Staff profile

Biography and research interests.

 Johan has extensive experience in a wide range of molecular biology-, biochemistry-, protein-, plant and microbial strain metabolic engineering projects. He has been involved in project design and management in academic and private industry.
 He re-joined Durham University's Biosciences in 2014 as a experimental research officer and facility manager in the Molecular Cell Biology laboratory of Prof. Patrick Hussey.
 Previously, from 2012 until 2014, he worked in the chemical industry in state of the art, multidisciplinary Biotec R & D teams within Invista Intermediates, a subsidiary of privately owned Koch Industries Inc. His role was Bioscientist Molecular and Synthetic biology, applying forefront synthetic biological and metabolic pathway/strain engineering approaches to provide sustainable solutions for polymer production. From 1993 until 2012 he was a Senior Research Associate in the Lipid Molecular Biology group of Prof. Antoni Slabas in Biosciences Durham University, involved in discovery and metabolic engineering of storage oil in plants and microbes. In this period he also obtained a PhD from Durham University in 2000. Before 1993, Johan was research scientist in a post doctoral function in the company Florigene Europe and in the group of Prof. Joseph Mol, Free University Amsterdam, studying flavonoid & anthocyanin biosynthesis and was involved in production of novel flowers using genetic engineering.

 Johan holds an undergraduate from the University of Amsterdam and a MSc. in Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology from the Free University Amsterdam.

 My research interests have always been dominated by topics that have an applied aspect in society, agribusiness or industry and are currently in gene expression and signalling regulatory pathways, cytoskeletal and associated proteins, lipid and polymer science, approaches in synthetic/engineering biology and in particular in directed genome editing of plants and microbes. 

Research groups

• Durham Centre for Crop Improvement Technology
• Molecular Plant Sciences

• actin associated proteins
• lipid synthesis and homeostasis
• plant secondary metabolites
• precise directed gene editing plants and microbes
• synthetic & metabolic engineering biology

Conference Paper

• Hayman, M., Fawcett, T., Schierer, T., Simon, J., Kroon, J., Gilroy, J., Rice, D., Rafferty, J., Turnbull, A., Sedelnikova, S., & Slabas, A. Mutagenesis of squash (Cucurbita moschata) glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) to produce an enzyme with altered substrate selectivity

