EXPLOITING GENOMICS TO UNDERSTAND MICROBIAL ADAPTATION AND RESISTANCE TO INDUSTRIAL PRESERVATIVES

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Preventing microbial contamination of industrial products and processes is a major area of industrialbiotechnology. Preservatives and detergents are added to products to ensure sterility, stable shelf-life, and reduce potential risk of infection to consumers. The manufacturing industry is one of the largest users of antimicrobial agents, however, with regulatory changes and a global need to reduce environmental impact, the sector is moving towards greener, minimal formulations. Certain bacteria show reduced susceptibility to antimicrobial agents and may also evolve greater resistance upon exposure to preservatives. Bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Acinetobacter bacteria may persist during manufacture of consumer products causing disruptive plant closure or products recalls. Understanding the basis for resistance and anticipating adaptation are important for industry to develop novel product preservation strategies.This PhD will work with Unilever Research and Development, Port Sunlight, to examine how bacteria adapt to overcome preservative strategies used by industry. State-of-the-art genomic approaches of bacterial whole genome sequencing (WGS) and global gene expression (transcriptomics via RNA-sequencing) will be used to map antimicrobial resistance genes, metabolic pathways and mutations that underpin preservative resistance in bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Acinetobacter. The project will: (i) build custom genomic databases of each bacterial industrial contaminant species to enable their accurate identification and analysis; (ii) systematically map the resistance genes, metabolic pathways, and mutational signatures relevant to preservative resistance in each species; (iii) examine the genetic basis for adaptation to preservative resistance by analysis of bacteria strains which have been exposed to existing or novel preservative formulations. The project will provide an interdisciplinary training in molecular microbiology, industrial microbiology, bioinformatics and statistical analysis of big datasets. Placements with the industrial partner willfacilitate training in the applied aspects of industrial biotechnology, and the business strategies behind the home and personal care industry.