Professor Matt Johnson

School of Biosciences

Professor of Biochemistry, School Director of Research

Matt Johnson
Profile picture of Matt Johnson
matt.johnson@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 4418
Profile
  • 2022 - 2023: Director of Research, School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield
  • 2021 - present: Chair in Biochemistry, School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield
  • 2018 - 2021: Reader in Biochemistry, School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield
  • 2015 - 2017: Lecturer, Dept. of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Sheffield
  • 2012 - 2017: Krebs Institute Research Fellow, Krebs Institute, University of Sheffield.
  • 2012 - 2015: Leverhulme Research Fellow, Dept. of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Sheffield
  • 2011 - 2012: Project Sunshine Research Fellow, Dept. of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Sheffield.
  • 2007 - 2011: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Queen Mary University of London.
  • 2003 - 2007: PhD ‘The role of the xanthophyll cycle in photoproection in Arabidopsis thaliana’, Dept. of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Sheffield.
Research interests

The Johnson Lab is focused on photosynthesis the process that uses solar energy to transform water and carbon dioxide into the energy we consume and the oxygen we breathe. Research within my group falls into three overlapping areas:

Thylakoid membrane structure and dynamics

The chloroplast thylakoid membrane is the site for the initial steps of photosynthesis that convert solar energy into chemical energy, ultimately powering almost all life on earth.

The heterogeneous distribution of protein complexes within the membrane gives rise to an intricate three-dimensional structure that is nonetheless extremely dynamic on a timescale of seconds to minutes.

These dynamics form the basis for the regulation of photosynthesis, and therefore the adaptability of plants to different environments.

We use a multi-faceted approach that includes atomic force, electron and fluorescence microscopies in combination with biochemistry and spectroscopy to probe these organizational details and understand their functional relevance.

Single molecule electron transfer

Small diffusible redox proteins play a ubiquitous role in facilitating electron transfer (ET) in respiration and photosynthesis by shuttling electrons between membrane bound complexes in a redox-dependent manner.

The association of such small redox carrier proteins with their larger membrane-bound partners must be highly specific, yet also readily reversible in order to sustain rapid ET and turnover on microsecond/millisecond timescales.

New developments in force spectroscopy provide the first opportunity to quantify the dynamic forces that sustain these transient interactions and to understand their temporal evolution leading to dissociation.

We have adapted a new atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique PeakForce-QNM (PF-QNM), and have used it to directly monitor these intermolecular interactions at the single molecule level, with sub-millisecond time resolution, and with picoNewton force resolution.

Photoprotective energy dissipation

In photosynthesis, light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) capture solar energy and feed it to the downstream molecular machinery. However, when light absorption exceeds the capacity for utilization, the excess energy can cause damage. Thus, LHCs have evolved a feedback loop that triggers photoprotective energy dissipation.

The critical importance of photoprotection for plant fitness has been demonstrated, as well as its impact on crop yields. However, the mechanisms of photoprotection ― from fast chemical reactions of molecules to slow conformational changes of proteins ― have not yet been resolved.

We are working with partners at MIT and at Okazaki in Japan to study the protein and pigment dynamics that bring about the switch between the photoprotective and light harvesting states.

Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Journal articles

  • Malone LA, Proctor MS, Hitchcock A, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2021) . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1862(5).
  • Hepworth C, Wood WHJ, Emrich-Mills TZ, Proctor MS, Casson S & Johnson MP (2021) . Nature Plants, 7(1), 87-98.
  • Flannery SE, Hepworth C, Wood WHJ, Pastorelli F, Neil Hunter C, Dickman MJ, Jackson PJ & Johnson MP (2021) . The Plant Journal, 105(1), 223-244.
  • Malone LA, Qian P, Mayneord GE, Hitchcock A, Farmer DA, Thompson RF, Swainsbury DJK, Ranson NA, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2019) . Nature, 575(7783), 535-539.
  • Wood WHJ, Barnett SFH, Flannery S, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2019) . Plant Physiology, 180(4), 2152-2166.
  • Mayneord GE, Vasilev C, Malone LA, Swainsbury DJK, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2019) . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1860(7), 591-599.
  • Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2010) . Plant J, 61(2), 283-289.
  • Ruban AV & Johnson MP (2009) . Photosynthesis Research, 99(3), 173-183.

