About

Dr Gareth Lloyd-Jones is a biochemist specialising in industrial biotechnology. His research focuses on microbial organisms and enzymes associated with the degradation of organic matter. 

Qualifications

• PhD (Biochemistry), University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK
• BSc(Hons) (Biochemistry), University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK

Research capabilities

Industrial biotechnology/microbiology, in particular the study of microbial populations and representative cultured strains and enzymes associated with the degradation of organic matter.

• Microbial ecology;
  
• microbial physiology;
  
• gene discovery;
  
• enzymology;
  
• lignin transformation;
  
• wood-consuming insects e.g. termite, huhu.

Career highlights

• Leader of research into the discovery of new gene probes for monitoring contaminated soils. These have been applied for monitoring soil remediation work in > 20 Countries.
• Provided science leadership (NERF) to develop through to proof-of-concept four new environmental whole-cell biosensor techniques.
• OECD Postdoctoral Fellowship (Co-operative Research Programme: Biological Resourse Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems) (1996).
• Led the development of new research capability in microbial insect symbioses associated with wood and lignin transformation.

Selected papers

Laurie AD, Lloyd-Jones G 1999. The phn genes of Burkholderia sp. strain RP007 constitute a divergent gene cluster for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon catabolism. Journal of Bacteriology 181: 531–540.

Lloyd-Jones G, Laurie AD, Hunter DWF, Fraser R. 1999. Analysis of catabolic genes for naphthalene and phenanthrene degradation in contaminated New Zealand soils FEMS Microbiology Ecology 29: 69–79.

Lloyd-Jones G, Hunter DWF 2001. Comparison of rapid DNA extraction methods applied to contrasting New Zealand soils. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 33: 2053–2059.

Tizzard AC, Lloyd-Jones G 2007. Bacterial oxygenases: in vivo enzyme biosensors for organic pollutants. Biosensors & Bioelectronics 22: 2400–2407.

Reid NM, Bowers TH, Lloyd-Jones G 2008. Bacterial community composition of a wastewater treatment system reliant on N2 fixation. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 79: 285–292.

Liang, Q., Lloyd-Jones, G. 2009. Sphingobium scionense sp. nov., an aromatic hydrocarbon degrading bacterium isolated from contaminated sawmill soil. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (first published on September 4, 2009 as doi: 10.1099/ijs.0.008144-0).

Reid, N.M. Lloyd-Jones, G. 2009. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation in the New Zealand dampwood termite (Stolotermes ruficeps). New Zealand Journal of Ecology 33: 90-95.