Newcastle University

Qualifications

1975 B.Sc University of Southampton
1978 Ph.D. University of Southampton

Research Interests

The use of biochemical and molecular biology techniques to studying the structure and function of carbohydrate modifying enzymes including glycoside hydrolases, glycosyltransferases and carbohydrate binding modules

Undergraduate Teaching

Biochemistry (protein structure and function), enzyme mechanism, molecular biology and biotechnology

Postgraduate Teaching

The structure and function of carbohydrate modifying enzymes

• Mizutani K, Fernandes VO, Karita S, Luis AS, Sakka M, Kimura T, Jackson A, Zhang XY, Fontes CMGA, Gilbert HJ, Sakka K. Influence of a Mannan Binding Family 32 Carbohydrate Binding Module on the Activity of the Appended Mannanase. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2012, 78(14), 4781-4787.
• Mckee LS, Pena MJ, Rogowski A, Jackson A, Lewis RJ, York WS, Krogh KBRM, Vikso-Nielsen A, Skjot M, Gilbert HJ, Marles-Wright J. Introducing endo-xylanase activity into an exo-acting arabinofuranosidase that targets side chains. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2012, 109(17), 6537-6542.
• Thompson AJ, Dabin J, Iglesias-Fernandez J, Ardevol A, Dinev Z, Williams SJ, Bande O, Siriwardena A, Moreland C, Hu TC, Smith DK, Gilbert HJ, Rovira C, Davies GJ. The Reaction Coordinate of a Bacterial GH47 alpha-Mannosidase: A Combined Quantum Mechanical and Structural Approach. Angewandte Chemie: International Edition 2012, 51(44), 10997-11001.
• Montanier CY, Correia MA, Flint JE, Zhu Y, Baslé A, McKee LS, Prates JA, Polizzi SJ, Coutinho PM, Lewis RJ, Henrissat B, Fontes CM, Gilbert HJ. A novel, noncatalytic carbohydrate-binding module displays specificity for galactose-containing polysaccharides through calcium-mediated oligomerization. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2011, 286(25), 22499-22509.
• Martens EC, Lowe EC, Chiang H, Pudlo NA, Wu M, McNulty NP, Abbott DW, Henrissat B, Gilbert HJ, Bolam DN, Gordon JI. Recognition and degradation of plant cell wall polysaccharides by two human gut symbionts. PLoS Biology 2011, 9(12), e1001221.
• Brás JL, Cartmell A, Carvalho AL, Verzé G, Bayer EA, Vazana Y, Correia MA, Prates JA, Ratnaparkhe S, Boraston AB, Romão MJ, Fontes CMGA, Gilbert HJ. Structural insights into a unique cellulase fold and mechanism of cellulose hydrolysis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2011, 108(13), 5237-5242.
• Correia MA, Mazumder K, Bras JL, Firbank SJ, Zhu Y, Lewis RJ, York WS, Fontes CM, Gilbert HJ. Structure and Function of an Arabinoxylan-specific Xylanase. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2011, 286(25), 22510-22520.
• Nielsen MM, Suits MDL, Yang M, Barry CS, Martinez-Fleites C, Tailford LE, Flint JE, Dumon C, Davis BG, Gilbert HJ, Davies GJ. Substrate and Metal Ion Promiscuity in Mannosylglycerate Synthase. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2011, 286(17), 15155-15164.
• Cartmell A, McKee LS, Pena MJ, Larsbrink J, Brumer H, Kaneko S, Ichinose H, Lewis RJ, Vikso-Nielsen A, Gilbert HJ, Marles-Wright J. The Structure and Function of an Arabinan-specific α-1,2-Arabinofuranosidase Identified from Screening the Activities of Bacterial GH43 Glycoside Hydrolases. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2011, 286(17), 15483-15495.
