The overall aim of my research group is to understand the interactions between bacterial viruses (phages) and their hosts. Currently, we are funded to study bacterial phage defence systems, such as CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems. With the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial pathogens, we urgently need to find new ways to treat bacterial infections. Exploiting phages as natural antimicrobials to kill bacterial pathogens, termed phage therapy, is a promising approach to address the AMR crisis. However, the success of phage therapy is dependent on understanding the complex interaction between phages and bacteria. To address these challenges, we use a combination of bioinformatic, comparative genomics and molecular biology approaches. In 2017, I was awarded the IlluminaTM Emerging Researcher Award, as the top New Zealand Molecular Biologist within 5 years of PhD completion.
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.nz/citations?user=RMiXfysAAAAJ&hl=en
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55419787700
GitHub: https://github.com/JacksonLab
Maurice Wilkins Center for Molecular Biodiscovery
Leighton Payne, current
Nils Birkholz, current
Leah Smith, 2016-2020
Hannah Hampton, 2015-2018
Stephanie Trickey, current
Bridget Fellows, 2020
Nils Birkholz, 2016
Julian Taffner, 2014
Thomas Hughes, 2021
Thomas Ware, 2020
Leighton Payne, 2019
Maureen Yin, 2019
Nick Donaldson, 2018
Matthew Prouse, 2014
Lauren Nichol, 2014
Jack Hervey, 2013
Aileen Harwood, 2020-2021
Leighton Payne, 2019-2020
Maureen Yin, 2018-2019
Nick Donaldson, 2017-2018
Jack Hervey, 2012-2013
2020 Deans Bequest ($12,500) as PI. ‘The relationship between nitrogen fixation and bacteriophage resistance in Rhizobium leguminosarum.’
2020 Marsden Grant (RSNZ, $960,000) as AI (PI: Prof. Peter Fineran). ‘How do bacterial CRISPR-Cas defences protect against nucleus-forming phages?’
2020 Health Research Council Project ($1,199,272) as AI (PI: Dr Matthew McNeil). ‘Combating antimicrobial resistance with high throughput bacterial genetics.’
2019 University of Otago Research Grant ($37,471) as PI. ‘A new approach to discover phage defence systems in bacteria.’
2019 MBIE SmartIdeas ($1,000,000) as a Key Researcher (PI: Prof. Peter Fineran). ‘Phage-inspired custom antimicrobials to target bacterial pathogens.’
2019 Deans Bequest (University of Otago, $21,000) as PI. ‘New types of phage defences encoded in bacterial genomes.’
2019 Maurice Wilkins Centre Flexible Research Grant ($26,000) as an AI (PI: Dr Jeremy Owen, Victoria University of Wellington). ‘Development of new synthetic biological tools for cloning and expression of antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters from microbial genomes.’
2018 Marsden Fast Start Grant (RSNZ), as PI ($300,000) (AI: Prof. Antonio Sánchez-Amat, University of Murcia, Spain). ‘Mobile CRISPR-Cas systems and the genesis of hybrid adaptive immunity in bacteria.’
2018 EMBO Workshop ‘Viruses of Microbes 2018’ travel grant (€500).
2017 Deans Bequest (University of Otago, $16,000) as an AI (PI: Prof. Peter Fineran). ‘Chimeric CRISPR-Cas systems – the evolution of new bacterial immunity?’
2016 Deans Bequest (University of Otago, $21,648) as an AI (PI: Prof. Peter Fineran). ‘You’re 1 in a million: a novel high-throughput methodology for finding key regulators of gene expression in bacteria.’
2013 Division of Health Sciences Career Development Postdoctoral Fellowship (~$150,000, University of Otago). ‘Assembly and photoprotection of Photosystem II in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.’
* Equal contribution authors; # Corresponding author
2020:
Smith, L.M., Jackson, S.A., Malone, L.M., Ussher, J.E., Gardner, P.P. and Fineran, P.C.# (2020) The Rcs stress response inversely controls surface and CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity to discriminate plasmids and phages. Nature Microbiology, 6: 162-172
Hampton, H.G., Smith, L.M., Ferguson, S., Meaden, S., Jackson, S.A. and Fineran, P.C.# (2020) Functional genomics reveals the toxin-antitoxin repertoire and AbiE activity in Serratia. Microbial Genomics, 6: 1-15
Jackson, S.A.#, Fellows, B.J. and Fineran, P.C. (2020) Complete genomes of the Escherichia coli donor strains ST18 and MFDpir. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 9: e01014-20
Malone, L.M., Warring, S.L., Jackson, S.A., Warnecke, C., Gardner, P.P., Gumy, L.F. and Fineran, P.C.# (2020) A jumbophage that forms a nucleus-like structure evades CRISPR–Cas DNA targeting but is vulnerable to type III RNA-based immunity. Nature Microbiology, 5: 48-55
2019:
Jackson, S.A. and Fineran, P.C. (2019) Bacterial dormancy curbs phage epidemics. Nature, 570: 173-174.
