Prof David Whitworth BA (Oxon), PhD (Warwick), SFHEA

Prof David Whitworth

Professor

Department of Life Sciences

Contact Details

Profile

Dave is a Professor of Biochemistry at Aberystwyth and coordinates the Biochemistry degree scheme. He studied for a BA in Biochemistry at Balliol College, Oxford (1991-1995) before completing a PhD in bacterial genetics at the University of Warwick (1999). After two postdoctoral posts and a lectureship at Warwick, Dave moved to Aberystwyth in 2008. He has been a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2016 and served a term as member of Council for the Microbiology Society. Dave's research interests include bacterial genome evolution and functional genomics (particularly of predatory myxobacteria), and the pedagogy of skills and creativity.

Research

My research focuses on the myxobacterial predator Myxococcus xanthus and how it preys upon other microbes. We are studying natural myxobacterial isolates using a variety of genomic, proteomic and phenotypic techniques to identify the genes conferring antimicrobial activity. Particular topics of interest include the predatory vesicles shed by myxobacteria, and myxobacterial genome evolution. 

Publications

Khalid, A, Cookson, AR, Whitworth, DE, Beeton, ML, Robins, LI & Maddocks, SE 2023, 'A Synthetic Polymicrobial Community Biofilm Model Demonstrates Spatial Partitioning, Tolerance to Antimicrobial Treatment, Reduced Metabolism, and Small Colony Variants Typical of Chronic Wound Biofilms', Pathogens, vol. 12, no. 1, 118. 10.3390/pathogens12010118
Arakal, BS, Whitworth, DE, James, PE, Rowlands, R, Madhusoodanan, NPT, Baijoo, MR & Livingstone, PG 2023, 'In Silico and In Vitro Analyses Reveal Promising Antimicrobial Peptides from Myxobacteria', Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 202-214. 10.1007/s12602-022-10036-4
Hahnke, RL, Müller, R, Whitworth, D, Wink, J & Garcia, R 2023, 'International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes: Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Myxobacteria (Myxococcota). Minutes of the closed online meeting, 21 September 2022', International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, vol. 73, no. 5. 10.1099/ijsem.0.005846
Zwarycz, AS & Whitworth, DE 2023, 'Myxobacterial Predation: A Standardised Lawn Predation Assay Highlights Strains with Unusually Efficient Predatory Activity', Microorganisms, vol. 11, no. 2, 398. 10.3390/microorganisms11020398
Zwarycz, AS, Page, T, Nikolova, G, Radford, EJ & Whitworth, DE 2023, 'Predatory Strategies of Myxococcus xanthus: Prey Susceptibility to OMVs and Moonlighting Enzymes', Microorganisms, vol. 11, no. 4, 874. 10.3390/microorganisms11040874
More publications on the Research Portal