Journal Article

• Wang, N., Bagdassarian, K. S., Doherty, R. E., Wang, X. Y., Kroon, J. T., Wang, W., Jermyn, I. H., Turner, S. R., & Etchells, J. P. Paralogues of the PXY and ER receptor kinases enforce radial patterning in plant vascular tissue. https://doi.org/10.1101/357244. Manuscript submitted for publication
• Hawkins, T. J., Kopischke, M., Duckney, P. J., Rybak, K., Mentlak, D. A., Kroon, J. T. M., Bui, M. T., Richardson, A. C., Casey, M., Alexander, A., De Jaeger, G., Kalde, M., Moore, I., Dagdas, Y., Hussey, P. J., & Robatzek, S. (2023). NET4 and RabG3 link actin to the tonoplast and facilitate cytoskeletal remodelling during stomatal immunity. Nature Communications, 14(1), Article 5848. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41337-z
• Zhang, T., Li, Y., Li, C., Zang, J., Gao, E., Kroon, J. T., Qu, X., Hussey, P. J., & Wang, P. (2023). Exo84c interacts with VAP27 to regulate exocytotic compartment degradation and stigma senescence. Nature Communications, 14(1), Article 4888. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40729-5
• Goodman, H. L., Kroon, J. T., Tomé, D. F., Hamilton, J. M., Alqarni, A. O., & Chivasa, S. (2022). Extracellular ATP targets Arabidopsis RIBONUCLEASE 1 to suppress mycotoxin stress-induced cell death. New Phytologist, 235(4), 1531-1542. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18211
• Li, C., Duckney, P., Zhang, T., Fu, Y., Li, X., Kroon, J., De Jaeger, G., Cheng, Y., Hussey, P. J., & Wang, P. (2022). TraB family proteins are components of ER-mitochondrial contact sites and regulate ER-mitochondrial interactions and mitophagy. Nature Communications, 13, Article 5658. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33402-w
• Smith, S. J., Goodman, H., Kroon, J. T., Brown, A. P., Simon, W. J., & Chivasa, S. (2021). Isolation of Arabidopsis extracellular ATP‐binding proteins by affinity proteomics and identification of PHOSPHOLIPASE C‐LIKE 1 as an extracellular protein essential for fumonisin B1 toxicity. The Plant Journal, 106(5), 1387-1400. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.15243
• Duckney, P., Kroon, J. T., Dixon, M. R., Hawkins, T. J., Deeks, M. J., & Hussey, P. J. (2021). NETWORKED2‐Subfamily Proteins Regulate the Cortical Actin Cytoskeleton of Growing Pollen Tubes and Polarised Pollen Tube Growth. New Phytologist, 231(1), 152-164. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17391
• Smit, M., McGregor, S., Sun, H., Gough, C., Bågman, A.-M., Soyars, C., Kroon, J., Gaudinier, A., Williams, C., Yang, X., Nimchuk, Z., Weijers, D., Turner, S., Brady, S., & Etchells, J. (2020). A PXY-Mediated Transcriptional Network Integrates Signaling Mechanisms to Control Vascular Development in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 32, 319-335. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00562
• Wang, N., Bagdassarian, K., Doherty, R., Kroon, J., Connor, K., Wang, X., Wang, W., Jermyn, I., Turner, S., & Etchells, J. (2019). Organ-specific genetic interactions between paralogues of the PXY and ER receptor kinases enforce radial patterning in Arabidopsis vascular tissue. Development, 146(10), Article 177105. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.177105
• Duckney, P., Deeks, M., Dixon, M., Kroon, J., Hawkins, T., & Hussey, P. (2017). Actin–membrane interactions mediated by NETWORKED2 in Arabidopsis pollen tubes through associations with Pollen Receptor-Like Kinase 4 and 5. New Phytologist, 216(4), 1170-1180. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14745
• Craddock, C. P., Adams, N., Kroon, J. T., Bryant, F. M., Hussey, P. J., Kurup, S., & Eastmond, P. J. (2017). Cyclin-dependent kinase activity enhances phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis in Arabidopsis by repressing phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolase activity. The Plant Journal, 89(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.13321
• Smith, S. J., Kroon, J. T., Simon, W. J., Slabas, A. R., & Chivasa, S. (2015). A Novel Function for Arabidopsis CYCLASE1 in Programmed Cell Death Revealed by Isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantitation (iTRAQ) Analysis of Extracellular Matrix Proteins. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, 14(6), 1556-1568. https://doi.org/10.1074/mcp.m114.045054
• Wang, Y., Kroon, J., Slabas, A., & Chivasa, S. (2013). Proteomics reveals new insights into the role of light in cadmium response in Arabidopsis cell suspension cultures. Proteomics, 13(7), 1145-1158. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmic.201200321
• Brown, A., Kroon, J., Swarbreck, D., Febrer, M., Larson, T., Graham, I., Caccamo, M., & Slabas, A. (2012). Tissue-specific whole transcriptome sequencing in castor, directed at understanding triacylglycerol lipid biosynthetic pathways. PLoS ONE, 7(2), Article e30100. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030100
• Brown, A., Kroon, J., Topping, J., Robson, J., Simon, W., & Slabas, A. (2011). Components of Complex Lipid Biosynthetic Pathways in Developing Castor (Ricinus communis) Seeds Identified by MudPIT Analysis of Enriched Endoplasmic Reticulum. Journal of Proteome Research, 10(8), 3565-3577. https://doi.org/10.1021/pr2002066
• Eastmond, P., Quettier, A., Kroon, J., Craddock, C., Adams, N., & Slabas, A. (2011). A phosphatidate phosphatase double mutant provides a new insight into plant membrane lipid homeostasis. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 6(4), 526-527. https://doi.org/10.4161/psb.6.4.14748
• Eastmond, P. J., Quettier, A.-L., Kroon, J. T., Craddock, C., Adams, N., & Slabas, A. R. (2010). PHOSPHATIDIC ACID PHOSPHOHYDROLASE1 and 2 Regulate Phospholipid Synthesis at the Endoplasmic Reticulum in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 22(8), 2796-2811. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.109.071423
• Bolduc, V., Marlow, G., Boycott, K., Saleki, K., Inoue, H., Kroon, J., Itakura, M., Robitaille, Y., Parent, L., Baas, F., Mizuta, K., Kamata, N., Richard, I., Linssen, W., Mahjneh, I., de Visser, M., Bashir, R., & Brais, B. (2010). Recessive mutations in the putative calcium-activated chloride channel Anoctamin 5 cause proximal LGMD2L and distal MMD3 muscular dystrophies. American Journal of Human Genetics, 86(2), 213-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2009.12.013
