Professor Iain Sutcliffe

Department: Applied Sciences

Iain studied for his first degree in Biochemistry at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where he stayed on to complete a PhD in microbial physiology, supervised by Dr Norman Shaw. Subsequent post-doctoral research notably included working with Professor Roy Russell and a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship in Taxonomy (both in the Department of Oral Biology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne).

He was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sunderland from 1996-2003 before moving to Northumbria, where he was promoted to Reader (2005), then Professor of Microbiology in 2007. From 2012 to 2019 he was the Research Lead for the Department of Applied Sciences, and from 2019 to 2021 he was REF Lead for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

My research focuses on understanding the bacterial cell envelope as the interface between a bacterium and its environment, with a specific focus on the nature, biosynthesis and roles of membrane-anchored macromolecules, notably bacterial lipoproteins and lipoglycans. Several projects are focussed on understanding the role of the cell envelope in the biology of the important veterinary pathogen Prescottella (Rhodococcus) equi and related bacteria.

Understanding cell envelope diversity is also of importance for microbial taxonomy and studies of bacterial evolution, and I am particularly interested in the evolution of outer membranes. My work in taxonomy has progressed from an earlier chemotaxonomic approach to primarily using comparative genomics and in this regard I am active in developing the discipline of microbial systematics, serving two terms (2017-2023) as Chair of the International Committee for Systematics of Prokaryotes (https://www.the-icsp.org/). Seperately, I am actively involved in the development of the nomenclatural code for uncultured microorganisms (the 'SeqCode' https://www.isme-microbes.org/seqcode-initiative).

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Roadmap for naming uncultivated Archaea and Bacteria, Murray, A., Freudenstein, J., Gribaldo, S., Hatzenpichler, R., Hugenholtz, P., Kämpfer, P., Konstantinidis, K., Lane, C., Papke, R., Parks, D., Rossello-Mora, R., Stott, M., Sutcliffe, I., Thrash, J., Venter, S., Whitman, W., Acinas, S., Amann, R., Anantharaman, K., Armengaud, J., Baker, B., Barco, R., Bode, H., Boyd, E., Brady, C., Carini, P., Chain, P., Colman, D., DeAngelis, K., de los Rios, M., Estrada-de los Santos, P., Dunlap, C., Eisen, J., Emerson, D., Ettema, T., Eveillard, D., Girguis, P., Hentschel, U., Hollibaugh, J., Hug, L., Inskeep, W., Ivanova, E., Klenk, H., Li, W., Lloyd, K., Löffler, F., Makhalanyane, T., Moser, D., Nunoura, T., Palmer, M., Parro, V., Pedrós-Alió, C., Probst, A., Smits, T., Steen, A., Steenkamp, E., Spang, A., Stewart, F., Tiedje, J., Vandamme, P., Wagner, M., Wang, F., Hedlund, B., Reysenbach, A. 1 Aug 2020, In: Nature Microbiology
Addressing the sublime scale of the microbial world: reconciling an appreciation of microbial diversity with the need to describe species, Sutcliffe, I., Rosselló-Móra, R., Trujillo, M. 1 Sep 2021, In: New Microbes and New Infections
Out with the old and in with the new: time to rethink twentieth century chemotaxonomic practices in bacterial taxonomy, Vandamme, P., Sutcliffe, I. 30 Nov 2021, In: International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Mechanism of Phosphatidylglycerol Activation Catalyzed by Prolipoprotein Diacylglyceryl Transferase, Singh, W., Bilal, M., McClory, J., Dourado, D., Quinn, D., Moody, T., Sutcliffe, I., Huang, M. 22 Aug 2019, In: Journal of Physical Chemistry B
Refined Systematics of the Genus Rhodococcus Based on Whole Genome Analyses, Sangal, V., Goodfellow, M., Jones, A., Seviour, R., Sutcliffe, I. 2019, Biology of Rhodococcus
Proposal of Carbonactinosporaceae fam. nov. within the class Actinomycetia. Reclassification of Streptomyces thermoautotrophicus as Carbonactinospora thermoautotrophica gen. nov., comb. nov, Volpiano, C., Sant'Anna, F., da Mota, F., Sangal, V., Sutcliffe, I., Munusamy, M., Saravanan, V., See-Too, W., Passaglia, L., Rosado, A. 1 Jul 2021, In: Systematic and Applied Microbiology

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Invited talk: Legitimate, illegitimate, valid, correct, rejected: negotiating a nomenclatural minefield with Prescottella equi. 2023
Editorial work: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Journal of Microbiology (Journal) 2019
Editorial work: Frontiers in Microbiology (Journal) 2018
Membership of committee: Bergey's International Society for Microbial Systematics (External organisation) 2017
Membership of committee: International Committee for Systematics of Prokaryotes (External organisation) 2017
Oral presentation: Whole genome analyses support the taxonomic separation of “Rhodococcus equi” from other rhodococci 2014
Invited talk: Reclassification of Rhodococcus equi into a novel genus, Prescottia gen. nov., as Prescottia equi comb 2012
Editorial work: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Journal of Microbiology (Journal) 2009