• Montanier C, van Bueren AL, Dumon C, Flint JE, Correia MA, Prates JA, Firbank SJ, Lewis RJ, Grondin GG, Ghinet MG, Gloster TM, Herve C, Knox JP, Talbot BG, Turkenburg JP, Kerovuo J, Brzezinski R, Fontes CMGA, Davies GJ, Boraston AB, Gilbert HJ. Evidence that family 35 carbohydrate binding modules display conserved specificity but divergent function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2009, 106(9), 3065-3070.
• Emami K, Topakas E, Nagy T, Henshaw J, Jackson KA, Nelson KE, Mongodin EF, Murray JW, Lewis RJ, Gilbert HJ. Regulation of the xylan-degrading apparatus of Cellvibrio japonicus by a novel two-component system. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2009, 284(2), 1086-1096.
• Montanier C, Money VA, Pires VMR, Flint JE, Pinheiro BA, Goyal A, Prates JAM, Izumi A, Stalbrand H, Morland C, Cartmell A, Kolenova K, Topakas E, Dodson EJ, Bolam DN, Davies GJ, Fontes CMGA, Gilbert HJ. The Active Site of a Carbohydrate Esterase Displays Divergent Catalytic and Noncatalytic Binding Functions. PLoS Biology 2009, 7(3), 687-697.
• Dumon C, Varvak A, Wall MA, Flint JE, Lewis RJ, Lakey JH, Morland C, Luginbuhl P, Healey S, Todaro T, DeSantis G, Sun M, Parra-Gessert L, Tan XQ, Weiner DP, Gilbert HJ. Engineering hyperthermostability into a GH₁₁ xylanase is mediated by subtle changes to protein structure. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2008, 283(33), 22557-22564.
• Gilbert HJ, Stalbrand H, Brumer H. How the walls come crumbling down: recent structural biochemistry of plant polysaccharide degradation. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 2008, 11(3), 338-348.
• DeBoy RT, Mongodin EF, Fouts DE, Tailford LE, Khouri H, Emerson JB, Mohamoud Y, Watkins K, Henrissat B, Gilbert HJ, Nelson KE. Insights into plant cell wall degradation from the genome sequence of the soil bacterium Cellvibrio japonicus. Journal of Bacteriology 2008, 190(15), 5455-5463.
• Money VA, Cartmell A, Guerreiro CIPD, Ducros VM-A, Fontes CMGA, Gilbert HJ, Davies GJ. Probing the β-1,3:1,4 glucanase, CtLic26A, with a thio-oligosaccharide and enzyme variants. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry 2008, 6(5), 851-853.
• Tailford LE, Offen WA, Smith NL, Dumon C, Morland C, Gratien J, Heck M-P, Stick RV, Bleriot Y, Vasella A, Gilbert HJ, Davies GJ. Structural and biochemical evidence for a boat-like transition state in β-mannosidases. Nature Chemical Biology 2008, 4(5), 306-312.
• Gilbert HJ. Sus out Sugars in. Structure 2008, 16(7), 987-989.
• Cartmell A, Topakas E, Ducros VM, Suits MD, Davies GJ, Gilbert HJ. The Cellvibrio japonicus mannanase CjMan26C displays a unique exo-mode of action that is conferred by subtle changes to the distal region of the active site. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2008, 283(49), 34403-34413.
• Pinheiro BA, Proctor MR, Martinez-Fleites C, Prates JA, Money VA, Davies GJ, Bayer EA, Fontesm CM, Fierobe HP, Gilbert HJ. The Clostridium cellulolyticum Dockerin Displays a Dual Binding Mode for Its Cohesin Partner. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2008, 283(26), 18422-18430.
• Gilbert HJ. Cellulosomes: Microbial nanomachines that display plasticity in quaternary structure. Molecular Microbiology 2007, 63(6), 1568-1576.
• Nagy T, Tunnicliffe RB, Higgins LD, Walters C, Gilbert HJ, Williamson MP. Characterization of a Double Dockerin from the Cellulosome of the Anaerobic Fungus Piromyces equi. Journal of Molecular Biology 2007, 373(3), 612-622.
