UCL Algal Biotechnology

• Home
• Group members
  • Dr Saul Purton, group leader
  • Dr Tommaso Barbi
  • Dr Chloe Economou
  • Dr Janet Waterhouse
  • Dr Rosanna Young
  • Lamya Al-Haj
  • Stephanie Braun
  • Julya Dyo
  • Marco Lizzul
  • Ben Mackrow
  • Laura Stoffels 
  • Joanna Szaub
  • Henry Taunt
  • Sofie Vonlanthen
  • Yanan Xu
  • Former members
• Current research
• Publications
• Collaborators
• Genetic engineering tools
• Positions open
• Lab news

Dr Saul Purton, group leader

Reader in Molecular Phycology

Post-doctoral Research Scientist (University of Geneva, Switzerland) 1990-1991

EMBO Research Fellow (University of Geneva, Switzerland) 1988-1990

PhD in Plant Molecular Biology (University of Cambridge) 1984-1988

BSc in Biochemistry (University of Bristol) 1981-1984

Email: s.purton[at]ucl.ac.uk

A central focus throughout my research career has been the chloroplast organelle of plants and algae.  I have explored questions regarding its evolution; its biology (mainly photosynthesis, but more recently other metabolic processes such as fatty acid and isoprenoid biosynthesis), its molecular biology (the evolutionary forces that have shaped the chloroplast genome, and how the nucleus coordinates the expression of chloroplast genes), and its genetic engineering and biotechnological exploitation.  Almost all of this research has involved the green alga Chlamydomonas as a model system.  Indeed, my research is underpinned by the many genetic engineering tools we have developed (and are continuing to develop) for Chlamydomonas (see genetic engineering tools).

Our current research is now moving into more applied areas and involving additional algal species. Topics include:

• The genetic engineering of algae for biofuel production and the development of advanced synthetic biology tools for creating ‘designer algae’.
• The production of pharmaceutical proteins using the algal chloroplast as a low-cost, benign platform.
• The role of nuclear-encoded factors in the expression of individual organellar genes within the chloroplast or mitochondrion.
• The development of genetic engineering methods for various algal and cyanobacterial species.

Please see "current research" for more details of these projects.

Teaching

My teaching encompasses microbiology, molecular biology, plant biology and biotechnology, and I contribute to the following UCL courses:

BIOC1010: Introduction to Microbiology (course organiser)

BIOL2004: Fundamentals of Molecular Biology

BIOL2005: Genetic Systems

BIOC3005: Cellular Regulation and Biotechnology

BIOSG006: MRes in Synthetic Biology

In addition, I supervise both research and literature-based projects for BSc and MRes students.

I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an External Examiner for the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London.

Other activities

Founding member of the Algal Biotechnology Consortium (ABC)

Member of the editorial boards of Protist and Eukaryotic Cell

Member of the Society for General Microbiology’s Eukaryotic Division