Prof Luis Mur

PhD

Research

In my Food Security Research I am interested in developing our understanding of the genetic & biochemical events associated with plant responses to stress & in identifying sources of tolerance/resistance. This work is based on the use of model plant species, Arabidopsis & Brachypodium distachyon & also crops, wheat (Triticum aestivum), oats (Avena sativa) tomato (Solanum esculentum) & barley (Hordeum vulgare).

My interests in clinical health focus on the respiratory tract & identifying drug leads from natural products. Lung cancer (LC) is the most prevalent cancer in the world with 1.3 million deaths recorded each year. Only 15% of patients live for five or more years after initial diagnosis, primarily due to late detection. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by an increase in mucus production due to hyperplasia of goblet cells, & hypertrophy of mucus glands COPD is a leading cause of death, arising from acute exacerbations (sudden worsening of symptoms) which may be triggered by infection or environmental pollutants. My research in this area is focusing on the detection of metabolite biomarkers for LC & COPD & investigating possible links with the lung microbiome.

My research in bioactive natural products focus on identifying anti-microbial metabolites against such human pathogens as MSRA & Pseudomonas aeruginosa from invasive plant species & extremophile microbial strains.

I employ cutting edge genomic & post-genomic approaches but will use classical physiological, genetic, biochemical or microbiological approaches- as appropriate. I have numerous national & international collaborations which are supported by funding from the BBSRC, the EU, NSF (USA), DEFRA, Royal Society, Welsh Assembly, & AU Research Fund.

Research Groups

  • One Health

Publications

Erdoğan, MŞ, Arpak, ES, Keles, CSK, Villagra, F, Işık, EÖ, Afşar, N, Yucesoy, CA, Mur, LAJ, Akanyeti, O & Saybaşılı, H 2024, 'Biochemical, biomechanical and imaging biomarkers of ischemic stroke: Time for integrative thinking', European Journal of Neuroscience. 10.1111/ejn.16245
Hasterok, R, Catalan, P, Hazen, SP, Roulin, AC, Vogel, JP, Wang, K & Mur, LAJ 2023, 'Correction to: Brachypodium: 20 years as a grass biology model system; the way forward? (Trends in Plant Science 27, 1002–1016, 2022)', Trends in Plant Science, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 252-253. 10.1016/j.tplants.2022.12.001
Bhowmick, S, Beckmann, M, Shen, J & Mur, LAJ 2023, 'Corrigendum: Identification and metabolomic characterization of potent anti-MRSA phloroglucinol derivatives from Dryopteris crassi rhizoma Nakai (Polypodiaceae)', Frontiers in Pharmacology, vol. 14. 10.3389/fphar.2023.1235626
Gangashetty, P, Yadav, CB, Riyazuddin, M, Kumar, A, Asungre, P, Angarawai, I, Mur, L & Yadav, R 2023, 'Genotype-by-environment interactions for starch, mineral, and agronomic traits in pearl millet hybrids evaluated across five locations in West Africa', Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 14, 1171773. 10.3389/fpls.2023.1171773
Gokul, J, Mur, L, Hodson, AJ, Irvine-Fynn, T, Debbonaire, A, Takeuchi, N & Edwards, A 2023, 'Icescape-scale metabolomics reveals cyanobacterial and topographic control of the core metabolism of the cryoconite ecosystem of an Arctic ice cap', Environmental Microbiology, vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 2549-2563. 10.1111/1462-2920.16485
More publications on the Research Portal