Glycosyltransferase Effectors From Bacterial Enteric Pathogens
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$772,600.00
Summary
Many disease-causing microbes subvert host cell defences to establish infection in part by transporting virulence proteins, termed “effector” proteins, into host cells via specialized protein secretion systems. We have discovered a new family of bacterial effectors that modify host proteins with a sugar and thereby inactivate them. Here we will characterise the function of these effector proteins during infection with E. coli and Salmonella.
Glycosyltransferase Effectors Of Enteropathogenic E. Coli And Salmonella
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$320,891.00
Summary
This project aims to characterise the mechanisms of disease caused by bacterial pathogens including Salmonella and enteropathogenic E. coli. These pathogens cause a significant amount of diarrhoeal disease and mortality worldwide particularly in infants and in countries where water sanitation is poor. I aim to investigate the specific mechanisms the bacteria employ to manipulate and avoid our immune response during infection in order to better understand and combat diarrhoeal disease.
Developing New Therapies To Combat Tuberculosis Through Inhibition Of Vitamin B5 Metabolism In The Organism That Causes The Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$311,760.00
Summary
The metabolism of vitamin B5 by pathogenic microorganisms has been recognised as an attractive target for developing drugs to combat various infectious diseases. The aim of the proposed work is to develop inhibitors of vitamin B5 metabolism in the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, using a powerful, multidisciplinary approach known as “fragment-based drug discovery”. This work is likely to yield potent inhibitors of the target bacterium, which could ultimately be used to treat tuberculosis.
Circuit Breaker: Investigating The Regulatory Circuits Controlling Expression Of Drug Efflux Pumps In The Nosocomial Pathogen Acinetobacter Baumannii
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$515,244.00
Summary
Hospital-acquired infections caused by drug resistant pathogenic bacteria cost billions of dollars and increase patient pain and morbidity. This research will study the genes controlling multidrug efflux pumps in a major hospital-acquired bacterial pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii. These efflux pumps make the bacteria resistant to antimicrobials by pumping them out of the cell. The results will allow us to better track drug resistant strains and will inform treatment options.
Antibiotic Tolerance And Small RNA Networks In Staphylococcus Aureus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$521,559.00
Summary
Treatment of MRSA is restricted to last line antibiotics and treatment failure is associated with an intermediate tolerance to vancomycin. Regulatory molecules termed small RNA mediate responses to antibiotic challenge but their functions are poorly understood. This proposal will profile sRNA function to understand how they adapt S. aureus to antibiotic challenge. A molecular understanding of vancomycin-tolerance will inform development of diagnostics and treatment strategies.
Essential Gene Regulation In Multi-drug Resistant Golden Staph: A New Path Towards Control
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$784,452.00
Summary
New antibiotics effective against Golden Staph are urgently needed. This project will investigate a new approach to weaken Golden Staph defences with the potential to make existing antibiotics more effective at killing these bacteria.
Understanding The Role Of The Essential Regulator WalKR In Staphylococcus Aureus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$555,239.00
Summary
Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common human bacterial pathogens. This project aims to characterise an important global control system in S. aureus, and determine if chemical inhibitors of this control system could be used to treat S. aureus disease in the future.
Combating E. Coli Diarrhoea By Disarming Bacterial Virulence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$674,737.00
Summary
E. coli causes severe and persistent diarrhoea which affects the health of millions of people worldwide. Although antibiotics may alleviate E. coli diarrhoea, these bacteria are becoming resistant to most drugs. In this study, we will use state-of-the-art technology to discover novel types of drug that treat and prevent infection with E. coli, without harming the beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Global Regulatory Networks That Control Virulence In Clostridium Perfringens
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$531,557.00
Summary
This research focuses on the bacterium that is responsible for clostridial myonecrosis, or gas gangrene, an often fatal human infection. The objective is to determine how this bacterium controls the production of the various factors that are required to cause disease. The aims will be achieved by the integrated application of the latest techniques in microbiology and molecular biology and will result in a significant advancement in our knowledge of this complex regulatory process.