• Tailford LE, Money VA, Smith NL, Dumon C, Davies GJ, Gilbert HJ. Mannose foraging by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron: Structure and specificity of the β-mannosidase, BtMan2A. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2007, 282(15), 11291-11299.
• Bolam DN, Roberts S, Proctor MR, Turkenburg J, Dodson E, Martinez-Fleites C, Yang M, Davis B, Davies G, Gilbert HJ. The crystal structure of two macrolide glycosyltransferases provides a blueprint for host cell antibiotic immunity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2007, 104(13), 5336-5341.
• McCartney L, Blake A, Flint JE, Bolam DN, Boraston A, Gilbert HJ, Knox J. Differential recognition of plant cell walls by microbial xylan-specific carbohydrate-binding modules. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2006, 103(12), 4765-4770.
• Henshaw J, Horne-Bitschy A, Van Bueren A, Money V, Bolam DN, Czjzek M, Ekborg N, Weiner R, Hutcheson S, Davies G, Boraston A, Gilbert HJ. Family 6 carbohydrate binding modules in β-agarases display exquisite selectivity for the non-reducing termini of agarose chains. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2006, 281(25), 17099-17107.
• Blake A, McCartney L, Flint JP, Bolam DN, Boraston A, Gilbert HJ, Knox J. Understanding the biological rationale for the diversity of cellulose-directed carbohydrate-binding modules in prokaryotic enzymes. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2006, 281(39), 29321-29329.
• Najmudin S, Guerreiro C, Carvalho A, Prates J, Correia M, Alves V, Ferreira L, Romão M, Gilbert HJ, Bolam DN, Fontes C. Xyloglucan is recognized by carbohydrate-binding modules that interact with β-glucan chains. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2006, 281(13), 8815-8828.
• Van Bueren AL, Morland C, Gilbert HJ, Boraston AB. Family 6 carbohydrate binding modules recognize the non-reducing end of β-1,3-linked glucans by presenting a unique ligand binding surface. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2005, 280(1), 530-537.
• Yang M, Proctor M, Bolam DN, Errey J, Field R, Gilbert HJ, Davis B. Probing the breadth of macrolide glycosyltransferases: In vitro remodeling of a polyketide antibiotic creates active bacterial uptake and enhances potency. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2005, 127(26), 9336-9337.
• Flint JE, Bolam DN, Nurizzo D, Taylor EJ, Williamson M, Walters C, Davies G, Gilbert HJ. Probing the mechanism of ligand recognition in family 29 carbohydrate-binding modules. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2005, 280(25), 23718-23726.
• Flint J, Taylor E, Yang M, Bolam DN, Tailford L, Martinez-Fleites C, Dodson E, Davis B, Gilbert HJ, Davies G. Structural dissection and high-throughput screening of mannosylglycerate synthase. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology 2005, 12(7), 608-614.
• Proctor MR, Taylor EJ, Nurizzo D, Turkenburg JP, Lloyd RM, Vardakou M, Davies GJ, Gilbert HJ. Tailored catalysts for plant cell-wall degradation: redesigning the exo/endo preference of Cellvibrio japonicus arabinanase 43A. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2005, 102(8), 2697-2702.
• Proctor MR, Taylor EJ, Nurizzo D, Turkenburg JP, Lloyd RM, Vardakou M, Davies GJ, Gilbert HJ. Tailored catalysts for plant cell-wall degradation: Redesigning the exo/endo preference of Cellvibrio japonicus arabinanase 43A. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2005, 102(8), 2697-2702.
• Netherwood T, Martin-Orue SM, O'Donnell AG, Gockling S, Graham J, Mathers JC, Gilbert HJ. Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the human gastrointestinal tract. Nature Biotechnology 2004, 22(2), 204-209.
