Role
Research
Centre for Research into Translational Biomedicine
http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=34429
Current lab members
Dr Verena Hirschberg - Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr Jane Carre - Visiting Scientist
Mr Jonathan Barlow - PhD Student
Miss Naina Verma - Summer Student
Teaching admin
Pathway Leader
Healthcare Science (Life Sciences) - Blood Science
Module Leader
BIOM1009 - Cellular and Molecular Biomedicine
BIOM2005 - Diagnostic and Clinical Biomedicine
BIOM2025 - Human Metabolism
Teaching pastoral Link Tutor
Healthcare Science student placements
(Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust)
Personal Tutor
Biomedical Sciences students
Teaching delivery Degree courses
Healthcare Science
Biomedical Sciences
Human Biosciences
Stage 1 modules
Biomolecular Science
Cellular and Molecular Biomedicine
Skills in Biomedical Investigation and Experimentation
Stage 2 modules
Diagnostic and Clinical Biomedicine
Human Metabolism
Blood Sciences in Health and Disease
Clinical Haematology and Biochemistry
Stage 3 modules
Personal Research
Qualifications & background
Positions
Plymouth University - UK
Lecturer in Biochemistry, 2010-
Seahorse Bioscience - Billerica USA
Scientific consultant, 2009-2010
Buck Institute for Age Research - North-Bay Area USA
Visiting Scientist, 2009-2010
MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit - Cambridge UK
Investigative Scientist with Prof. Martin Brand, 2004-2009
University of Sussex - Brighton UK
Post-Doctoral Research Associate with Prof. Tony Moore, 1999-2004
Degrees
PGCert in Academic Practice
Plymouth University, 2011
DPhil in Biochemistry
University of Sussex, 2000
MSc in Biology
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1995
Professional membership
Societies Biochemical Society
Mitochondrial Physiology Society
Publications
Affourtit, C.
, Quinlan, C. L. and Brand, M. D. (2012). Measurement of proton leak and electron leak in isolated mitochondria. Methods in Mol. Biol. 180, 165-182.
Affourtit, C., Jastroch, M. and Brand, M. D. (2011). Uncoupling protein-2 attenuates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in INS-1E insulinoma cells by lowering mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. Free Rad. Biol. Med. 50, 609-616.
Carré, J. E., Affourtit, C. and Moore, A. L. (2011). Interaction of purified alternative oxidase from Arum maculatum with pyruvate. FEBS Lett., 585, 397-401.
Brand, M. D., Parker, N., Affourtit, C., Mookerjee, S. A. and Azzu, V. (2010). Mitochondrial uncoupling protein-2 in pancreatic ß cells. Diabetes, Obsesity and Metabolism 12, 134-140.
Crichton, P. G., Albury, M. S., Affourtit, C. and Moore, A. L. (2010). Mutagenesis of the Sauromatum guttatum alternative oxidase reveals features important for oxygen binding and catalysis. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1797, 732-737.
Affourtit, C. and Brand, M. D. (2009). Measuring mitochondrial bioenergetics in INS-1E insulinoma cells. Meth. Enzymol. 457, 405-424.
Brand, M.D., Affourtit, C., Amo, T., Choi, S.W., Cornwall, E.J., Gerencser, A.A., Nicholls, D.G., Oh, R., Parker, N. and Yadava, N. (2008) The mechanisms, regulation and functions of mitochondrial uncoupling. In: Molecules to Migration: The Pressures of Life, Proceedings of the 4th CPB Meeting in Africa: MARA 2008 (eds S. Morris and A. Vosloo), 331-338.
Azzu, V., Affourtit, C., Breen, E. P., Parker, N., and Brand, M. D. (2008). Dynamic regulation of UCP2 content in INS-1E insulinoma cells. Biochim. Biophys. Acta – Bioenergetics 1777, 1378-1383.
Affourtit, C. and Brand, M. D. (2008) On the role of uncoupling protein-2 in pancreatic beta cells. Biochim. Biophys. Acta – Bioenergetics 1777, 973-979.
Parker, N., Affourtit, C., Vidal-Puig, A. J., and Brand, M. D. (2008). Energisation-dependent endogenous activation of proton conductance in skeletal muscle mitochondria. Biochem. J. 412, 131-139.
Moore, A. L., Carré, J. E., Affourtit, C., Albury, M. S., Crichton, P. G., Kita, K., and Heathcote, P. (2008). Compelling evidence that the alternative oxidase in mitochondria is a diiron protein. Biochim. Biophys. Acta – Bioenergetics 1777, 327-330.
Affourtit, C. and Brand, M. D. (2008). Uncoupling protein-2 contributes significantly to high mitochondrial proton leak in INS-1E pancreatic beta cells and attenuates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Biochem. J. 409, 199-204.
Affourtit, C., Crichton, P. G., Parker, N., and Brand, M. D. (2007) Novel uncoupling proteins. In: Mitochondrial biology: new perspectives. Wiley, Chichester, UK (Novartis Foundation Symposium 287), pp. 70-91.
Crichton, P.G., Affourtit, C., and Moore, A. L. (2007). Identification of a mitochondrial alcohol dehydrogenase in Schizosaccharomyces pombe - new insights into energy metabolism. Biochem. J. 401, 459-464.