All publications

Journal articles

  • Wietrzynski W, Lamm L, Wood WHJ, Loukeri M-J, Malone L, Peng T, Johnson MP & Engel BD (2025) . eLife, 14.
  • Johnson MP (2025) . Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 26(9), 725-725.
  • Johnson MP (2025) . Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 26(9), 667-690.
  • Rousseau A, Richardson KH, Nandy A, Vasilev C, Hoffmann MP, Hunter CN, Johnson MP & Schlau-Cohen GS (2025) . ACS Nano, 19(15), 14865-14872.
  • Emrich-Mills TZ, Proctor MS, Degen GE, Jackson PJ, Richardson KH, Hawkings FR, Buchert F, Hitchcock A, Hunter CN, Mackinder LCM , Hippler M et al (2025) . The Plant Cell, 37(3).
  • Vasilev C, Nguyen J, Bowie AGM, Mayneord GE, Martin EC, Hitchcock A, Pogorelov TV, Singharoy A, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2024) . Journal of the American Chemical Society, 146(29), 20019-20032.
  • Ennist NM, Wang S, Kennedy MA, Curti M, Sutherland GA, Vasilev C, Redler RL, Maffeis V, Shareef S, Sica AV , Hua AS et al (2024) . Nature Chemical Biology, 20(7), 906-915.
  • Degen GE & Johnson MP (2024) . The Plant Cell, 36(10), 4065-4079.
  • Degen GE, Pastorelli F & Johnson MP (2024) . Journal of Experimental Botany, 75(3), 947-961.
  • Manna P, Hoffmann M, Davies T, Richardson KH, Johnson MP & Schlau-Cohen GS (2023) . Science Advances, 9(51).
  • Sutherland GA, Pidgeon JP, Lee HKH, Proctor MS, Hitchcock A, Wang S, Chekulaev D, Tsoi WC, Johnson MP, Hunter CN & Clark J (2023) . The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 14(26), 6135-6142.
  • Flannery SE, Pastorelli F, Emrich‐Mills TZ, Casson SA, Hunter CN, Dickman MJ, Jackson PJ & Johnson MP (2023) . The Plant Journal, 114(6).
  • Swainsbury DJK, Hawkings FR, Martin EC, Musiał S, Salisbury JH, Jackson PJ, Farmer DA, Johnson MP, Siebert CA, Hitchcock A & Hunter CN (2023) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(12).
  • Degen GE, Jackson PJ, Proctor MS, Zoulias N, Casson SA & Johnson MP (2023) . Plant Physiology, 192(1), 370-386.
  • Proctor MS, Morey-Burrows FS, Canniffe DP, Martin EC, Swainsbury DJK, Johnson MP, Hunter CN, Sutherland GA & Hitchcock A (2022) . Microorganisms, 10(9).
  • Proctor MS, Malone LA, Farmer DA, Swainsbury DJK, Hawkings FR, Pastorelli F, Emrich-Mills TZ, Siebert CA, Hunter CN, Johnson MP & Hitchcock A (2022) . Biochemical Journal, 479(13), 1487-1503.
  • MacGregor-Chatwin C, Nürnberg DJ, Jackson PJ, Vasilev C, Hitchcock A, Ho MY, Shen G, Gisriel CJ, Wood WHJ, Mahbub M , Selinger VM et al (2022) . Science Advances, 8(6).
  • Vasilev C, Swainsbury DJK, Cartron ML, Martin EC, Kumar S, Hobbs JK, Johnson MP, Hitchcock A & Hunter CN (2022) . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1863(2).
  • Zoulias N, Rowe J, Thomson EE, Dabrowska M, Sutherland H, Degen GE, Johnson MP, Sedelnikova SE, Hulmes GE, Hettema EH & Casson SA (2021) . Current Biology, 31(24), 5622-5632.e7.
  • Flannery SE, Pastorelli F, Wood WHJ, Hunter CN, Dickman MJ, Jackson PJ & Johnson MP (2021) . Plant Direct, 5(10).
  • Manna P, Davies T, Hoffmann M, Johnson MP & Schlau-Cohen GS (2021) . Biophysical Journal, 120(15), 3091-3102.
  • Garg N, Taylor AJ, Pastorelli F, Flannery SE, Jackson PJ, Johnson MP & Kelly DJ (2021) . Frontiers in Microbiology, 12.
  • Wilson S, Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2021) . Plant Physiology, 187(1), 263-275.
  • Emrich-Mills TZ, Yates G, Barrett J, Girr P, Grouneva I, Lau CS, Walker CE, Kwok TK, Davey JW, Johnson MP & Mackinder LCM (2021) . The Plant Cell, 33(4), 1161-1181.
  • Malone LA, Proctor MS, Hitchcock A, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2021) . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1862(5).
  • Hepworth C, Wood WHJ, Emrich-Mills TZ, Proctor MS, Casson S & Johnson MP (2021) . Nature Plants, 7(1), 87-98.
  • Flannery SE, Hepworth C, Wood WHJ, Pastorelli F, Neil Hunter C, Dickman MJ, Jackson PJ & Johnson MP (2021) . The Plant Journal, 105(1), 223-244.
  • Proctor MS, Pazderník M, Jackson PJ, Pilný J, Martin EC, Dickman MJ, Canniffe DP, Johnson MP, Hunter CN, Sobotka R & Hitchcock A (2020) . Biochemical Journal, 477(20), 4021-4036.
  • Johnson MP (2020) . Journal of Experimental Botany, 71(12), 3380-3382.
  • Wood WHJ & Johnson MP (2020) . Biophysical Journal, 119(2), 287-299.
  • Johnson MP & Wientjes E (2020) . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1861(4), 148039-148039.
  • Malone LA, Qian P, Mayneord GE, Hitchcock A, Farmer DA, Thompson RF, Swainsbury DJK, Ranson NA, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2019) . Nature, 575(7783), 535-539.
  • Vasilev C, Mayneord GE, Brindley AA, Johnson MP & Hunter CN (2019) . Biochemical Journal, 476(15), 2173-2190.
  • MacGregor-Chatwin C, Jackson PJ, Sener M, Chidgey JW, Hitchcock A, Qian P, Mayneord GE, Johnson MP, Luthey-Schulten Z, Dickman MJ , Scanlan DJ et al (2019) . Nature Plants, 5(8), 879-889.
  • Wood WHJ, Barnett SFH, Flannery S, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2019) . Plant Physiology, 180(4), 2152-2166.
  • Mayneord GE, Vasilev C, Malone LA, Swainsbury DJK, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2019) . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1860(7), 591-599.
  • Lishchik A, Vasilev C, Johnson M, Hunter N, Törmä P & Leggett GJ (2019) . Faraday Discussions, 216, 57-71.
  • Adams PG, Vasilev C, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2018) . Elsevier Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1859(10), 1075-1085.
  • Wood WHJ, MacGregor-Chatwin C, Barnett SFH, Mayneord GE, Huang X, Hobbs JK, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2018) . Nature Plants, 4(391).
  • Johnson MP (2018) . Biochemical Journal, 475(7), 1225-1233.
  • Huete-Ortega M, Okurowska K, Kapoore RV, Johnson MP, Gilmour DJ & Vaidyanathan S (2018) . Biotechnology for Biofuels, 11(1).
  • Wood WHJ, MacGregor-Chatwin C, Barnett S, Mayneord G, Huang X, Hobbs J, Hunter CN & Johnson M (2018) . Nature Plants, 4, 116-127.
  • Snellenburg JJ, Johnson MP, Ruban AV, van Grondelle R & van Stokkum IHM (2017) . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1858(10), 854-864.
  • Smith AJ, Laugks T, Kleindiek S, Albert S, Wood WHJ, Johnson MP, Engel BD, Baumeister W, Plitzko JM & Schaffer M (2017) . Microscopy and Microanalysis, 23(S1), 844-845.
  • Johnson MP (2016) . Essays In Biochemistry, 60(3), 255-273.
  • Stone JE, Sener M, Vandivort KL, Barragan A, Singharoy A, Teo I, Ribeiro JV, Isralewitz B, Liu B, Goh BC , Phillips JC et al (2016) . Parallel Computing, 55, 17-27.
  • Benson SL, Maheswaran P, Ware MA, Hunter CN, Horton P, Jansson S, Ruban AV & Johnson MP (2015) . Nature Plants, 1.
  • Patole S, Vasilev C, El-Zubir O, Wang L, Johnson MP, Cadby AJ, Leggett GJ & Hunter CN (2015) . Interface Focus, 5(4).
  • Johnson MP, Vasilev C, Olsen JD & Hunter CN (2014) . Plant Cell, 26(7), 3051-3061.
  • Vasilev C, Johnson MP, Gonzales E, Wang L, Ruban AV, Montano G, Cadby AJ & Hunter CN (2014) . Langmuir, 30(28), 8481-8490.
  • Johnson M, Vasilev C, Olsen JD & Hunter CN (2014) . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, 1837, e122-e122.
  • Krüger TPJ, Ilioaia C, van Grondelle R, Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2014) . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics.
  • Cousins AB, Johnson M & Leakey ADB (2014) . Photosynthesis Research, 119(1-2), 1-2.
  • Kruger TPJ, Ilioaia C, Johnson MP, Belgio E, Horton P, Ruban AV & van Grondelle R (2013) . BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 105(4), 1018-1026.
  • Ilioaia C, Duffy CDP, Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2013) . Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 117(19), 5841-5847.
  • Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2013) . Photosynthesis Research, 1-10.
  • Rutkauskas D, Chmeliov J, Johnson M, Ruban A & Valkunas L (2012) . Chemical Physics, 404, 123-128.
  • Belgio E, Johnson MP, Jurić S & Ruban AV (2012) . Biophysical Journal, 102(12), 2761-2771.
  • Krüger TPJ, Ilioaia C, Johnson MP, Ruban AV, Papagiannakis E, Horton P & Van Grondelle R (2012) . Biophysical Journal, 102(11), 2669-2676.
  • Johnson MP, Zia A & Ruban AV (2012) . Planta, 235(1), 193-204.
  • Johnson MP, Brain APR & Ruban AV (2011) . Plant Signaling and Behavior, 6(9), 1386-1390.
  • Goral TK, Johnson MP, Duffy CDP, Brain APR, Ruban AV & Mullineaux CW (2011) Light-harvesting antenna composition controls the macrostructure and dynamics of thylakoid membranes in Arabidopsis. Plant Journal.
  • Ilioaia C, Johnson MP, Liao PN, Pascal AA, Van Grondelle R, Walla PJ, Ruban AV & Robert B (2011) . Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286(31), 27247-27254.
  • Ruban AV, Johnson MP & Duffy CDP (2011) . Energy & Environmental Science, 4(5), 1643-1643.
  • Ruban AV, Johnson MP & Duffy CDP (2011) The photoprotective molecular switch in the photosystem II antenna. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics.
  • Johnson MP, Goral TK, Duffy CDP, Brain APR, Mullineaux CW & Ruban AV (2011) . Plant Cell, 23(4), 1468-1479.
  • Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2011) . Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286(22), 19973-19981.
  • Zia A, Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2011) . Planta, 233(6), 1253-1264.
  • Ilioaia C, Johnson MP, Duffy CDP, Pascal AA, Van Grondelle R, Robert B & Ruban AV (2011) . Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286(1), 91-98.
  • Stadnichuk IN, Bulychev AA, Lukashev EP, Sinetova MP, Khristin MS, Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2011) . Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta Bioenergetics, 1807(2), 227-235.
  • Duffy CDP, Johnson MP, MacErnis M, Valkunas L, Barford W & Ruban AV (2010) . Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 114(46), 15244-15253.
  • Johnson MP, Zia A, Horton P & Ruban AV (2010) . Chemical Physics, 373(1-2), 23-32.
  • Ruban AV & Johnson MP (2010) . Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 504(1), 78-85.
  • Goral TK, Johnson MP, Brain APR, Kirchhoff H, Ruban AV & Mullineaux CW (2010) . Plant Journal, 62(6), 948-959.
  • Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2010) . Plant J, 61(2), 283-289.
  • Damkjær JT, Kereïche S, Johnson MP, Kovacs L, Kiss AZ, Boekema EJ, Ruban AV, Horton P & Jansson S (2009) . Plant Cell, 21(10), 3245-3256.
  • Johnson MP & Ruban AV (2009) . Journal of Biological Chemistry, 284(35), 23592-23601.
  • Ruban AV & Johnson MP (2009) . Photosynthesis Research, 99(3), 173-183.
  • Johnson MP, Pérez-Bueno ML, Zia A, Horton P & Ruban AV (2009) . Plant Physiology, 149(2), 1061-1075.
  • Ilioaia C, Johnson MP, Horton P & Ruban AV (2008) . Journal of Biological Chemistry, 283(43), 29505-29512.
  • Pérez-Bueno ML, Johnson MP, Zia A, Ruban AV & Horton P (2008) . FEBS Letters, 582(10), 1477-1482.
  • Horton P, Johnson MP, Perez-Bueno ML, Kiss AZ & Ruban AV (2008) . FEBS Journal, 275(6), 1069-1079.
  • Johnson MP, Davison PA, Ruban AV & Horton P (2008) . FEBS Lett, 582(2), 262-266.
  • Johnson MP, Havaux M, Triantaphylidès C, Ksas B, Pascal AA, Robert B, Davison PA, Ruban AV & Horton P (2007) . J Biol Chem, 282(31), 22605-22618.
  • Johnson M, Havaux M, Triantaphylides C, Ksas B, Pascal A, Robert B, Davison P, Ruban A & Horton P (2007) Elevated zeaxanthin bound to oligomeric LHCII enhances the resistance of Arabidopsis to photo-oxidative stress by a lipid-protective, anti-oxidant mechanism. PHOTOSYNTH RES, 91(2-3), 319-319.
  • Wietrzynski W, Lamm L, Wood WHJ, Loukeri M-J, Malone L, Peng T, Johnson MP & Engel BD () . eLife, 14.
  • Hepworth C, Wood WHJ, Emrich-Mills TZ, Proctor MS, Casson S & Johnson MP () . Nature Plants, 7(2), 238-238.
  • Ruban AV & Johnson MP () . Nature Plants, 1(11).
  • Goral TK, Johnson MP, Brain APR, Kirchhoff H, Ruban AV & Mullineaux CW () . The Plant Journal.

