Understanding the role of phages in the spread of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes in Enterococci

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Enteroccoci are one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections and are becoming increasingly difficult to treat due to increasing antimicrobial resistance. An understudied area of research is how bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) may play an important role in the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes. It has long been known phage can mediate horizontal gene transfer; however, the recent discovery of lateral transduction, where phage mediate horizontal gene transfer, occurred at frequencies far higher than previously known. Additionally, there is now increasing evidence that prophages (phages that integrate into a bacterial genome) harbour antibiotic resistance genes and virulence genes within their genome. This project will focus on understanding the role of phages in mediating horizontal gene transfer in Enterococcus. The project brings together expertise from two complementary research groups, offering the opportunity for training in culturing of facultative anaerobes, phage isolation, genomic analysis and development of an in vivo model system in Galleria mellonella to study lateral gene transfer.