Volker Behrends

Dr Volker Behrends

Associate Professor of Microbial Metabolism
School of Medicine and Biosciences
volker.behrends@uwl.ac.uk

I'm a biologist working at the interface of health, environmental and analytical science with specific research interests in microbiology, mass spectrometry and data analysis.

Teaching experience from level 3 to level 7 in microbiology, biochemicaly and biomedical content.

Specialties: GC-MS, LC-MS, sample preparation, antimicrobial resistance, multidisciplinary communication, host-microbe interactions.

  • Qualifications

    • PhD (2010) - Imperial College London

  • Memberships

    Applied Microbiology International
    Biochemical Society
    London Metabolomics Network

Research

  • Research and publications

    Charidemou, E., Noberini, R., Ghiradi, C., Georgiou, P., Marcou, P., Theophanous, A., Strati, K.,    Keun, H., Behrends, V., Bonaldi, T., Kirmizis, A., 2024. Hyperacetylated histone H4 is a source of carbon contributing to lipid synthesis, EMBO J, accepted. 

    Obayiuwana, A.O., Behrends,V., Calle, Y., Barone, M., Turroni, S., Brigidi, P., Costabile, A., Corona, G., 2023. Cooking, simulated digestion, and in vitro colonic fermentation of Nigerian wholegrains affect phenolic acid metabolism and gut microbiota composition, Int J Mol Sci, doi: 10.3390/ijms241814111. 

    Krebs-Kleingesinds, E., de Almeida Parizotto, L., Effer, B., Monteiro, G., Long, P.F., Arroyo-Berdugo, Y., Behrends, V., Esposito, M.-T., Calle, Y., Pessoa-Jr, A., 2023. Downstream process and evaluation of the concomitant impact of a recombinant glycosylated L-asparaginase on leukemic cancer cells and the bone marrow tumor microenvironment, Process Biochem. 131, pp41-51, doi: 10.1016/j.procbio.2023.06.006. 

    Mauro, C.S.I., Kadiri Hassani, M., Barone, M., Esposito, M.-T., Calle, Y., Behrends, V., Garcia, S., Silvia, P.B., Turroni, S., Costabile, A., 2023. An in vitro fermentation study on the impact of cerrado and pantanal brazilian plant flours on gut microbiome in healthy and disease, Int J Food Sci Tech – doi: 10.1111/ijfs.16274. 

    Katzarov, S., Behrends, V., 2022. Temporal hierarchy and context-dependence of quorum sensing signal in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Life, doi: 10.3390/life12121953. 

    Peralta-Maraver, I., Rutere, C., Horn, M.A., Reche, I., Behrends, V., Reiss, J., Robertson, A.L., 2022. Intermediate levels of predation and nutrient enrichment enhance the activity of ibuprofen degrading bacteria, Microbial Ecol, doi: 10.1007/s00248-022-02109-2. 

    Draicchio, F., Behrends, V., Tillin, N., Hurren, N.M., Sylow, L., Mackenzie, R., 2022. Involvement of the extracellular matrix and integrin signalling proteins in skeletal muscle glucose uptake, J Phys 600 (20), pp4393-4408, doi: 10.1113/JP283039. 

    Danner, M.-C., Azams, S.O., Robertson, A., Perkins, D., Behrends, V., Reiss, J., 2021. It More than Adds Up: Interaction of Antibiotic Mixing and Temperature, Life 11(12), 1435, doi: 10.3390/life11121435. 

    Nolan, C. and Behrends, V., 2021. Sub-Inhibitory Antibiotic Exposure and Virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Antibiotics 10 (11), 1393, doi: 10.3390/antibiotics10111393. 

    Ferdous, Z., Fuchs, S., Behrends, V., Trasanidis, N., Vlachou, D., Christophides, G.K. 2021.Anopheles coluzzii stearoyl-CoA desaturase is essential for adult female survival and reproduction upon blood feeding, Plos Pathogens, 17 (5), e1009486, doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009486. 

    Chabanol, E., Behrends, V., Prévot, G., Christophides, G.K., Gendrin, M. (2020). Antibiotic treatment in An. coluzzii affects carbon and nitrogen metabolism, Pathogens 9 (9), 679, doi: 10.3390/pathogens9090679. 

    Fedurek, P., Lacroix, L., Lehmann, J., Aktipis, A., Cronk, L., Townsend, C.E. Makambi, J., Mabulla, I. Behrends, V. Berbesque, J.C. (2020). Status does not predict stress: Women in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society, Evolutionary Human Sciences 2, e44, doi: 10.1017/ehs.2020.44. 

    Betti, L. Shaw, P., Behrends, V. 2020. Acceptance of Biological Evolution by First-Year Life Sciences University Students, Science & Education 29, pp. 395–409, doi: 10.1007/s11191-020-00110-0. 

    Bravo-Santano, N., Behrends, V., Letek, M. 2019. Host-Targeted Therapeutics against Multidrug Resistant Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus, Antibiotics 8(4), pp. 241, doi: 10.3390/antibiotics8040241. 