Birkholz, N., Fagerlund, R.D.*, Smith, L.M., Jackson, S.A.* and Fineran, P.C.# (2019) The autoregulator Aca2 mediates anti-CRISPR repression. Nucleic Acids Research, 47: 9658-9665
Jackson, S.A.#, Birkholz, N., Malone, L.M. and Fineran, P.C.# (2019) Imprecise spacer acquisition generates CRISPR-Cas immune diversity through primed adaptation. Cell Host and Microbe, 25: 250-260
Nicholson, T.J.*, Jackson, S.A.*, Croft, B.I., Staals, R.H.J., Fineran, P.C.# and Brown, C.M. # (2019) Bioinformatic evidence of widespread priming in Type I and II CRISPR-Cas systems. RNA Biology, 16: 566-576
2018:
Hampton, H.G., Jackson, S.A., Fagerlund, R.D., Vogel, A.I.M., Dy, R.L., Blower, T.R. and Fineran, P.C. # (2018) AbiEi Binds Cooperatively to the Type IV abiE Toxin-Antitoxin Operator Via a Positively-Charged Surface and Causes DNA Bending and Negative Autoregulation. Journal of Molecular Biology, 430: 1141-1156
2017:
Silas, S., Lucas-Elío, P., Jackson, S.A., Aroca-Crevillén, A., Hansen, L.L., Fineran, P.C., Fire, A.Z. and Sánchez-Amat, A.# (2017) Type III CRISPR-Cas systems can provide redundancy to counteract viral escape from type I systems. eLife, 6. e27601
Jackson, S.A.*, McKenzie, R.E.*, Fagerlund, R.D., Kieper, S.N., Fineran, P.C.# and Brouns, S.J.J.# (2017) CRISPR-Cas: adapting to change. Science, 356: eaal5056. doi: 10.1126/science.aal5056
2016:
Patterson, A.G., Jackson, S.A., Taylor, C., Evans, G.B., Salmond, G.P., Przybilski, R., Staals, R.H.J. and Fineran, P.C.# (2016) Quorum sensing controls adaptive immunity through multiple CRISPR-Cas systems. Molecular Cell, 64: 1102-1108
Staals, R.H.J., Jackson, S.A., Biswas, A., Brouns, S.J.J., Brown, C.M. and Fineran, P.C.# (2016) Interference-driven spacer acquisition is dominant over naive and primed adaptation in a native CRISPR-Cas system. Nature Communications, 7: 12853
Jackson, S.A. and Eaton-Rye, J.J.# (2016) Modular growth vessels for the cultivation of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. New Zealand Journal of Botany, DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.2016.1231123
2015:
Jackson, S.A.*, Eaton-Rye, J.J., Bryant, D.A. Posewitz, M.C. and Davies, F.K.*,# (2015) Dynamics of photosynthesis in a glycogen-deficient glgC mutant of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 81: 6210-6222
Jackson, S.A. and Eaton-Rye, J.J.# (2015) Characterization of a Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 double mutant lacking the CyanoP and Ycf48 proteins of Photosystem II. Photosynthesis Research, 124: 217-229
2014:
Jackson, S.A., Hervey, J.R.D., Dale, A.J. and Eaton-Rye, J.J.# (2014) Removal of both Ycf48 and Psb27 in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 disrupts Photosystem II assembly and alters QA- oxidation in the mature complex. FEBS Letters, 588: 3751-3760
Luo, H., Jackson, S.A., Fagerlund, R.D., Summerfield, T.C. and Eaton-Rye, J.J.# (2014) The importance of the hydrophilic region of PsbL for the plastoquinone electron acceptor complex of Photosystem II. Biochim Biophys Acta Bioenergetics, 1837: 1435-1446
2013:
Jackson, S.A., Fagerlund, R.D., Hinds, M.G., Wilbanks, S.M. and Eaton-Rye, J.J. (2013) Structure-function studies of the Photosystem II extrinsic subunits PsbQ and PsbP from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Photosynthesis for Food, Fuel and the Future. Springer, 86-90.
2012:
Jackson, S.A., Hinds, M.G. and Eaton-Rye, J.J.# (2012) Solution structure of CyanoP from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: New insights on the structural basis for functional specialization amongst PsbP family proteins. Biochim Biophys Acta Bioenergetics, 1817: 1331-1338
2010:
Jackson S.A.*, Fagerlund R.D.*, Wilbanks S.M. and Eaton-Rye J.J.# (2010) Crystal structure of PsbQ from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 at 1.8 Å: implications for binding and function in cyanobacterial Photosystem II. Biochemistry, 49: 2765-2767
