John Innes Centre

Prof Anne Osbourn

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Curriculum Vitae

  • 1982 BSc Botany, University of Durham (First Class).
  • 1985 PhD, Department of Genetics, University of Birmingham.
  • 1985 Research Associate, John Innes Institute, Norwich, UK.
  • 1987 Research Fellow, Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK
  • 1999 Group Leader, Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK
  • 2005 Group Leader, Dept. of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre
  • 2006 - present Head, Dept. of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre
  • 2006 - present Honorary Professor, University of East Anglia, UK

Anne Osbourn

Programme Leader

Metabolic Biology

Contact details

anne.osbourn@bbsrc.ac.uk

Research interests

Plants produce a huge array of natural products (secondary metabolites).  These compounds are exploited by humans as sources of drugs, flavouring agents, fragrances and for a wide range of other applications.   The natural function of plant-derived natural products is in ecological interactions, where they provide protection against attack by herbivores and microbes and serve as attractants for pollinators and seed-dispersing agents.  They may also contribute to competition and invasiveness by suppressing the growth of neighbouring plant species (a phenomenon known as allelopathy). 

Our primary interests are in understanding the function and synthesis of plant-derived natural products and the origins of metabolic diversity.  This research impacts on other fundamental aspects of biology such as chromosome structure and gene regulation, genome plasticity, diversification of function of enzymes and multi-component pathways and adaptive evolution.  

The Osbourn group works with crop and model plants, using a wide range of multidisciplinary approaches that include genetics, genomics, computational biology, cell biology, protein and small molecule biochemistry. 

Recent Publications

Cruz-Cruz C. A., Ramírez-Tec G., García-Sosa K., Escalante-Erosa F., Hill L., Osbourn A. E., Peña-Rodríguez L. M. (2010)
Phytoanticipins from banana (Musa acuminata cv. Grande Naine) plants, with antifungal activity against Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the causal agent of black Sigatoka
European Journal of Plant Pathology 126 459-463
DOI:10.1007/s10658-009-9561-9
Field B., Osbourn A. (2010)
Operons
Nature Chemical Biology 6 (5) 359
Mugford S. T., Osbourn A. (2010)
Evolution of serine carboxypeptidase-like acyltransferases in the monocots.
Plant Signaling and Behavior 5 (2) 193-195
Tucker S. L., Besi M., Galhano R., Franceschetti M., Goetz S., Lenhert S., Osbourn A., Sesma A. (2010)
Common genetic pathways regulate organ-specific infective behaviour in the rice blast fungus
Plant Cell 22 (3) 953-972
(2009)
Plant-Derived Natural Products: Synthesis, Function and Application
Springer
598p
Bednarek P., Osbourn A. (2009)
Plant-microbe interactions: chemical diversity in plant defense.
Science 324 (5928) 746-8
DOI:10.1126/science.1171661
Field R. A. (2009)
Carbohydrate signalling molecules
Plant-Derived Natural Products: Synthesis, Function and Application
Springer
(16) 349-359
Hill L., Wang T. (2009)
Approaches to the analysis of plant-derived natural products.
Plant-Derived Natural Products: Synthesis, Function and Application
Springer
(4) 97-125
Mugford S. T., Qi X., Bakht S., Hill L., Wegel E., Hughes R. K., Papadopoulou K., Melton R., Philo M., Sainsbury F., Lomonossoff G. P., Roy A. D., Goss R. J., Osbourn A. (2009)
A serine carboxypeptidase-like acyltransferase is required for synthesis of antimicrobial compounds and disease resistance in oats.
Plant Cell 21 (8) 2473-2484
DOI:10.1105/tpc.109.065870
Osbourn A. (2009)
SAW Showcase
The SAW Trust, Norwich UK.

Osbourn A. E. (2009)
A meeting place: the science, art and writing initiative
Current Science 97 1547-1554
Osbourn A. E., Field B. (2009)
Operons
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 66 (23) 3755-3775
DOI:10.1007/s00018-009-0114-3
Wegel E., Koumproglou R., Shaw P., Osbourn A. (2009)
Cell type-specific chromatin decondensation of a metabolic gene cluster in oats
Plant Cell 21 (12) 3926-3936
DOI:10.1105/tpc.109.072124
Field B., Osbourn A. E. (2008)
Metabolic diversification - independent assembly of operon-like gene clusters in plants
Science 320 (5875) 543-547
Mylona P., Owatworakit A., Papadopoulou K., Jenner H., Qin B., Findlay K., Hill L., Qi X., Bakht S., Melton R., Osbourn A. (2008)
Sad3 and Sad4 are required for saponin biosynthesis and root development in oat
Plant Cell 20 201-212
Osbourn A. (2008)
SAW: breaking down barriers between art and science.
PLoS Biology 6 (8) article e211
DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060211