![Dr Sylvia Duncan Dr Sylvia Duncan](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/rwt096/S_Duncan_photo.jpg)
BSc PhD
Senior Research Fellow
- About
-
- Email Address
- sylvia.duncan@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 438680
- Office Address
Rowett Institute
Forresterhill Campus
Aberdeen
AB25 2ZD
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
- Research
-
Research Overview
The Microbiology group have isolated and characterised many of the most abundant bacterial species that inhabit the human large intestine. A panel of the most interesting strains have also been genome sequenced. Mining these genomes has led to a good understanding of the roles of these mostly anaerobic bacteria in the human colon including their primary metabolic function, such as the formation of short chain fatty acids.
Research team:
Amanda Morris – Research Assistant
Galiana Lo - PhD student
Dr Indrani Mukhopadhya – Research Fellow
Research Areas
Nutrition and Health
Research Specialisms
- Microbiology
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
My current research is focussed on the impact of dietary macronutrients, including protein and carbohydrate content, on modulating the composition of the gut microbiota and metabolic outputs to improve health and prevent disease. The impact of gut environmental factors, including pH and bile salt levels, on modulating the gut microbiota and metabolism are also being studied using in vitro model colonic fermentor systems. We are also interested in bacterial cross feeding of dietary macronutrients by specialist bacterial species. We are also interested lactic acid utilising bacterial species as this is a product that is usually low in healthy colons but can accumulate to high levels in disease states such as inflammatory bowel disease. Further studies are also underway on host-microbe interactions.
More recently, the formation of secondary metabolites, such as polyketides and non-ribosomally synthesised peptides, by gut anaerobes are being studied through genome mining strains, testing their ability to inhibit pathogens and identifying the structure of these peptides as these are potentially pharmaceutically important compounds that may possess anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties.
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
Course Coordinator MC4014
Contribute lectures and tutorials to Nutrition courses
- Publications
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Page 4 of 6 Results 76 to 100 of 134
Expression of Cellulosome Components and Type IV Pili within the Extracellular Proteome of Ruminococcus flavefaciens 007
PloS ONE, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 1-11Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065333
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/10278/1/journal.pone.0065333.PDF
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Some are more equal than others: the role of ‘keystone’ species in the degradation of recalcitrant substrates
Gut Microbes, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 236-240Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4161/gmic.23998
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/5762/1/Some_are_more_equal_than_others.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
MS-based Methodologies to Study the Microbial Metabolome
Foodomics: Advanced Mass Spectrometry in Modern Food Science and Nutrition. Cifuentes, A. (ed.). John Wiley & Sons Ltd., pp. 221-243, 23 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118537282.ch8
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Major phenylpropanoid-derived metabolites in the human gut can arise from microbial fermentation of protein
Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 523-535Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.201200594
The influence of diet on the gut microbiota
Pharmacological Research, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 52-60Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2012.10.020
The gut microbial metabolome: Modulation of cancer risk in obese individuals
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 178-188Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665112002881
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Anaerostipes hadrus comb. nov., a dominant species within the human colonic microbiota; reclassification of Eubacterium hadrum Moore et al. 1976
Anaerobe, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 523-529Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anaerobe.2012.09.002
The role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health
Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, vol. 9, no. 10, pp. 577-589Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2012.156
Microbial degradation of complex carbohydrates in the gut
Gut Microbes, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 289-306Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4161/gmic.19897
Alterations in microbiota and fermentation products in equine large intestine in response to dietary variation and intestinal disease
British Journal of Nutrition, vol. 107, no. 7, pp. 989-995Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114511003825
Ruminococcus bromii is a keystone species for the degradation of resistant starch in the human colon
The ISME Journal, vol. 6, no. 8, pp. 1535-1543Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2012.4
Micro-organisms in the human gut: diversity and function
biochemical society focussed meeting, pp. 4-9Contributions to Journals: Literature ReviewsRates of production and utilization of lactate by microbial communities from the human colon
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol. 77, no. 1, pp. 107-119Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01086.x
High-protein, reduced-carbohydrate weight-loss diets promote metabolite profiles likely to be detrimental to colonic health
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 93, no. 5, pp. 1062-1072Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.110.002188
Impact of Intestinal Microbial Communities upon Health
Beneficial microorganisms in multicellular life forms. Rosenberg, E., Gophna, U. (eds.). Springer Verlag, pp. 243-252, 252 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21680-0_18
Translocation of Crohn's disease Escherichia coli across M-cells: Contrasting effects of soluble plant fibres and emulsifiers
Gut, vol. 59, no. 10, pp. 1331-1339Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/gut.2009.195370
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
The induction of colitis and ileitis in mice Is associated with marked increases in intestinal concentrations of stimulants of TLRs 2, 4, and 5
PloS ONE, vol. 5, no. 2, e9125Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEffect of protein and carbohydrate intake on intestinal toxicity of human feces
Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 55, no. Suppl. 1, pp. 80Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000248277
Lactate has the potential to promote hydrogen sulphide formation in the human colon
FEMS Microbiology Letters, vol. 299, no. 2, pp. 128-134Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.2009.01750.x
The role of pH in determining the species composition of the human colonic microbiota
Environmental Microbiology, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 2112-2122Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.01931.x
Gut microbial ecology
Designing Functional Foods: Measuring and Controlling Food Structure, Breakdown and Nutrient Absorption. McClements, D. J., Decker, E. A. (eds.). Woodhead Publishing, pp. 38-67, 30 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1533/9781845696603.1.38
High protein diets impact on microbial metabolites and toxicity in the human large intestine
Microbial Ecology, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 572-573Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-009-9496-x
Distribution of β-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase activity and of β-glucuronidase gene gus in human colonic bacteria
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol. 66, no. 3, pp. 487-495Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2008.00520.x
Human colonic microbiota associated with diet, obesity and weight loss
International Journal of Obesity, vol. 32, no. 11, pp. 1720-1724Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.155
Anti-inflammatory implications of the microbial transformation of dietary phenolic compounds
Nutrition and Cancer, vol. 60, no. 5, pp. 636-642Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01635580801987498