Dr Christoph Engl
PhD | FHEA | MRSB
Senior Lecturer in Microbiology
Deputy Head of Biochemistry | Director of MSc Molecular Cell Biology
Centre lead
School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
Research
Cellular Adaptation of Bacteria, Single-cell Biology, Microbial Communities, RNA Processing and Repair
Interests
Dr Engl is an elected Member of the Royal Society of Biology and an internationally recognised expert in molecular cell biology. His research seeks to understand how bacteria sense and respond to their environment, from stimulus perception and signal processing to gene regulation and physiological adaptation.
By integrating molecular cell biology, systems biology, advanced microscopy, and data science, he investigates bacterial physiology and behaviour at high resolution, from single molecules and single cells to community level. This multidisciplinary approach enables the discovery of how individual cells behave, interact, and shape the dynamics within microbial communities.
A central theme of his research is to understand how cellular diversity supports microbial adaptation and survival. To address this question, Dr Engl develops and employs innovative experimental and analytical methods to quantify and interpret cell-to-cell variation in gene expression and phenotypic output.
Publications
Publications of specific relevance to the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology
2026
Premature transcription termination modulates stochastic gene expression in bacteriaMoradian S Ali N Jagadeesan R Behrends V Sanches Ribeiro A Engl C
Science Advances,
American Association For The Advancement of Science (Aaas) vol. 12 (20)
15-05-2026 2025
Heterogeneity in responses to ribosome-targeting antibiotics mediated by bacterial RNA repairHindley HJ Gong Z Moradian S Giuliano MG Sapelkin A Kotta-Loizou I Buck M Engl C et al.
Nature Communications,
Springer Nature vol. 16 (1)
11-11-2025 2022
The RNA repair proteins RtcAB regulate transcription activator RtcR via its CRISPR-associated Rossmann fold domain.Kotta-Loizou I Giuliano MG Jovanovic M Schaefer J Ye F Zhang N Liu X Zhang X
Iscience,
Cell Press, 105425-105425.
20-10-2022 Molecular Origins of Transcriptional Heterogeneity in Diazotrophic Klebsiella oxytocaBashir T Brackston RD Waite C Kotta-Loizou I Engl C Schumacher J
Msystems,
American Society For Microbiology vol. 7 (5), e00596-e00522.
08-09-2022 2021
The Lifecycle of Ribosomal RNA in BacteriaGiuliano MG Engl C
In
Rna Damage and Repair,
Springer Nature 27-51.
01-01-2021 2020
mRNA localization, reaction centre biogenesis and thylakoid membrane targeting in cyanobacteriaMahbub M Hemm L Yang Y Kaur R Carmen H Riediger M Watanabe S Liu L-N et al.
Nature Plants,
Springer Nature vol. 6 (9), 1179-1191.
01-09-2020 The route to transcription initiation determines the mode of transcriptional bursting in E. coliEngl C Jovanovic G Brackston RD Kotta-Loizou I
Nature Communications,
Springer Nature vol. 11 (1)
15-05-2020 2019
A CRISPR-associated Rossmann fold (CARF) domain regulates transcription of an RNA repair system in Escherichia coliKotta-Loizou I Jovanovic M Engl C
Access Microbiology,
Microbiology Society vol. 1 (1A)
01-03-2019 2018
Noise in bacterial gene expressionEngl C
Biochemical Society Transactions,
Portland Press vol. 47 (1), 209-217.
21-12-2018 Effects of Paenibacillus polymyxa inoculation on below-ground nematode communities and plant growthFinch EA Caruso T
Soil Biology and Biochemistry,
Elsevier vol. 121, 1-7.
01-06-2018 2017
Correction to: Organic phosphorus in the terrestrial environment: a perspective on the state of the art and future priorities (Plant and Soil, (2018), 427, 1-2, (191-208), 10.1007/s11104-017-3391-x)George TS Giles CD Menezes-Blackburn D Condron LM Gama-Rodrigues AC Jaisi D Lang F Neal AL et al.