Covey-Crump, E. M., Bykova, N. V., Affourtit, C., Hoefnagel, M. H. N., Gardeström, P., and Atkin, O. K. (2007). Temperature-dependent changes in respiration rates and redox poise of the ubiquinone pool in protoplasts and isolated mitochondria of potato leaves. Physiol. Plant. 129, 175-184.
Affourtit, C. and Brand, M. D. (2006). Stronger control of ATP/ADP by proton leak in pancreatic beta cells than skeletal muscle mitochondria. Biochem. J. 393, 151-159.
Crichton, P. G., Affourtit, C., Albury, M. S., Carré, J. E. and Moore, A. L. (2005). Constitutive activity of Sauromatum guttatum alternative oxidase in Schizosaccharomyces pombe implicates residues in addition to conserved cysteines in a-keto acid activation. FEBS Lett. 579, 331-336.
Brand, M. D., Affourtit, C., Esteves, T. C., Green, K., Lambert, A. J., Miwa, S., Pakay, J. L. and Parker, N. (2004). Mitochondrial superoxide: production, biological effects and activation of uncoupling proteins. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 37, 755-767
Affourtit, C. and Moore, A. L. (2004). Purification of the plant alternative oxidase from Arum maculatum: measurement, stability and metal requirement. Biochim. Biophys. Acta – Bioenergetics 1608, 181-189.
Moore, A. L., Albury, M. S., Crichton, P. G. and Affourtit, C. (2002). Function of the plant alternative oxidase: is it still a scavenger? Trends in Plant Science 7, 478-481.
Affourtit, C., Albury, M. S., Crichton, P. G. and Moore, A. L. (2002). Exploring the molecular nature of alternative oxidase regulation and catalysis. FEBS Lett. 510, 121-126.
Albury, M. S., Affourtit, C., Crichton, P. G. and Moore A. L. (2002). Structure of the plant alternative oxidase: site-directed mutagenesis provides new information on the active site and membrane topology. J. Biol. Chem. 277, 1190-1194.
Affourtit, C., Krab, K., Leach, G. R., Whitehouse, D. G. and Moore, A. L. (2001). New insights in the regulation of plant succinate dehydrogenase - on the role of the protonmotive force. J. Biol. Chem. 276, 32567-32574.
Affourtit, C., Krab, K. and Moore, A. L. (2001). Control of plant mitochondrial respiration. Biochim. Biophys. Acta – Bioenergetics 1504, 58-69.
Affourtit, C., Heaney, S. P. and Moore, A. L. (2000). Mitochondrial electron transfer in the wheat pathogenic fungus Septoria tritici - on the role of alternative respiratory enzymes in fungicide resistance. Biochim. Biophys. Acta – Bioenergetics 1459, 291-298.
Affourtit, C., Whitehouse, D. G. and Moore, A. L. (2000). Maesaquinone: a novel inhibitor of plant mitochondrial respiratory enzymes that react with ubiquinone. IUBMB Life 49, 533-537.
Affourtit, C., Albury, M. S., Whitehouse, D. G. and Moore, A. L. (2000). The active site of the plant alternative oxidase: structural and mechanistic considerations. Pest Manag. Sci. 56, 31-38.
Affourtit, C., Albury, M. S., Krab, K. and Moore, A. L. (1999) Functional expression of the plant alternative oxidase affects growth of the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. J. Biol. Chem. 274, 6212-6218.
Affourtit, C. and Moore, A. L. (1999) Insights into the active site of the plant alternative oxidase and its relationship to function. In: Regulation of Primary Metabolic Pathways in Plants (Kruger, N. J., Hill, S. A. and Ratcliffe, R. G. eds) Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, pp. 17-36.
Wood, C. K., Affourtit, C., Albury, M. S., Carré, J. E., Dudley, P., Gordon, J., Harpham, N. V. J., Whitehouse, D. G. and Moore, A. L. (1998). Over-expression of the mitochondrial matrix located HSP70 in transgenic tobacco results in enhanced growth characteristics. In: Plant mitochondria: from gene to function (Møller, I. M., Gardeström, P., Glimelius, K. and Glaser, E. eds) Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 211-217.
Albury, M. S., Affourtit, C. and Moore, A. L. (1998) A highly conserved glutamate residue (E270) is essential for alternative oxidase activity. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 30301-30305.
Boogerd, F. C., Pronk, A. F., Mashingaidze, C., Affourtit, C., Stouthamer, A. H., Van Verseveld, H. W. and Westerhoff, H. V. (1998). Oxygen protection of nitrogen fixation in free-living Azorhizobium caulinodans: the role of cytochrome aa3. Microbiology 144, 1773-1782.
Affourtit, C., Leach, G. R., Krab, K. and Moore, A. L. (1997) Kinetic interaction between oxidases and dehydrogenases in plant mitochondria. Biochem. Soc. Trans. 25, 60S.
Wood, C. K., Dudley, P., Albury, M. S., Affourtit, C., Leach, G. R., Pratt, J. R., Whitehouse, D. G. and Moore, A. L. (1996). Developmental regulation of respiratory activity and protein import in plant mitochondria. Biochem. Soc. Trans. 24, 746-749.
Pronk, A. F., Affourtit, C., Mashingaidze, C., Stouthamer, A. H., Van Verseveld, H. W. and Boogerd, F. C. (1995). The relationship between the in situ reduction level of the cytochrome c pool of Azorhizobium caulinodans growing in a chemostat with NH4+ or N2 as the N source and the total activity of cytochrome c oxidases. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 129, 149-156.
