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How does S. pneumoniae acquire extracellular DNA from its natural environment to drive antibiotic resistance?

肺炎链球菌如何从自然环境中获取细胞外 DNA 来驱动抗生素耐药性？

基本信息

批准号：
2740602
负责人：
金额：
--
依托单位：
University of Sheffield
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Studentship
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2022 至无数据
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2740602
关键词：
How does S.pneumoniae acquire

项目摘要

Understanding the flow of genetic information between individuals and communities is fundamental to our understanding of how biological systems function. In bacteria, this genetic exchange can be driven by a process called competence, where cells integrate foreign DNA from their environment directly into their genomes. This includes genes involved in virulence and antibiotic resistance which provide fitness advantages during infection.Natural competence was first studied in Streptococcus pneumoniae, a species of bacteria that colonises the respiratory tract of healthy people, but also causes devastating infections if they escape and colonise other areas of the body. S.pneumoniae acquires antibiotic resistance through the uptake of extracellular DNA from other bacterial species found in their natural environment. This study aims to use a combination of molecular biology, microfluidic devices, and time-lapse imaging to unravel how S.pneumoniae exchanges genetic material with other bacteria species. We will engineer S.pneumoniae to express fluorescent proteins when they integrate extracellular DNA into their genomes, allowing us to determine the specific environmental conditions that facilitate DNA transfer within mixed bacterial communities. This knowledge the may ultimately lead to new insights on how S.pneumoniae acquires antibiotic resistance and evades vaccines.

了解个体和群体之间的遗传信息流动对于我们理解生物系统如何运作至关重要。在细菌中，这种基因交换可以由一种称为感受态的过程驱动，在这种过程中，细胞将外来DNA从其环境中直接整合到其基因组中。这包括与毒力和抗生素抗性相关的基因，这些基因在感染过程中提供了适应性优势。天然能力首先在肺炎链球菌中进行了研究，肺炎链球菌是一种细菌，在健康人的呼吸道中定植，但如果它们逃逸并在身体的其他部位定植，也会导致毁灭性的感染。肺炎链球菌通过从其自然环境中发现的其他细菌物种摄取细胞外DNA获得抗生素抗性。这项研究旨在结合分子生物学、微流体装置和延时成像来揭示肺炎链球菌如何与其他细菌物种交换遗传物质。我们将设计肺炎链球菌，使其在将细胞外DNA整合到其基因组中时表达荧光蛋白，从而使我们能够确定促进混合细菌群落内DNA转移的特定环境条件。这一知识最终可能导致对肺炎链球菌如何获得抗生素耐药性和逃避疫苗的新见解。