Plant and Soil vol. 427 (1-2), 209-211.
02-12-2017 Organic phosphorus in the terrestrial environment: a perspective on the state of the art and future prioritiesGeorge TS Giles CD Menezes-Blackburn D Condron LM Gama-Rodrigues AC Jaisi D Lang F Neal AL et al.
Plant and Soil 06-10-2017 Effect of food-related stress conditions and loss of agr and sigB on seb promoter activity in S. aureusSihto H-M Stephan R Engl C Johler S
Food Microbiology vol. 65, 205-212.
07-03-2017 2016
Cellular and molecular phenotypes depending upon the RNA repair system RtcAB of Escherichia coliEngl C Kotta-Loizou I Buck M
Nucleic Acids Research, gkw628-gkw628.
08-07-2016 2015
Genome wide interactions of wild-type and activator bypass forms of σ54Schaefer J Engl C Lawton E
Nucleic Acids Research vol. 43 (15), 7280-7291.
16-06-2015 In Vitro and In Vivo Methodologies for Studying the Sigma 54-Dependent TranscriptionBuck M Engl C Joly N Jovanovic G Jovanovic M Lawton E McDonald C Waite C
Methods in Molecular Biology,
Springer Nature vol. 1276, 53-79.
01-01-2015 2014
Chp8, a Diguanylate Cyclase from Pseudomonas syringae pv. Tomato DC3000, Suppresses the Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern Flagellin, Increases Extracellular Polysaccharides, and Promotes Plant Immune EvasionEngl C McKenna JF Bennett MH Hamann T
Mbio vol. 5 (3), e01168-14-e01168-14.
20-05-2014 2013
Dynamics and stoichiometry of a regulated enhancer-binding protein in live Escherichia coli cellsMehta P Jovanovic G Lenn T Bruckbauer A Engl C
Nature Communications,
Springer Nature vol. 4 (1)
01-01-2013 Single molecule imaging of localisations, dynamics and stoichiometry of a regulated enhancer-binding protein in live Escherichia coli cellsMehta P Jovanovic G Lenn T Bruckbauer A Engl C Buck M
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS. vol. 42, S202-S202.
01-01-2013 2012
A Coagulase- and α-Glucosidase-Negative Variant of Staphylococcus aureus: a Challenge for Routine Microbiological DiagnosticsJohler S Moser M Engl C Tasara T Corti S
Journal of Clinical Microbiology,
American Society For Microbiology vol. 50 (5), 1827-1828.
15-02-2012 2011
Dissipation of Proton Motive Force is not Sufficient to Induce the Phage Shock Protein Response in Escherichia coliEngl C Beek AT Bekker M de Mattos JT Buck M
Current Microbiology,
Springer Nature vol. 62 (5), 1374-1385.
23-01-2011 2010
The Evolution of the Phage Shock Protein Response System: Interplay between Protein Function, Genomic Organization, and System FunctionHuvet M Toni T Sheng X Thorne T Jovanovic G Engl C Stumpf MPH
Molecular Biology and Evolution,
Oxford University Press (OUP) vol. 28 (3), 1141-1155.
08-11-2010 Measuring the stoichiometry of functional PspA complexes in living bacterial cells by single molecule photobleachingLenn T Gkekas CN Bernard L Engl C Jovanovic G
Chem. Commun.,
Royal Society of Chemistry (Rsc) vol. 47 (1), 400-402.
07-09-2010 Managing membrane stress: the phage shock protein (Psp) response, from molecular mechanisms to physiologyJoly N Engl C Jovanovic G Sheng X Stumpf MPH
Fems Microbiology Reviews,
Oxford University Press (OUP) vol. 34 (5), 797-827.
01-09-2010 Properties of the phage-shock-protein (Psp) regulatory complex that govern signal transduction and induction of the Psp response in Escherichia coliJovanovic G Engl C Mayhew AJ
Microbiology,
Microbiology Society vol. 156 (10), 2920-2932.
