New Threats from Old Friends?
This work builds on our many years of work on E. coli, a model organism that is both a pathogen and workhorse of molecular biology. In this work we are interested in the evolution and emergence of new hybrid strains of E. coli. We have been collaborating with a group in Brazil that identified novel strains that do not fit the normal classification we use for E. coli. They contain genes normally seen in gut pathogens but also many of the genes seen in bladder specific pathogens. The strains have been sent for sequencing with the data available by the start of this project. For the lab component, we would see which virulence proteins the bacteria can express and secrete and look at how the strains interact with host cells. Typically strains carry around 30-50 secreted proteins but we have no idea for these novel strains. The work would involve some bioinformatics, molecular biology and even proteomics. It's an interesting way to explore new strains that are involved in disease. The project has enormous scope and fantastic tools to explore these novel isolates.
A good paper to look at would be:
Draft Whole-Genome Sequence of a Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Strain Carrying the eae GeneMicrobiology Resource Announcements
2019-10-24 | journal-article, DOI: 10.1128/MRA.00980-19