Unlocking the potential of bacterial polymers by defining key determinants

包裹在某些细菌表面的糖结构，被称为胶囊，可以被环境中的细菌病毒（噬菌体）修饰。对于细菌属不动杆菌，这影响了它们作为天然可再生的“绿色”生物聚合物用于修复被石油碳氢化合物污染的环境。该项目旨在利用生物信息学和实验方法的结合来表征关键的胶囊聚合酶，以确定噬菌体如何影响不动杆菌胶囊。成果包括开发创新的基因组学管道来检测胶囊变化，提高活细菌在生物修复和自然生态系统可持续恢复中的使用。

Sugary structures that coat the surface of some bacteria, known as capsules, can be modified by bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) in the environment. For the bacterial genus Acinetobacter, this influences their use as naturally renewable 'green' biopolymers for remediating environments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. This project aims to characterise crucial capsule polymerase enzymes using a combination of bioinformatics and experimental methodologies to establish how bacteriophage influence Acinetobacter capsules. Outcomes include the development of an innovative genomics pipeline to detect capsule change, improving the use of living bacteria for bioremediation and sustainable rehabilitation of natural ecosystems.