• Brown, A., Affleck, V., Kroon, J., & Slabas, A. (2009). Proof of function of a putative 3-hydroxyacyl-acyl carrier protein dehydratase from higher plants by mass spectrometry of product formation. FEBS Letters, 583(2), 363-368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2008.12.022
• Kroon, J. T., Wei, W., Simon, W. J., & Slabas, A. R. (2006). Identification and functional expression of a type 2 acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT2) in developing castor bean seeds which has high homology to the major triglyceride biosynthetic enzyme of fungi and animals. Phytochemistry, 67(23), 2541-2549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2006.09.020
• Kroon, J., Wei, W., Simon, J., & Slabas, A. (2006). Identification and functional expression of a type 2 acyl-CoA :diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT2) in developing castor bean seedswhich has high homology to the major triglyceride biosynthetic enzymeof fungi and animals. Phytochemistry, 67(23), 2541-2549
• Bagherieh-Najjar, M. B., de Vries, O. M., Kroon, J. T., Wright, E. L., Elborough, K. M., Hille, J., & Dijkwel, P. P. (2003). Arabidopsis RecQsim, a plant-specific member of the RecQ helicase family, can suppress the MMS hypersensitivity of the yeast sgs1 mutant. Plant Molecular Biology, 52(2), 273-284. https://doi.org/10.1023/a%3A1023968429220
• Slabas, A., Kroon, J., Scheirer, T., Gilroy, J., Hayman, M., Rice, D., Turnbull, A., Rafferty, J., Fawcett, T., & Simon, W. (2002). Squash glycerol-3-phosphate (1)-acyltransferase - Alteration of substrate selectivity and identification of arginine and lysineresidues important in catalytic activity. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277(46), 43918-43923. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.m206429200
• Turnbull, A., Rafferty, J., Sedelnikova, S., Slabas, A., Scheirer, T., Kroon, J., Simon, J., Fawcett, T., Nishida, I., Murata, N., & Rice, D. (2001). Analysis of the Structure, Substrate Specificity, and Mechanism of Squash Glycerol-3-Phosphate (1)-Acyltransferase. Structure, 9(5), 347-353. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0969-2126%2801%2900595-0
• Turnbull, A., Rafferty, J., Sedelnikova, S., Slabas, A., Schierer, T., Kroon, J., Nishida, J., Murata, N., Simon, J., & Rice, D. (2001). Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of theglycerol-3-phosphate 1-acyltransferase from squash (Cucurbita moschata). Acta crystallographica. Section D, Biological crystallography, 57, 451-453. https://doi.org/10.1107/s0907444901000257
• Slabas, A., Simon, W., Schierer, T., Kroon, J., Fawcett, T., Hayman, M., Gilroy, J., Nishida, I., Murata, N., Rafferty, J., Turnbull, A., & Rice, D. (2000). Plant glycerol-3-phosphate-1-acyltransferase (GPAT): structure selectivity studies. Biochemical Society Transactions, 28, 677-679
• Fisher, M., Kroon, J. T., Martindale, W., Stuitje, A. R., Slabas, A. R., & Rafferty, J. B. (2000). The X-ray structure of Brassica napus β-keto acyl carrier protein reductase and its implications for substrate binding and catalysis. Structure, 8(4), 339-347. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0969-2126%2800%2900115-5
• Fisher, M., Kroon, J., Martindale, W., Stuitje, A., Slabas, A., & Rafferty, J. (2000). The X-ray structure of Brassica napus beta-keto acyl carrier proteinreductase and its implications for substrate binding and catalysis. Structure, 8(4), 339-347
• Vanhanen, S., West, M., Kroon, J. T., Lindner, N., Casey, J., Cheng, Q., Elborough, K. M., & Slabas, A. R. (2000). A Consensus Sequence for Long-chain Fatty-acid Alcohol Oxidases from Candida Identifies a Family of Genes Involved in Lipid ω-Oxidation in Yeast with Homologues in Plants and Bacteria. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 275(6), P4445-4452. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.275.6.4445
• Brough, C., Coventry, J., Christie, W., Kroon, J., Brown, A., Barsby, T., & Slabas, A. (1996). Towards the genetic engineering of triacylglycerols of defined fatty acid composition: Major changes in erucic acid content at the sn-2position affected by the introduction of a1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase from Limnanthesdouglasii into oi. Molecular Breeding, 2(2), 133-142
• Brough, C. L., Coventry, J. M., Christie, W. W., Kroon, J. T., Brown, A. P., Barsby, T. L., & Slabas, A. R. (1996). Towards the genetic engineering of triacylglycerols of defined fatty acid composition: major changes in erucic acid content at the sn-2 position affected by the introduction of a 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase from Limnanthes douglasii into oil seed rape. Molecular Breeding, 2(2), 133-142. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00441428
• Brown, A. P., Brough, C. L., Kroon, J. T., & Slabas, A. R. (1995). Identification of a cDNA that encodes a 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase from Limnanthes douglasii. Plant Molecular Biology, 29(2), 267-278. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00043651
• Brown, A., Brough, C., KROON, J., & Slabas, A. (1995). Identification of a cDNA that encodes a 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase from Limnanthes douglasii. Plant Molecular Biology, 29(2), 267-278
• Elborough, K., Swinhoe, R., Winz, R., KROON, J., Farnsworth, L., Fawcett, T., Martinezrivas, J., & Slabas, A. (1994). Isolation of cDNAs from Brassica napus encoding the biotin-binding and transcarboxylase domains of acetyl-CoA carboxylase: assignment of the domain structure in a full-length Arabidopsis thaliana genomic clone. Biochemical Journal, 301(2), 599-605. https://doi.org/10.1042/bj3010599
• Kroon, J., Souer, E., de Graaff, A., Xue, Y., Mol, J., & Koes, R. (1994). Cloning and structural analysis of the anthocyanin pigmentation locus Rt of Petunia hybrida: characterization of insertion sequences in two mutant alleles. The Plant Journal, 5(1), https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-313x.1994.5010069.x
• Weiss, D., van der Luit, A. H., Kroon, J. T., Mol, J. N., & Kooter, J. M. (1993). The petunia homologue of the Antirrhinum majus candi and Zea mays A2 flavonoid genes; homology to flavanone 3-hydroxylase and ethylene-forming enzyme. Plant Molecular Biology, 22(5), 893-897. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00027374