Dr Sharon Reid graduated with a BSc(Hons) PhD from Rhodes University, Grahamstown in 1977. She then worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Bristol, UK, before taking up a lectureship at the University of Cape Town in 1980. This was followed by several years as research scientist in various industries, including National Chemical Products, the CSIR and AECI, before returning to the University of Cape Town as Senior Lecturer in Microbiology in 1990.

Her research interests are the study of anaerobic bacteria, particularly Clostridium acetobutylicum, the degradation of cellulose by rumen anaerobic bacteria and the regulation of extracellular enzymes in different Gram-positive organisms.

RESEARCH

The focus of my research is to study bacteria of relevance to industry, and to improve their functionality using bacterial genetics and molecular biology tools. Currently there are four principal research areas, which have the ultimate object of improving the industrial processes:

The production of amino acids by the lysine-producing bacterium, C. glutamicum, for use as feed additives. The genetics governing regulation of expression of these amino acid biosynthesis systems is being investigated by gene cloning and mutation, with a view to developing strains which over-produce amino acids.

The use of bacteria as probiotics in food supplements, to improve the health of humans and animals. Bifidobacterium, an anaerobic, normal inhabitant of the gut, has many beneficial effects on the host animal. We are studying the interaction between the bacteria and carbohydrate substrates present in the gut, in order to elucidate the roles played by prebiotics in the intestinal ecosystem. Intestinal microbiota may also be involved in the prevention of kidney stone disease, and we aim to find out whether there are differences in the composition and oxalate metabolism of the gut bacteria of different risk groups for this disease. (See V. Abratt )

Molecular characterisation of the intestinal microflora of ostriches, with a view to developing probiotics to prevent one of the major problems of this industry - the high rate of mortality rate of ostrich chicks. A molecular genetics approach, based on PCR identification of different bacteria, will be used to profile the composition of the intestinal flora of farmed and wild birds, with the aim of identifying fibre-digesting anaerobic bacteria, which may be playing an essential role in the ostrich hindgut.

Clostridium acetobutylicum has been utilised for the industrial production of acetone, butanol and ethanol in the classical ABE fermentation process. Studies are being carried out on the molecular characterisation of genes involved in the utilisation of different carbon sources, as well as nitrogen metabolism, in attempts to improve the economic viability of the ABE process.

PUBLICATIONS

REID, S.J., J.A. SUGRUE, and J.A. THOMSON, [1986]. Industrial applications of a cloned neutral protease gene in Bacillus subtilis. Appl. Microbiol. and Biotechnol. 24:311-318.

REID, S.J., J.A. SUGRUE, and J.A. THOMSON, [1988]. The effect of proteases on expression of foreign gene products in Bacillus. In: Recombinant DNA and Bacterial Fermentation [Thomson, J.A. Ed.], CRC Press, Florida, USA.

FIERRO-MONTI, I.P., S.J. REID*, and D.R. WOODS, [1992]. Differential expression of a Clostridium acetobutylicum antisense RNA: Implications for regulation of glutamine synthetase. J. Bacteriol. 174:7642-7647.

LOUW, M.E., S.J. REID*, and T.G. WATSON, [1993]. Characterization, cloning and sequencing of a thermostable, endo-(1,3-1,4) ß-glucanase-encoding gene from an alkalophilic Bacillus brevis. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 38:507-513.

WOODS, D.R. and S.J. REID, [1993]. Recent developments on the regulation and structure of glutamine synthetase enzymes from selected bacterial groups. FEMS Microbiol. Revs. 11:273-284.

WANG,W, S J REID and J A THOMSON. [1993] Transcriptional regulation of an endoglucanase and a cellodextrinase gene in Ruminoccoccus flavefaciens FD-1. J. Gen. Microbiol. 139:1219-1226.

BABB, B L, H J COLLETT, S J REID* and D R WOODS. [1993] Transposon mutagenesis of Clostridium acetobutylicum P262: isolation and characterization of solvent deficient and metronidazole resistant mutants. FEMS Microbiology Letters. 114:343-348.

LOUW, M E, S J REID*, M D JAMES and T G WATSON. [1994] Cloning and sequencing the degS-degU operon from an alkalophilic Bacillus brevis. Appl Microbiol and Biotechnol. 42, 78-84.

YOUNGLESON, J S, F P Lin, S J Reid* and D R WOODS. [1995] Structure and transcription of genes within the ß-hbd-adhl region of Clostridium acetobutylicum P262. FEMS Microbiology Letters 125, 185-192.

DAVISON, S, J SANTANGELO, S J REID and D R WOODS. [1995] A Clostridium acetobutylicum regulator gene (regA) affecting amylase production in Bacillus subtilis. Microbiol. 141, 989-996.

