Space invaders: genetic and metabolic factors underpinning successful Pseudomonas invasion into microbial communities
Supervisors:
Rachel Wheatley, School of Biological Sciences, (Queen’s University Belfast)
Paul A Hoskisson, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, (University of Strathclyde)
Summary:
In order infect a host, a bacterial pathogen must first successfully invade the resident microbial community at the site of infection (i.e., the microbiome). The microbiome can provide colonisation resistance against pathogens, but pathogens can in turn encode a range of traits that help them overcome this. These traits include the production of toxins that can kill other microbes, as well as metabolic genes that help them benefit from underused nutrients in the infection niche. The ability of a bacterial pathogen to successfully invade the microbiome will be a key factor determining its spread and success, and understanding these mechanisms is a pressing research challenge.
The goal of this project is to dissect the genetic and metabolic factors underpinning the ability of the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to invade microbial communities. P. aeruginosa is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections across a number of infection sites (e.g. the lungs, urinary tract, and in wounds), and possesses a large genome and diverse phenotypes with respect to virulence, metabolic repertoire, and antibiotic resistance among strains. This project will answer two central questions: (1) What genetic and metabolic factors underpin the success of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to invade the microbiome? (2) When and how does intra-specific Pseudomonas diversity change outcomes of these microbial interactions?
This PhD will provide training in experimental microbiology, working with multi-species communities, bacterial genetics, data analysis, and bioinformatics.