    Bravo-Santano, N., Capilla-Lasheras, P., Mateos, L.M., Calle, Y., Behrends, V., Letek, M. 2019. Identification of novel targets for host-directed therapeutics against intracellular Staphylococcus aureus, Sci Rep 9: 15435, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-51894-3. 

    Bravo-Santano, N., Ellis, J.K., Calle, Y., Keun, H., Behrends, V., Letek, M., 2019. Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus Elicits the Production of Host Very Long-Chain Saturated Fatty Acids with Antimicrobial Activity, Metabolites 9(7), 148, doi:  10.3390/metabo9070148. 

    Bravo-Santano, N., Stölting, H., Cooper, F., Bileckaja, N., Majstorovic, A., Ihle, N., Mateos, L.M., Calle, Y., Behrends, V., Letek, M. 2019. Host-Directed Kinase Inhibitors Act as Novel Therapies against Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus. Sci Rep 9 (1): 4876, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-41260-8. 

    Danner, M.C., Robertson, A. Behrends, V., Reiss, J. 2019. Antibiotic Pollution in Surface Fresh Waters: Occurrence and Effects. Sci Total Environ, 664, pp. 793–804, doi: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.01.406. 

    Behrends, V., Giskeogard, G., Bravo-Santano, N., Letek, M., Keun, H. 2019 Acetaminophen exposure of HepG2 cells routes of carbon away from fatty acid into lactate synthesis, Arch Toxicol., 93(2), pp 341–353, doi: 10.1007/s00204-018-2371-0. 

    Bravo-Santano, N., Ellis, J.K., Mateos, L.M., Calle, Y., Keun, H., Behrends, V., Letek, M., 2018. Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus modulates host central carbon metabolism to activate autophagy, mSphere 3(4), e00374-18, doi:  10.1128/mSphere.00374-18. 

    Turnbull, A.R., Murphy, R., Behrends, V., Lund-Palau, H., Simbo, A., Mariveles, M., Alton, E.W.F.W., Bush, A., Shoemark, A., Davies, J.C., 2018. Impact of T2R38 receptor polymorphisms on Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis, Am J Crit Care Med, doi: 10.1164/rccm.201711-2365LE. 

    Schar, M.Y. Corona, G., Soycan, G., Dine, C., Kristek, A., Alsharif, S.N.S., Behrends, V., Lovegrove, A., Shewry, P.R., Spencer, J.P.E., 2018. Excretion of Avenanthramides, Phenolic Acids and their Major Metabolites Following Intake of Oat Bran, Mol Nutr Food Res, doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201700499. 

    Gosztolai, A., Schumacher, J., Behrends,V., Bundy, J.G., Heydenreich, F., Bennett, M., Buck, M., Barahona, M., 2017. GlnK facilitates dynamic regulation in bacterial nitrogen assimilation, Biophys J 112(10), p. 2219 2230, doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.04.012. 

    Burgess, S.J., Taha, H., Yeoman, J.A., Iamshanova, O., Chan, K.X., Boehm, M., Behrends, V., Bundy, J. G., Bialek, W., Murray, J.W., Nixon, P.J., 2016. Identification of the Elusive Pyruvate Reductase of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Chloroplasts, Plant Cell Physiol 57(1): 82-94, doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcv167. 

    La Rosa, R., Behrends, V., Williams, H.D., Bundy, J.G., Rojo, F., 2016. Lack of the Crc regulator modifies, but does not abolish, the hierarchical assimilation of nutrients in Pseudomonas, and leads to excretion of intermediary metabolites, Environ Microbiol, 18(3):807-18, doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.13126.  

    Komorowski, M., Schumacher, J., Behrends, V., Jetka, T. Bennett, M.H. Ale, A., Filippi, S., Pinney, J.W., Bundy, J.G., Buck, M., Stumpf, M.P.H., 2015. Analog nitrogen sensing in Escherichia coli enables high fidelity information processing, bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/015792. 

    Behrends, V., Maharjan, R.P., Ryall, B., Feng, L, Liu, B., Wang, L., Bundy, J.G., Ferenci, 2014. T. A metabolic trade-off between phosphate and glucose utilization in Escherichia coli, Mol BioSyst, doi: 10.1039/C4MB00313F.

    Strittmatter, N., Rebec, M., Jones, E.A., Golf, O., Abdolrasouli, A. Balog, J., Behrends, V., Veselkov, K.A., Bundy, J.G., Takats, Z., 2014. Rapid Characterization and Identification of Clinically Relevant Microorganisms Using Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry, Anal Chem, doi: 10.1021/ac501075f. 

    Ryall B., Carrara M., Zlosnik J.E., Behrends V., Lee X., Wong Z., Lougheed K.E., Williams H.D., 2014. The Mucoid Switch in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Represses Quorum Sensing Systems and Leads to Complex Changes to Stationary Phase Virulence Factor Regulation, PLoS One 9(5): e96166. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096166.  