LOUW, M E and S J REID*. [1995] DegS and degU operon from Bacillus brevis: a combination that enhances the production of commercially valuable enzymes. S.A. Journal of Science 91, 212-213.

WOODS, D R and S J REID. [1995] Regulation of nitrogen metabolism, starch utilisation and the b-hbd-adh1 gene cluster in Clostridium acetobutylicum. FEMS Microbiology Reviews 17, 299-306.

COLLETT, H J, D R WOODS, and S J REID*. [1997] Characterisation of a transposon-induced pleiotropic mutant of Clostridium acetobutylicum P262. Anaerobe 3, 411-421.

REID*, S J., M S RAFUDEEN and N G LEAT. [1999] .The genes controlling sucrose utilisation in Clostridium beijerinckii 8052 constitutes an operon. Microbiology 145, 1461-1472.

QUIXLEY, K M and REID, S.J.* [2000] Construction of a reporter gene vector for Clostridium beijerinckii using a Clostridium endoglucanase gene. J. Molec. Micro and Biotech. 2, (53-57).
Note: One of the diagrams from this paper was used on the cover illustration of this issue of the Journal.

SCHULZ, A.A., COLLETT, H. and REID, S.J.* [2001] Nitrogen and carbon regulation of glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 205, 361-367.

TRINDADE, M.I., ABRATT, V.R., and REID, S.J.* [2003] Induction of sucrose-utilisation genes from Bifidobacterium lactis by sucrose and raffinose. Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 69, 24-32.

STUTZ, H. and REID, S.J. [2004] GltX from Clostridium saccharobutylicum NCP262: glutamate synthase or oxidoreductase? BBA – Gene Structure and Expression 1676, 71-82.

LAB MEMBERS

Past Students

Post-doctoral fellows:

Sonja Lewandowski “Role of intestinal microflora in kidney-stone formation in three groups of South African subjects”

Ph.D

Janette Law-Brown “Effect of Diet on the Microflora of ostriches, and the isolation of potential probiotics”.

Joy Kensley "Isolation and characterisation of genes involved in glycogen production from the lysine-producing Corynebacterium glutamicum."

Errol Allcock (1982). "The Development of transformation systems in Clostridium acetobutylicum".

Fu-Pang Lin (1992). "Molecular characterization of three linked genes fixB, Bhbd and adh1 from Clostridium acetobutylicum.

Ivo Fierro-Monti (June 1994). "Regulation of the glutamine synthetase gene in Clostridium acetobutylicum".

Maureen Louw (Dec. 1994). "Characterization of an alkalophilic Bacillus brevis isolate with respect to its endo-(1,3-1,4) ß-glucanase gene, protein hyperproduction and the degS-degU operon".

Helen Collett (June 1996). “Characterisation of a transposon-induced metronidazole resistant mutant of Clostridium acetobutylicum P262”.

Neil Leat (Dec 1997). “Characterisation of the Clostridium acetobutylicum P262 sucrose-utilization system”.

Helen Stutz (Dec 2000). “Regulation and charcterization of the nitrogen assimilatory gene cluster in Clostridium acetobutylicum P262.”

Suhail Rafudeen (June 2002). “Investigation of carbon catabolite repression in Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052

Anton Schulz ( Dec 2002). “Regulation of the glutamine synthetase gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum”.

Marla Trindade (June 2003). “Carbohydrate utilisation in Bifidobacterium lactis.”

Sonja Lewandowski (Dec 2003). “Role of intestinal microflora in kidney-stone formation in three groups of South African subjects”.

MSc: 

Nina Smazanowiz “Studies on arginine biosynthesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum."

Abe Mathopa “Isolation, identification and characterisation of bacteria capable of making polyhydroxybutyrate from long chain alkanes.”

Lyndon Oldfield  “Site-directed mutagenesis of the glutamine synthetase enzyme from E.coli”

Claire Price “Antibiotic resistance by drug-efflux genes in Bifidobacterium bifidum.”

Thokosile Lewanika  “Isolation and characterisation of bacteria capable of utilising oxalate.”

Brendan L Babb (June 1994): Studies on C. acetobutylicum P262: sporulation induction and analysis of an oligosporogenous, solvent-deficient mutant.

Victoria R. Sealy (June 1994): A cluster of two serine transfer RNA genes from C. acetobutylicum P262.

Keith W M Quixley. (Dec 1999): "Studies on the regulation of nitrogen metabolism in Clostridium acetobutylicum NCP 262 and C. beijerinckii NCIMB 8052."

Tracy Roussouw (2000): "Isolation and identification of fibre-digesting bacteria from the digestive system of ostriches."

Amanuel Ghilamichael (2004): “Studies on the biosurfactant-producing bacteria capable of utilising long chain alkanes”.