• Flint JE, Nurizzo D, Harding S, Longman E, Davies G, Gilbert HJ, Bolam DN. Ligand-mediated dimerization of a carbohydrate-binding module reveals a novel mechanism for protein-carbohydrate recognition. Journal of Molecular Biology 2004, 337(2), 417-426.
• Henshaw J, Bolam DN, Pires V, Czjzek M, Henrissat B, Ferreira L, Fontes C, Gilbert HJ. The family 6 carbohydrate binding module CmCBM6-2 contains two ligand-binding sites with distinct specificities. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2004, 279(20), 21552-21559.
• Pell G, Taylor EJ, Gloster TM, Turkenburg JP, Fontes CMGA, Ferreira LMA, Nagy T, Clark SJ, Davies GJ, Gilbert HJ. The Mechanisms by Which Family 10 Glycoside Hydrolases Bind Decorated Substrates. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2004, 279(10), 9597-9605.
• Bolam DN, Xie H, Pell G, Hogg D, Galbraith G, Henrissat B, Gilbert HJ. X4 modules represent a new family of carbohydrate-binding modules that display novel properties. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2004, 279(22), 22953-22963.
• Carvalho AL, Dias FMV, Prates JAM, Nagy T, Gilbert HJ, Davies GJ, Ferreira LMA, Romao MJ, Fontes CMGA. Cellulosome assembly revealed by the crystal structure of the cohesin-dockerin complex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2003, 100(2), 13809-13814.
• Gilbert HJ. How carbohydrate binding modules overcome ligand complexity. Structure 2003, 11(6), 609-610.
• Pell G, Williamson M, Walters C, Du H, Gilbert HJ, Bolam DN. Importance of hydrophobic and polar residues in ligand binding in the family 15 carbohydrate-binding module from Cellvibrio japonicus Xyn10C. Biochemistry 2003, 42(31), 9316-9323.
• Vincent F, Charnock SJ, Verschueren KHG, Turkenburg JP, Scott DJ, Offen WA, Roberts S, Pell G, Gilbert HJ, Davies GJ, Brannigan JA. Multifunctional xylooligosaccharide/cephalosporin C deacetylase revealed by the hexameric structure of the Bacillus subtilis enzyme at 1.9 Å resolution. Journal of Molecular Biology 2003, 330(3), 593-606.
• Nagy T, Nurizzo D, Davies G, Biely P, Lakey JH, Bolam DN, Gilbert HJ. The α-Glucuronidase, GlcA67A, of Cellvibrio japonicus utilizes the carboxylate and methyl groups of aldobiouronic acid as important substrate recognition determinants. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2003, 278(22), 20286-20292.
• Abou-Hachem M, Karlsson EN, Simpson PJ, Linse S, Sellers P, Williamson MP, Jamieson SJ, Gilbert HJ, Bolam DN, Holst O. Calcium binding and thermostability of carbohydrate binding module CBM4-2 of Xyn10A from Rhodothermus marinus. Biochemistry 2002, 41(18), 5720-5729.
• Nurizzo D, Turkenburg JP, Charnock SJ, Roberts SM, Dodson EJ, McKie VA, Taylor EJ, Gilbert HJ, Davies GJ. Cellvibrio japonicus alpha-L-arabinanase 43A has a novel five-blade beta-propeller fold. Nature Structural Biology 2002, 9(9), 665-668.
• Emami K, Nagy T, Fontes CMGA, Ferreira LMA, Gilbert HJ. Evidence for temporal regulation of the two Pseudomonas cellulosa xylanases belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 11. Journal of Bacteriology 2002, 184(15), 4124-4133.
• Charnock S, Bolam DN, Nurizzo D, Szabó L, McKie V, Gilbert HJ, Davies G. Promiscuity in ligand-binding: The three-dimensional structure of a Piromyces carbohydrate-binding module, CBM29-2, in complex with cello-and mannohexaose. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2002, 99(22), 14077-14082.
