Reader Michael Beeton

First Year tutor for Biomedical Sciences Programme.

My teaching interests cover all levels of medical microbiology and infection sciences from foundation through to MSc.  

Modules I am in​volved with:

Undergraduate

• APS4008 -  Infection and Immunity - Module leader​
• APS5015 - Principles and Practices of Infection Sciences
• APS5021 - Infection Sciences - Specialism A
  
• APS6017 - Infection Science - Specialism B
• APS6022 - Research Project
  
• ASF3007 - Biological Sciences
• APS6008 - Contemporary Topics in Biomedical Science
  

Postgraduate

• MBS7008 - Medical Microbiology - Module leader
• MBS7009 - Advanced Topics in Medical Microbiology
• MBS7010 - Dissertation

My research primarily focuses on understanding the role in which mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas play in human health and disease.  Over the past 10 years this has primarily focused on Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum with projects examining the prevalence of antibiotic resistance among UK clinical isolates, characterising the mechanisms of resistance as well as understanding the role in which these bacteria play in preterm birth and subsequent neonatal disease. This work has led to projects developing point of care diagnostic techniques as well as specific targeted therapies against ureaplasmas.

More recently I have been involved with research projects examining the respiratory mycoplasmas Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma amphoriforme. M. pneumoniae is a significant cause of respiratory tract infections, is thought to primarily affect young children with epidemics occurring every 4 to 7 years.  With respect to M. amphoriforme, very little is known.  This emerging pathogen predominantly effects immunocompromised patients, but still more work is required in this area.

Finally, I have an interest in sexually transmitted infections such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae as well as working to understand the complex, and controversial subject relating to the interaction between U. urealyticum and the development of non-gonococcal urethritis in men.  I have worked collaboratively to test novel antimicrobial agents against ureaplasmas, as a model for a cell-wall free pathogen, as well as a well characterised strain collection of multidrug resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae. 

As an active member of the Infection Research Group based at Cardiff Metropolitan University I work collaboratively with a number of internal and external collaborators.  

External collaborators

• Prof John Newnham – University of Western Australia
• Dr Matt Payne – University of Western Australia
• Lucy Furfaro – University of Western Australia
• Dr Diana Alves – University of Brighton
• Dr Steven Coles – University of Worcester      

Past members of the Beeton Laboratory

• Lucy Andrews - Society for Applied Microbiology - Students into Work Grant (2017)
• Girish Appalsawmy – Volunteer (2016)
• Shubham Sahu – Microbiology Society – Harry Smith Vacation Studentship (2016)
• Kirsty Hillitt – Society for Applied Microbiology – Students into Work Grant (2015)​

2019

Beeton ML, Zhang XS, Uldum SA, Bébéar C, Dumke R, Gullsby K, Ieven M, Loens K, Nir-Paz R, Pereyre S, Spiller OB, Chalker VJ and the ESCMID Study Group for Mycoplasma and Chlamydia Infections (ESGMAC) Mycoplasma pneumoniae sub-group. Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections across Europe and Israel (2011-2016). Eurosurveillance. 2019. In Press

Beeton ML, Payne MS and Jones LC. The role of Ureaplasma spp. in the development of non-gonococcal urethritis and infertility among men. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 2019. Jul 3;32(4). pii: e00137-18. doi: 10.1128/CMR.00137-18

van Gorp C, de Lange IH, Spiller OB, Dewez F, Cillero Pastor B, Heeren RMA, Kessels L, Kloosterboer N, van Gemert WG, Beeton ML, Stock SJ, Jobe AH, Payne MS, Kemp MW, Zimmermann LJ, Kramer BW, Plat J and Wolfs TGAM. Protection of the Ovine Fetal Gut against Ureaplasma-Induced Chorioamnionitis: A Potential Role for Plant Sterols. Nutrients. 2019 Apr 27;11(5). doi: 10.3390/nu11050968.

