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: 2014
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=551323
• 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源性病原体在水环境中生存及其向人类宿主传播的环境和遗传因素。嗜肺军团菌是一种用于毒力机制和水传播病原体研究的水传播病原体模型，将用于该研究计划。嗜肺军团菌是退伍军人病的病原体，是社区获得性和医院获得性肺炎的重要病因，病死率高达50%。嗜肺军团菌通过吸入来自人造水系统（例如淋浴和屋顶空调机组）的受污染水滴进行传播。目前还没有深入了解影响嗜肺军团菌或其他水生病原体在复杂的水微观世界中长期生存的全局参数，例如在受污染的水系统中发现的那些。我建议使用一种简化方法，将系统简化为其基本组件，然后逐步增加复制系统的复杂性。我未来五年的短期目标是识别和表征纯水系统中生存能力的基因，并表征一些环境因素对水中生存能力和毒力潜力的影响。这些发现的整合应该提供影响嗜肺军团菌生存和向哺乳动物宿主传播的遗传和环境因素的全球观点，并且这些发现也应该适用于其他水传播病原体。这可以提供新的策略来控制人造水系统内细菌病原体的复制并防止传播给人类。该研究计划每年将允许至少四名高素质人员接受有关细菌病原体存在的尖端分子技术和水安全方面的培训。