01-07-2010 2009
A Lower-Order Oligomer Form of Phage Shock Protein A (PspA) Stably Associates with the Hexameric AAA+ Transcription Activator Protein PspF for Negative RegulationJoly N Burrows PC Jovanovic G
Journal of Molecular Biology,
Elsevier vol. 394 (4), 764-775.
03-10-2009 Physical, functional and conditional interactions between ArcAB and phage shock proteins upon secretin‐induced stress in Escherichia coliJovanovic G Buck M
Molecular Microbiology,
Wiley vol. 74 (1), 16-28.
24-09-2009 In vivo localizations of membrane stress controllers PspA and PspG in Escherichia coliEngl C Jovanovic G Lloyd LJ Murray H Spitaler M Errington J
Molecular Microbiology,
Wiley vol. 73 (3), 382-396.
24-07-2009 Model-based evolutionary analysis: the natural history of phage-shock stress responseHuvet M Toni T Tan H Stumpf MPH
Biochemical Society Transactions,
Portland Press vol. 37 (4), 762-767.
22-07-2009 Single-cell Analysis of Attenuation-Driven Transcription Reveals New Principles of Bacterial Gene RegulationMoradian S Ali N Jagadeesan R Behrends V Ribeiro A Engl C
In
Biorxiv Improved data analysis for non-invasive, label-free biomolecular characterisation of single bacterial cells via Raman microspectroscopyEngl C Gong Z Sapelkin A
In
Research Square Molecular origins of transcriptional heterogeneity in diazotrophic K. oxytocaBashir T Brackston RD Waite CJ Kotta-Loizou I Engl C Buck M Schumacher J
In
Biorxiv A model of Rtc-regulated RNA repair reveals heterogeneous responses to ribosome-targeting antibiotics and suggests molecular targets to potentiate their effectsHindley HJ Gong Z Moradian S Giuliano MG Sapelkin A Kotta-Loizou I Buck M Engl C et al.
In
Biorxiv
Grants
Grants of specific relevance to the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology
A confocal microscope for multidisciplinary dynamic studies of complex biological systemsConrad Mullineaux,
Caroline Brennan,
Alexandre De Mendoza Soler,
Viji Draviam Sastry,
Maurice Elphick,
Christoph Engl,
Isabel M Palacios,
Matteo Palma,
Marina Resmini,
Alexander Ruban,
Peter Thorpe,
Angelika Stollewerk,
Chema Martín-Durán, Paulo Baptista Ribeiro, Susana Alves Godinho, Richard Grose, Stephanie Kermorgant, Peter McCormick and Tyson Sharp
£390,834
BBSRC Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council01-08-2022 - 31-07-2023 Bacterial decision-making: Exploring molecular switches of population dynamicsChristoph Engl£312,314
Leverhulme Trust01-10-2021 - 07-11-2024 Ribosomes under attack – Establishing a platform for smFRET analyses of bacterial translationChristoph Engl£116,126
Wellcome Trust01-12-2018 - 01-10-2022
Research Group
PhD Students
- Zechuan Gong
Cellular Noise and Adaptive Responses in E.Coli Bacteria. - Shaf Moradian
Bursty Gene Expression and Noisy Cells: Mechanistic Insights Into The Role of Premature Transcription Termination in Single-Cell Dynamics - Jose Angel Salazar Lucas
Functional Characterisation of Orexin-Type Neuropeptide Signalling in An Echinoderm - Hsin-Yi Yang
Exploring Cellular Diversity Driving Bacterial Survival Under Antibiotic Pressure
News
May 2026
17 May 2026
By analysing gene expression at the single-cell level, researchers at the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of West London and Tampere University, have uncovered how premature termination of transcription shapes differences between individual members of bacterial communities. Because gene expression is stochastic and ... [more]
November 2025
12 November 2025
Researchers at the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology and Experimental and Applied Physics together with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London have uncovered a new mechanism that helps bacteria survive antibiotic treatment. Published in Nature Communications, their research shows that RNA repair in E. coli not ... [more]
