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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 479 5201
Email
chris.brown@otago.ac.nz
Position
Associate Professor
Department
Department of Biochemistry
Qualifications
MSc PhD(Otago)
Research summary
Regulatory genomics
Teaching
Genetics and Biochemistry: BIOC 221, GENE 223, BIOC 352, BIOC 451, GENE 400, PLBI 401, MICN 201 (Genetics, Blood), MICN 301 (Genetics).

Research

Regulatory Genomics

The identification of novel regulatory elements and genes.

Gene expression must be carefully regulated in all species. We are investigating this regulation using bioinformatics and wet experiments in a range of systems. Software and datasets from the Brown group are available through our servers, by download, or through collaborators. Current projects involve the use of both computer and experimental tools to test for new types of control mechanisms.

Databases and tools for genomics.

The recent availability of large amounts of sequence data, particularly complete genome sequences and transcriptomes and proteomes, has revolutionised the study of gene expression. Our first tool (TransTerm) began over 20 years ago, it includes data and tools related to translation. Virus research tools and databases include HBVRegDB, CRISPRTarget and CRISPRSuite.

A listing of tools and their applications is on the Bioanalysis website.

Gene discovery using comparative genomics

We are using high throughput genomic from several diverse organisms, in collaboration with other groups (see collaborations). These studies include aiming to identify coding and non-coding RNAs and regulatory elements in these genomes. Applications include - plant pathogen and endophyte interactions, methanogen genomes, and pathogenic bacterial and viral genomes and viromes.

Current collaborations

  • Peter Fineran (Otago, Microbiology). The discovery of CRISPR elements in bacterial genomes and their targets in viral (bacteriophage) genomes.
  • David Orlovich and Tina Summerfield (Botany) New Zealand native mushroom genomes (Taonga).
  • Artemio Mendoza (Bio-Protection, Lincoln) Genomics of fungal-plant interactions - Gene expression bioinformatics. Fungal non-coding RNAs.
  • Abigail Smith (Marine Science) Bryozoan genomics

Thanks to past and present funding agencies

  • Dunedin School of Medicine Bequest Funds
  • University of Otago Research Grants
  • Human Frontier Science Organisation
  • Health Research Council
  • Lotteries Health
  • The Marsden Fund
  • Joint Genome Institute

I am interested in contacts from potential collaborators, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students.

Publications

Greenhough, H., Vignier, J., Smith, K. F., Brown, C. M., Kenny, N. J., & Rolton, A. (2025). Multi-stressor dynamics: Effects of marine heatwave stress and harmful algal blooms on juvenile mussel (Perna canaliculus) survival and physiology. Science of the Total Environment, 964, 178590. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178590 Journal - Research Article

Greenhough, H., Vignier, J., Smith, K. F., Brown, C., Rolton, A., & Kenny, N. J. (2024, August). The effects of harmful algal blooms and marine heatwaves on the early life stages of green-lipped mussels. Verbal presentation at the BMS Postgraduate Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Birkholz, N., Kamata, K., Feußner, M., Wilkinson, M. E., Samaniego, C. C., Migur, A., … Ceelen, M., … Brown, C. M., … Fagerlund, R. D., Jackson, S. A., & Fineran, P. C. (2024). Phage helix-turn-helix proteins bind RNA and DNA to control anti-CRISPR dynamics. Viruses of Microbes (VoM) Scientific Conference. Retrieved from https://www.vom2024.org/ Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Nilsen, A. R., Plett, J. M., May, T. W., Lebel, T., Brown, C. M., Catcheside, D. E. A., & Orlovich, D. A. (2024). Navigating the labyrinth: Searching for mechanistic clues to explain the evolution of sequestrate Agaricales with labyrinthine internal chambers. Fungal Biology Reviews, 49, 100380. doi: 10.1016/j.fbr.2024.100380 Journal - Research Article

Moreira, S. M., Chyou, T.-y., Wade, J. T., & Brown, C. M. (2024). Diversification of the Rho transcription termination factor in bacteria. Nucleic Acids Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkae582 Journal - Research Article

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