Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) is a gram negative, rod-shaped bacteria that is associated with many different common diseases; for example: sepsis, pneumonia, UTIs and cystic fibrosis (CF). This project is specifically interested in the bacteria in the setting of a CF lung. Microbes rarely exist as a single species, but rather in complex polymicrobial environments. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) are the most commonly isolated bacterial and fungal pathogens in the CF airway. Evidence shows that when grown with Af, Pa will mutate and activate specific pathways as a response. Perhaps these changes can be seen physically and genetically over generations. With the goal of understanding how Pa adapts over time in human infection, Pa was grown over a period of 15 days in isolation and in co-culture with Af, in synthetic CF sputum media (SCFM2). Altering the phosphate sources in SCFM2 showed new morphological patterns and growth changes of Af in isolation. Genetic sequencing of Pa gDNA and analyzing growth patterns in a culture model representative of the CF airway will reveal the changes produced over many generations of Pa in isolation and co-culture. Monitoring the Generational Genomic and Phenotypic Changes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Polymicrobial Environments
WITH JESSICA AYCOCK AND DR. STEPHEN DOLAN, DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS AND BIOCHEMISTRY
18
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker