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Simon Kelly

Biotechnology Team Leader & Senior Scientist

Simon Kelly

BSc, MSc, PhD

Simon is a Biotechnology Team Leader and Senior Scientist at Lincoln Agritech, leading research into harnessing microbes to sustainably support agriculture and develop new biotechnology applications.

He completed his Master’s and PhD in Microbiology at the University of Otago, focusing on soil bacteria and their beneficial interactions with plants. Simon then spent eight years at Aarhus University in Denmark as a Postdoc and Assistant Professor, where he expanded his research into plant‑microbe communication, microbiomes, and microbial consortia.

His work continues to explore the potential of microbes in agriculture and biotechnology, with interests spanning plant‑microbe interactions, functional genomics, microbiomes, and microbial consortia.

Focus areas:

  • Plant‑microbe interactions
  • Microbial and plant functional genomics
  • Isolation and characterisation of microbial consortia

Projects

GreenTech
GreenTech
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Biotechnology
Biotechnology
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Publications

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Rhizobial secretion of truncated exopolysaccharides severely impairs the Mesorhizobium-Lotus symbiosi, Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, September 2024
Wightman T, Muszyński A, Kelly S J, Sullivan J T, Smart C J, Stougaard J, Ferguson S, Azadi P, Ronson C W
https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-03-24-0024-R
Nitrogen and Nod factor signaling determine Lotus japonicus root exudate composition and bacterial assembly, Nature Communications, May 2024
Tao K, Jensen Ib T... Kelly S, et al
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47752-0
Nitrogen source and Nod factor signaling map out the assemblies of Lotus japonicus root bacterial communities, bioRxiv
Tao, K, Jensen, I T, Zhang, S, Villa-Rodriguez, E, Blahovska, Z, Salomonsen, C L, Martyn, A, Bjorgvinsdottir, T N, Kelly, S, Janss, L, Glasius, M, Waagepetersen, R, Radutoiu S
https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.27.542319
A glycan receptor kinase facilitates intracellular accommodation of arbuscular mycorrhiza and symbiotic rhizobia in the legume Lotus japonicus, PLOS Biology
Kelly, S, et al
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002127
Application of ecosystem-specific reference databases for increased taxonomic resolution in soil microbial profiling, Front. Microbiol
Overgaard, C K, Tao, K, Zhang, S, Christensen, B T, Blahovska, Z, Radutoiu, S, Kelly, S, Dueholm, M K D
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.942396