Identification of environmental and genetic factors affecting the survival of Legionella pneumophila in water.

鉴定影响嗜肺军团菌在水中存活的环境和遗传因素。

• 批准号: 418289-2012
• 负责人: Faucher, Sébastien
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2013-01-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=531080
• 关键词: Identification; environmental; genetic; factors; affecting

The long-term goal of my research program is to understand the environmental and genetic factors underlying the survival of water-borne pathogens in the water environment and their transmission to the human host. Legionella pneumophila, a model water-borne pathogen for the study of virulence mechanisms and water-borne pathogens, will be used for this research program. L. pneumophila is the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, an important cause of community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia with a high case-fatality rate approaching 50%. L. pneumophila is transmitted by inhalation of contaminated water droplets originating from human made water systems, such as showers and roof-top air-conditioning units. There is currently no insight into the global parameters affecting long-term survival of L. pneumophila or other water-borne pathogen in complex water microcosms, such as the ones found in contaminated water systems. I am proposing to use a reductionist approach in which the system will be reduced to its fundamental components and then the complexity of replicate systems will be increased one step at a time. My short-term objectives for the next five years are to identify and characterize genes underlying survivability in a pure water system and to characterize the effects of some environmental factors on the survivability in water and virulence potential. Integration of these findings should provide a global view of the genetic and environmental factors influencing L. pneumophila survival and transmission to mammalian hosts, and these findings should be applicable to other water-borne pathogens as well. This could provide new strategies to control the replication of bacterial pathogens inside man-made water systems and to prevent transmission to humans. This research program will allow the training of at least four highly qualified personnel per year in cutting-edge molecular techniques and water safety with regards to the presence of bacterial pathogens.

我的研究计划的长期目标是了解水中病原体在水环境中生存的环境和遗传因素，以及它们向人类宿主的传播。嗜肺军团菌是一种研究毒力机制和水媒病原体的水媒模型病原体，将用于这一研究计划。嗜肺乳杆菌是军团病的病原体，是社区获得性和医院获得性肺炎的重要原因，病死率高达50%。嗜肺性乳杆菌通过吸入受污染的水滴传播，这些水滴来自人造水系统，如淋浴和屋顶空调设备。目前还没有关于影响嗜肺乳杆菌或其他水传播病原体在复杂的水微宇宙中长期存活的全球参数的见解，例如在受污染的水系统中发现的那些微宇宙。我建议使用一种简化论的方法，在这种方法中，系统将被缩减到其基本组件，然后复制系统的复杂性将一步步增加。我未来五年的短期目标是确定和表征纯水系统中潜在的生存能力基因，并表征一些环境因素对水中生存能力和毒力潜力的影响。结合这些发现，应该可以提供影响嗜肺乳杆菌存活和传播给哺乳动物宿主的遗传和环境因素的全球视角，这些发现也应该适用于其他水传播的病原体。这可能提供新的策略来控制人工水系统内细菌病原体的复制，并防止向人类传播。这一研究计划将允许每年培训至少四名在尖端分子技术和与细菌病原体存在有关的水安全方面的高素质人员。