    Fuchs, S., Behrends, V., Bundy, J.G., Crisanti, A., Nolan, T., 2014. The Anopheles gambiae phenylalanine hydroxylase regulates the immune defence against Plasmodium berghei parasites and female reproduction, PLoS One, 9(1): e84865, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084865. 

    Schumacher, J., Behrends, V., et al., 2013. Nitrogen and carbon status are integrated at the transcriptional level in vivo by the nitrogen regulator NtrC, mBio 4(6): e00881-13, doi: 10.1128/mBio.00881-13. 

    Behrends, V., Ryall, B., Zlosnik, J.E.A., Speert, D.A., Bundy, J.G., Williams, H.D., 2013. Metabolic adaptations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa during cystic fibrosis chronic lung infections, Env Micro 15(2): 398-408, doi: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2012.02840.x. 

    Behrends, V., Bell, T.J., Liebeke, M., Cordes-Blauert, A., Ashraf, S.N., Nair, C. Zlosnik, J.E.A., Williams, H.D., Bundy, J.G., 2013. Metabolite profiling to characterize disease-related bacteria: gluconate excretion by Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutants and clinical isolates from cystic fibrosis patients,J Biol Chem, 288(21): 15098-109, doi: 10.1074/jbc.M112.442814. 

    Lawrence, D., Fiegna, F., Behrends, V., Bundy, J.G., Phillimore, A.B., Bell, T., Barraclough, T.G., 2012. Species interactions alter evolutionary responses to environmental change, PLoS Biol, 10(5), doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001330.g006. 

    Behrends, V., Williams, K.J., Jenkins, V.A., Robertson, B.D., Bundy, J.G., 2012. Free glucosylglycerate is a novel marker of nitrogen stress in Mycobacterium smegmatis, J Proteom Res, 11(7): 3888-96, doi: 10.1021/pr300371b. 

    Behrends, V., Geier, B., Williams, H.D., Bundy, J.G., 2013. Direct assessment of metabolite utilization by Pseudomonas aeruginosa from artificial sputum medium, Appl Environ Microbiol, 79(7): 2467-70, doi: 10.1128/AEM.03609-12.  

    Tredwell, G., Behrends, V., Geier, F.M., Liebeke, M., Bundy, J.G., 2011. Between-person comparison of metabolite fitting for NMR-based quantitative metabolomics, Anal Chem 83(22): 8683-7, doi: 10.1021/ac202123k. 

    Behrends, V., Tredwell, G.D., Bundy, J.G., 2011. A software complement to AMDIS for processing GC-MS metabolomics data, Anal Biochem 415(2): 206-8, doi: 10.1016/j.ab.2011.04.009. 

    Behrends, V., Bundy, J.G., Williams, H.D., 2011. Differences in strategies to combat osmotic stress in Burkholderia cenocepacia elucidated by NMR-based metabolic profiling, Lett Appl Microbiol, 52(6): 619-25, doi: 10.1111/j.1472-765X.2011.03050.x. 

    Williams, H.D., Behrends, V., Bundy, J.G., Ryall, B., Zlosnik, J.E.A., 2010. Hypertonic Saline Therapy in Cystic Fibrosis: Do Population Shifts Caused by the Osmotic Sensitivity of Infecting Bacteria Explain the Effectiveness of this Treatment?, Front. Microbio. 1:120. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2010.00120. 

    Behrends, V., Ryall, B., Wang, X., Bundy, J.G., Williams, H.D., 2010. Metabolic profiling of Pseudomonas aeruginosa demonstrates that the anti-sigma factor MucA modulates osmotic stress tolerance. Mol Biosyst 6(3):  562-9, doi: 10.1039/b918710c. 

    Behrends, V., Ebbels, T.M.D., Williams, H.D., Bundy, J.G., 2009. Time-resolved metabolic footprinting for nonlinear modeling of bacterial substrate utilization. Appl Environ Microbiol 75(8): 2453-63, doi: 10.1128/AEM.01742-08. 

    Whiteford, J.R., Behrends, V., Kirby, H., Kusche-Gullberg, M., Muramatsu, T., Couchman, J.R., 2007. Syndecans promote integrin-mediated adhesion of mesenchymal cells in two distinct pathways. Exp Cell Res 313(18):3902-13. 

    Book chapters

    Athersuch, T.J., Lau, C.H., Behrends, V., Keun, H.C., 2018. NMR Spectroscopy of Cell Culture, Tissues, and Other Biofluids in: NMR-based Metabolomics Royal Soc. Chem. (London), 324-359. doi: 10.1039/9781782627937-00324. 

    Behrends V., Williams H.D., Bundy J.G., 2014. Metabolic footprinting: extracellular metabolomic analysis, in: Methods Mol Biol. (Springer, New York), Filloux, A., Ramos, J.-L. (eds.) 1149:281-92. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0473-0_23. 

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