Conference proceedings

  • Adams PG, Vasilev C, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2017) . Biophysical Journal, Vol. 112(3) (pp 441a-441a)
  • Adams PG, Vasilev C, Collins AM, Montaño GA, Hunter CN & Johnson MP (2016) . Biophysical Journal, Vol. 110(3) (pp 19a-19a)

Preprints

  • Wietrzynski W, Lamm L, Wood WHJ, Loukeri M-J, Malone L, Peng T, Johnson MP & Engel BD (2025) , eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd.
  • Wietrzynski W, Lamm L, Wood WHJ, Loukeri M-J, Malone L, Peng T, Johnson MP & Engel BD (2025) , eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd.
  • Wietrzynski W, Lamm L, Wood WHJ, Loukeri M-J, Malone L, Peng T, Johnson MP & Engel BD (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Emrich-Mills TZ, Proctor MS, Degen GE, Jackson PJ, Richardson KH, Hawkings FR, Buchert F, Hitchcock A, Hunter CN, Mackinder LCM , Hippler M et al (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Degen GE, Pastorelli F & Johnson MP (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Ennist N, Wang S, Kennedy M, Curti M, Sutherland G, Vasilev C, Redler R, Maffeis V, Shareef S, Sica A , Hua A et al (2023) , Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
  • Manna P, Hoffmann M, Davies T, Richardson KH, Johnson MP & Schlau-Cohen GS (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Sutherland GA, Pidgeon JP, Lee HKH, Proctor MS, Hitchcock A, Wang S, Chekulaev D, Tsoi WC, Johnson MP, Hunter CN & Clark J (2022) , arXiv.
  • Degen GE, Jackson PJ, Proctor MS, Zoulias N, Casson SA & Johnson MP (2022) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Haza KZ, Martin HL, Rao A, Turner AL, Saunders SE, Petersen B, Tiede C, Tipping K, Tang AA, Ajayi M , Taylor T et al (2020) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Emrich-Mills T, Yates G, Barrett J, Grouneva I, Lau CS, Walker CE, Kwok TK, Davey JW, Johnson MP & Mackinder LCM (2020) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Wood WHJ & Johnson MP (2019) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Research group

Photosynthesis Research Group

Teaching activities

Level 1 modules

  • MBB161 Biochemistry
  • MBB165 Practical Molecular Bioscience 1

Level 2 modules

  • MBB266 Biostructures, Energetics and Synthesis (Module Coordinator)

Level 3 modules

  • MBB304 Plant Biotechnology
Professional activities and memberships
  • 2020: Wain Medal in Biochemistry
  • 2018: Biochemical Society Colworth Medal
  • 2017: MBB Teaching Prize
  • 2016: Society for Experimental Biology President’s Medal in Plant Science

Links

Sheffield Photosynthesis Research