Development of single-cell sequencing technology for microbial populations

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When biological samples are analysed at the DNA level (to study genotypes) or the RNA level) to look at gene expression. We currently have to analyze many thousands or millions of cells at a time. This has been a very informative approach but it means that we miss a lot of complexity in biological systems, as in most cases the DNA in a microbial culture may be different in each cell and the gene expression in each cell is also hetrogeneous. This is particularly important is communities that form biofilms on surfaces as there may be different strains or species of bacteria working together performing different roles in the community. Biofilms are especially important for bacteria evading antimicrobial treatment. In this project we aim to develop the methodologies for single cell sequencing of microbes and test these against a number of different use cases. We will use Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) to separate cells and then develop protocols to analyze these cells in parallel by using molecular barcoding methods.