Engineering Surface Topography to Influence Horizontal Gene Transfer in Bacteria.

工程表面形貌以影响细菌的水平基因转移。

• 批准号: 2433852
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2433852
• 关键词: Engineering; Surface; Topography; Influence; Horizontal

The aim of this proof-of-principle project is to unambiguously demonstrate the importance of engineering surface topography to design materials and devices capable of controlling HGT. Specifically, we propose to use strains of clinically relevant Enterobacteriaceae, which have recently developed resistance to the carbapenem antibiotics (drugs of last resort) through HGT of conjugative plasmids, to investigate how surface topography can affect HGT. We will select resistant donor and non-resistant recipient strains and carry out mating experiments in microhabitats of controlled surface topography developed using soft-lithography techniques. Here, using optical microscopy, we will be able to monitor rates of transfer (also due to other factors, e.g., spatial patchiness, flows as well as distribution of nutrients and antibiotics in the environment). Beyond the scientific interest, this project will offer valuable multidisciplinary training to the student as it will use a novel combination of methods from microbiology, molecular biology, microfabrication, microfluidics and advanced microscopy. This project overlaps with several ESPRC Research Themes (Engineering, Healthcare Technologies, Manufacturing the Future) and is foundational in nature. We are in fact proposing a proof-of-concept demonstration of the possibility of engineering surface topography in materials and devices to control HGT.

该原理验证项目的目的是明确证明工程表面形貌对于设计能够控制 HGT 的材料和设备的重要性。具体来说，我们建议使用临床相关的肠杆菌科菌株来研究表面形貌如何影响 HGT，这些菌株最近通过接合质粒的 HGT 对碳青霉烯类抗生素（最后的药物）产生了耐药性。我们将选择抗性供体和非抗性受体菌株，并在使用软光刻技术开发的受控表面形貌的微生境中进行交配实验。在这里，使用光学显微镜，我们将能够监测转移率（也由于其他因素，例如空间斑块、流动以及环境中营养物和抗生素的分布）。除了科学兴趣之外，该项目还将为学生提供有价值的多学科培训，因为它将使用微生物学、分子生物学、微加工、微流体和先进显微镜方法的新颖组合。该项目与 ESPRC 的多个研究主题（工程、医疗保健技术、制造未来）重叠，本质上是基础性的。事实上，我们正在提议进行概念验证，证明通过工程材料和设备的表面形貌来控制 HGT 的可能性。