2017

Beeton ML and Spiller OB. Antibiotic resistance among Ureaplasma spp isolates; cause for concern? J Antimicrob Chemother. 2017. Feb;72(2):330-337 doi: 10.1093/jac/dkw425

Gussenhoven R, Ophelders DRMG, Kemp MW, Payne MS, Spiller OB, Beeton ML, Stock SJ, Cillero-Pastor B, Barré FPY, Heeren RMA, Kessels L, Stevens B, Rutten BP, Kallapur SG, Jobe AH, Kramer BW, Wolfs TGAM. The Paradoxical Effects of Chronic Intra-Amniotic Ureaplasma parvum Exposure on Ovine Fetal Brain Development. Dev Neurosci. 2017;39(6):472-486. doi: 10.1159/000479021.

2016

Kemp MW, Ahmed S, Beeton ML, Payne MS, Saito M, Mirua Y, Usuda H, Kallapur SG, Kramer BW, Stock SJ, Jobe AH, Newnham JP, Spiller OB.Fetal Ureaplasma parvum bacteraemia as a function of gestation-dependent complement insufficiency: evidence from a sheep model of pregnancy.  Am J Reprod Immunol. 2016. doi: 10.1111/aji.12599. 

Hillitt K, Jenkins RE, Spiller OB and Beeton ML. Antimicrobial activity of Manuka honey against antibiotic resistant strains of the cell wall free bacteria Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum. Lett Appl Microbiol. 2016 Dec 19. doi: 10.1111/lam.12707

Beeton ML, Maxwell NC, Chalker VJ, Brown RJ, Aboklaish AF, Spiller OB; ESCMID Study Group for Mycoplasma Infections. Isolation of Separate Ureaplasma Species From Endotracheal Secretions of Twin Patients. Pediatrics. 2016. PMID: 27418415

Alhusein N, Blagbrough IS, Beeton ML, Bolhuis A, De Bank PA. Electrospun Zein/PCL Fibrous Matrices Release Tetracycline in a Controlled Manner, Killing Staphylococcus aureus Both in Biofilms and Ex Vivo on Pig Skin, and are Compatible with Human Skin Cells. Pharm Res. 2016 Jan;33(1):237-46. doi: 10.1007/s11095-015-1782-3.

2015

Beeton ML, Chalker VJ, Jones LC, Maxwell NC, Spiller OB. Antibiotic Resistance among Clinical Ureaplasma Isolates Recovered from Neonates in England and Wales between 2007 and 2013. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2015 Oct 12;60(1):52-6. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00889-15.

Mulley G, Beeton ML, Wilkinson P, Vlisidou I, Ockendon-Powell N, Hapeshi A, Tobias NJ, Nollmann FI, Bode HB, van den Elsen J, Ffrench-Constant RH, Waterfield NR.From Insect to Man: Photorhabdus Sheds Light on the Emergence of Human Pathogenicity. PLoS One. 2015 Dec 17;10(12):e0144937. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144937.

Beeton ML. Possible missed diagnosis of Ureaplasma spp infection in a case of fatal hyperammonemia after repeat renal transplantation. J Clin Anesth. 2015 Sep 28. pii: S0952-8180(15)00268-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinane.2015.08.019

Beeton ML, Alves DR, Enright MC, Jenkins AT. Assessing phage therapy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa using a Galleria mellonella infection model. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2015 Aug;46(2):196-200. doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2015.04.005.

Nollmann FI, Heinrich AK, Brachmann AO, Morisseau C, Mukherjee K, Casanova-Torres ÁM, Strobl F, Kleinhans D, Kinski S, Schultz K, Beeton ML, Kaiser M, Chu YY, Phan Ke L, Thanwisai A, Bozhüyük KA, Chantratita N, Götz F, Waterfield NR, Vilcinskas A, Stelzer EH, Goodrich-Blair H, Hammock BD, Bode HB. A photorhabdus natural product inhibits insect juvenile hormone epoxide hydrolase.  Chembiochem. 2015 Mar 23;16(5):766-71. doi: 10.1002/cbic.201402650.

2006 - 2014

Beeton ML, Aldrich-Wright JR, Bolhuis A. The antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of copper(II) complexes. J Inorg Biochem. 2014 Nov;140:167-72. doi: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2014.07.012.

Beeton ML, Atkinson DJ, Waterfield NR. An amoeba phagocytosis model reveals a novel developmental switch in the insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis. J Insect Physiol. 2013 Feb;59(2):223-31. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2012.06.011.

Yang G, Hernández-Rodríguez CS, Beeton ML, Wilkinson P, Ffrench-Constant RH, Waterfield NR. Pdl1 is a putative lipase that enhances Photorhabdus toxin complex secretion. PLoS Pathog. 2012;8(5):e1002692. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002692.

Beeton ML, Daha MR, El-Shanawany T, Jolles SR, Kotecha S, Spiller OB. Serum killing of Ureaplasma parvum shows serovar-determined susceptibility for normal individuals and common variable immuno-deficiency patients. Immunobiology. 2012 Feb;217(2):187-94. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2011.07.009.

Beeton ML, Maxwell NC, Davies PL, Nuttall D, McGreal E, Chakraborty M, Spiller OB, Kotecha S. Role of pulmonary infection in the development of chronic lung disease of prematurity. Eur Respir J. 2011 Jun;37(6):1424-30. doi: 10.1183/09031936.00037810.

Davies PL, Spiller OB, Beeton ML, Maxwell NC, Remold-O'Donnell E, Kotecha S. Relationship of proteinases and proteinase inhibitors with microbial presence in chronic lung disease of prematurity. Thorax. 2010 Mar;65(3):246-51. doi: 10.1136/thx.2009.116061.

Beeton ML, Chalker VJ, Kotecha S, Spiller OB. Comparison of full gyrA, gyrB, parC and parE gene sequences between all Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum serovars to separate true fluoroquinolone antibiotic resistance mutations from non-resistance polymorphism.  J Antimicrob Chemother. 2009 Sep;64(3):529-38. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkp218.

Beeton ML, Chalker VJ, Maxwell NC, Kotecha S, Spiller OB.Concurrent titration and determination of antibiotic resistance in ureaplasma species with identification of novel point mutations in genes associated with resistance. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2009 May;53(5):2020-7. doi: 10.1128/AAC.01349-08.

Dale C, Beeton M, Harbison C, Jones T, Pontes M. Isolation, pure culture, and characterization of "Candidatus Arsenophonus arthropodicus," an intracellular secondary endosymbiont from the hippoboscid louse fly Pseudolynchia canariensis. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Apr;72(4):2997-3004.​​

Current Projects

Sir Halley Stewart Trust - Main Grant.  Oct 18 - Mar 21 
Title: Development of a rapid and cost-effective Point-of-Care diagnostic test for the detection of Ureaplasma infection among preterm neonates
Co-investigator: Dr Steven Coles (University of Worcester), Dr Maha Mansour (Singleton Hospital Swansea)

Past Projects

Funding in the Beeton laboratory has been support by the following bodies

​The Royal Society 

The Microbiology Society

The Society for Applied Microbiology

Cardiff Metropolitan University Research & Enterprise Services​

• Science Officer for the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Study Group for Mycoplasma and Chlamydia Infections (ESGMAC) – https://www.escmid.org/
  
• Microbiology Society representative for the Public Health England External Advisory Group for Sexual Health, Reproductive Health and HIV
  
• Department of Biomedical Sciences ethics panel
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy - https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/
• Microbiology Society - http://www.microbiologysociety.org/

• Society for Applied Microbiology - http://www.sfam.org.uk/​​​
  

Research Gate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mike_Beeton

Twitter: @mike_beeton 

Each year I contribute to the Department of Biomedical Sciences outreach programme, led by Dr Cath Withycombe​. These two day sessions allow students from local schools to get a taste of practical hands on microbiology.  These sessions additionally provide an opportunity to disseminate the research which is carried out here at Cardiff Metropolitan University.