers, P.L. and Svenson, C.J. (2008)
- Heterologous expression of the alcohol dehydrogenase (adhI) gene from Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius strain M10EXG.
- Journal of Biotechnology. 135: 127-133
- Kellmann, R., Michali, T.K. and Neilan, B.A. (2008)
- Identification of a saxitoxin biosynthesis gene with a history of frequent horizontal gene transfers.
- Journal of Molecular Evolution. 67: 526-538.
- Leuko, S., Goh, F., Ibanezz-Peral, R., Burns, B.P., Walter, M.R. and Neilan, B.A. (2008)
- I Lysis efficiency of standard DNA extraction methods for Halococcus spp. in an organic rich environment.
- Extremophiles. 12: 301-308.
- Miller, K., Neilan, B. and Sze, D.M.Y. (2008)
- Development of taxol and other endophyte produced anti-cancer agents.
- Recent Patents on Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery. 3: 14-19.
- Neilan, B.A., Pearson, L.A., Moffitt, M.C., Mihali, K.T., Kaebernick, M., Kellmann, R. and Pomati, F. (2008)
- The genetics and genomics of cyanobacterial toxicity.
- Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. 619: 417-452.
- Pearson, L.A., Hisbergues, M., Borner, T., Dittmann, E. and Neilan, B.A. (2008)
- Inactivation of an ABC transporter, mcyH, results in loss of microcystin production in the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa PCC 7806.
- Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. 619: 467-468.
- Pearson, L.A., Moffitt, M.C., Ginn, H.P. and Neilan, B.A. (2008)
- The molecular genetics and regulation of cyanobacterial peptide hepatotoxin biosynthesis.
- Critical Reviews in Toxicology. 38: 847-856
- Pearson, L.A. and Neilan, B.A. (2008)
- The molecular genetics of cyanobacterial toxicity as a basis for monitoring water quality and public health risk.
- Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 19: 281-288
- Pegram, R.A., Nichols, T., Etheridge, S., Humpage, A., LeBlanc, S., Love, A., Neilan, B.A., Pflugmacher, S., Runnegar, M. and Thacker, R. (2008)
- Cyanotoxins Workgroup Report
- Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. 619: 317-381
- Pearson LA, KD Barrow and BA Neilan (2007)
- Characterization of the 2-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase, McyI, encoded within the microcystin biosynthesis gene cluster of Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806.
- J. Biol. Chem. 282(7):4681-92.
- Nakasugi K, Alexova R, Svenson CJ, Neilan BA. (2007)
- Functional analysis of PilT from the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosaPCC 7806
- J Bacteriol. 2007 Mar;189(5):1689-97.
- Muenchhoff J, Hirose E, Maruyama T, Sunairi M, Burns BP, Neilan BA (2007)
- Host specificity and phylogeography of the prochlorophyte Prochloron sp., an obligate symbiont in didemnid ascidians.
- Environ Microbiol. 2007 Apr;9(4):890-9.
- Marshall CP, S Leuko, CM Coyle, MR Walter, BP Burns, BA Neilan (2007)
- Carotenoid analysis of halophilic Archaea by resonance Raman Spectroscopy.
- Astrobiology 7 (4),631-643.
- Leuko S, F Goh, MA Allen, BP Burns, MR Walter, BA Neilan (2007)
- Analysis of intergenic spacer region length polymorphisms to investigate the halophilic archaeal diversity of stromatolites and microbial mats
- Extremophiles 11, 203-210.
- Copp JN, AA Roberts, MA Marahiel, BA Neilan (2007)
- Characterisation of NsPPT, a cyanobacterial phosphopantetheinyl transferase from Nodularia spumigena NSOR10.
- Journal of Bacteriology 189(8):3133-3139
- Moffitt MC, Neilan BA (2007)
- Characterization of the nodularin synthetase gene cluster and the evolution of cyanobacterial hepatotoxins,
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70(11)
- Pearson LA, Barrow KD, Neilan BA (2007)
- Functional analysis of PilT from the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa PCC 7806.
- Journal of Bacteriology 189(5), 1689-97.
- Burns BP, F Pomati, F Goh, SA Yasar, BA Neilan (2006)
- Stromatolites as a resource for novel natural products
- Orig Life Evol Biosph. 36(5-6), 623-624
- Gehringer MM, Shephard EG, Downing TG, Wiegand C, Neilan BA (2004)
- An investigation into the detoxification of microcystin-LR by the glutathione pathway in Balb/c mice.
- International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology 36(5)
- Burns BP, F Goh, M Allen and BA Neilan (2004)
- Microbial diversity of extant stromatolites in the hypersaline marine environment of Shark Bay, Australia.
- Environ Micro 6, 1096-1101.
- Burns B; F Goh; M Allen; Neilan BA (2004)
- Microbial diversity of extant stromatolites in the hypersaline marine environment of Shark Bay, Australia.
- Environmental Microbiology 6; 1096-1101.
- Pearson LA, Hisburgues M, Dittmann E, Börner T, Neilan BA (2004)
- Inactivation of an ABC transporter gene, mcyH, results in loss of microcystin production in the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70(11), 6370-8.
- M. Toh, M.C. Moffitt, L. Henrichsen, J.M. Cox, C.P. Marquis, P. Mortensen, C.L. Hansen, and B.A. Neilan (2004)
- Cereulide, the emetic toxin of Bacillus cereus, is putatively a product of non-ribosomal peptide synthesis.
- Journal of Applied Microbiology 97(5): 992-1000.
- Toh, M., , Moffitt, M.C., Henrichsen, L., Cox, J.M., Marquis, C.P., Mortensen, P., Hansen, C.L. and Neilan, B.A. (2004)
- Cereulide, the emetic toxin of Bacillus cereus, is putatively a product of non-ribosomal peptide synthesis.
- Journal of Applied Microbiology 97(5): 992-1000.
- Neilan BA; ML Saker; J Fastner; A Torokne; BP Burns (2003)
- Phylogeography of the invasive cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii.
- Molecular Ecology 12:133-140.
- Moffitt M, Neilan BA (2003)
- Evolution and distribution of ketosynthases associated with complex biosynthetic pathways.
- ournal of Molecular Evolution 56(4), 446-457.
- Thompson LJ, Merrell DS, Neilan BA, Mitchell H, Lee A, Falkow S. (2003)
- Gene expression profiling of Helicobacter pylori reveals a growth phase dependent switch in virulence gene expression.
- I Infect Immun 71:2643-265