• Ducros VM-A, Zechel DL, Murshudov GN, Gilbert HJ, Szabo L, Stoll D, Withers SG, Davies GJ. Substrate distortion by β-mannanase: Snapshots of the Michaelis and covalent-intermediate complexes suggest a B2,5 conformation for the transition state. Angewandte Chemie: International Edition 2002, 41(15), 2824-2827.
• Steenbakkers PJM, Freelove A, van Cranenbroek B, Sweegers BMC, Harhangi HR, Vogels GD, Hazlewood GP, Gilbert HJ, den Camp HJMO. The major component of the cellulosomes of anaerobic fungi from the genus Piromyces is a family 48 glycoside hydrolase. DNA Sequence 2002, 13(6), 313-320.
• Nagy T, Emami K, Fontes CMGA, Ferreira LMA, Humphry DR, Gilbert HJ. The membrane-bound α-glucuronidase from Pseudomonas cellulosa hydrolyzes 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronoxylooligosaccharides but not 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronoxylan. Journal of Bacteriology 2002, 184(17), 4925-4929.
• Simpson PJ, Jamieson SJ, Abou-Hachem M, Karlsson EN, Gilbert HJ, Holst O, Williamson MP. The solution structure of the CBM4-2 carbohydrate binding module from a thermostable Rhodothermus marinus xylanase. Biochemistry 2002, 41(18), 5712-5719.
• Nurizzo D, Nagy T, Gilbert HJ, Davies GJ. The structural basis for catalysis and specificity of the Pseudomonas cellulosa alpha-glucuronidase, GlcA67A. Structure 2002, 10(4), 547-556.
• Beylot M-H, Emami K, McKie VA, Gilbert HJ, Pell G. Pseudomonas cellulosa expresses a single membrane-bound glycoside hydrolase family 51 arabinofuranosidase. Biochemical Journal 2001, 358(3), 599-605.
• McKie VA, Vinoken J-P, Voragen AGJ, Van Den Broek LAM, Stimson E, Gilbert HJ. A new family of rhamnogalacturonan lyases contains an enzyme that binds to cellulose. Biochemical Journal 2001, 355(1), 167-177.
• Raghothama S, Eberhardt RY, Simpson P, Wigelsworth D, White P, Hazlewood GP, Nagy T, Gilbert HJ, Williamson MP. Characterization of a cellulosome dockerin domain from the anaerobic fungus Piromyces equi. Nature Structural Biology 2001, 8(9), 775-778.
• Armand S, Andrews SR, Charnock SJ, Gilbert HJ. Influence of the aglycone region of the substrate binding cleft of Pseudomonas xylanase 10A on catalysis. Biochemistry 2001, 40(25), 7404-7409.
• Szabó L, Jamal S, Xie H, Charnock SJ, Bolam DN, Gilbert HJ, Davies GJ. Structure of a Family 15 Carbohydrate-binding Module in Complex with Xylopentaose. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2001, 276(52), 49061-49065.
• Beylot M-H, McKie VA, Voragen AGJ, Doeswijk-Voragen CHL, Gilbert HJ. The Pseudomonas cellulosa glycoside hydrolase family 51 arabinofuranosidase exhibits wide substrate specificity. Biochemical Journal 2001, 358(3), 607-614.
• Clarke JH, Davidson K, Rixon JE, Halstead JR, Fransen MP, Gilbert HJ, Hazlewood GP. A comparison of enzyme-aided bleaching of softwood paper pulp using combinations of xylanase, mannanase and α-galactosidase. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 2000, 53(6), 661-667.
• Fontes CMGA, Gilbert HJ, Hazlewood GP, Clarke JH, Prates JAM, McKie VA, Nagy T, Fernandes TH, Ferreira LMA. A novel Cellvibrio mixtus family 10 xylanase that is both intracellular and expressed under non-inducing conditions. Microbiology 2000, 146, 1959-1967.
• Abou Hachem M, Nordberg Karlsson E, Bartonek-Roxa E, Raghothama S, Simpson PJ, Gilbert HJ, Williamson MP, Holst O. Carbohydrate-binding modules from a thermostable Rhodothermus marinus xylanase: Cloning, expression and binding studies. Biochemical Journal 2000, 345(1), 53-60.
• Eberhardt RY, Gilbert HJ, Hazlewood GP. Primary sequence and enzymic properties of two modular endoglucanases, Cel5A and Cel45A, from the anaerobic fungus Piromyces equi. Microbiology 2000, 146, 1999-2008.
• Raghothama S, Simpson PJ, Szabo L, Nagy T, Gilbert HJ, Williamson MP. Solution structure of the CBM10 cellulose binding module from Pseudomonas Xylanase A. Biochemistry 2000, 39(5), 978-984.
• Andrews SR, Charnock SJ, Lakey JH, Davies GJ, Claeyssens M, Nerinckx W, Underwood M, Sinnott ML, Warren RAJ, Gilbert HJ. Substrate specificity in glycoside hydrolase family 10: Tyrosine 87 and leucine 314 play a pivotal role in discriminating between glucose and xylose binding in the proximal active site of pseudomonas cellulosa xylanase 10A. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2000, 275(30), 23027-23033.
• Ponyi T, Szabo L, Nagy T, Orosz L, Simpson PJ, Williamson MP, Gilbert HJ. Trp22, Trp24, and Tyr8 play a pivotal role in the binding of the family 10 cellulose-binding module from Pseudomonas xylanase A to insoluble ligands. Biochemistry 2000, 39(5), 985-991.
• Halstead JR, Fransen MP, Eberhart RY, Park AJ, Gilbert HJ, Hazlewood GP. α-Galactosidase A from Pseudomonas fluorescens subsp. cellulosa: Cloning, high level expression and its role in galactomannan hydrolysis. FEMS Microbiology Letters 2000, 192(2), 197-203.
• Halstead JR, Vercoe PE, Gilbert HJ, Davidson K, Hazlewood GP. A family 26 mannanase produced by Clostridium thermocellum as a component of the cellulosome contains a domain which is conserved in mannanases from anaerobic fungi. Microbiology 1999, 145(11), 3101-3108.
• Fillingham IJ, Kroon PA, Williamson G, Gilbert HJ, Hazlewood GP. A modular cinnamoyl ester hydrolase from the anaerobic fungus Piromyces equi acts synergistically with xylanase and is part of a multiprotein cellulose-binding cellulase-hemicellulase complex. Biochemical Journal 1999, 343(1), 215-224.
• Scott M, Pickersgill RW, Hazlewood GP, Gilbert HJ, Harris GW. Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of arabinanase A from Pseudomonas fluorescens subspecies cellulosa. Acta Crystallographica Section D: Biological Crystallography 1999, 55(2), 544-546.
• Netherwood T, Bowden R, Harrison P, O'Donnell AG, Parker DS, Gilbert HJ. Gene transfer in the gastrointestinal tract. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 1999, 65(11), 5139-5141.
• Fernandes AC, Fontes CMGA, Gilbert HJ, Hazlewood GP, Fernandes TH, Ferreira LMA. Homologous xylanases from Clostridium thermocellum: evidence for bi-functional activity, synergism between xylanase catalytic modules and the presence of xylan-binding domains in enzyme complexes. Biochemical Journal 1999, 342, 105-110.
• Netherwood T, Gilbert HJ, Parker DS, O'Donnell AG. Probiotics shown to change bacterial community structure in the avian gastrointestinal tract. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 1999, 65(11), 5134-5138.
• Southall SM, Simpson PJ, Gilbert HJ, Williamson G, Williamson MP. The starch-binding domain from glucoamylase disrupts the structure of starch. FEBS Letters 1999, 447(1), 58-60.