Studying the role of plasmid transmission in lung disease

FUNDING: 9 weeks (full time, 37 hrs per week, £12.60 per hour, £700 consumables, £500 student accommodation bursary)
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LOCATION: Liverpool, UK
SUPERVISOR(S):

Prajwal Vishwanath Bharadwaj, Agriculture, Vet, and food science, Liverpool


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Antimicrobial resistance is a major health threat and mobile genetic elements such as plasmids can spread resistance rapidly within and amongst bacterial communities. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen, adapts to the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung environment by overproducing extracellular polysaccharides, a phenotype known as mucoidy. This project aims to directly test the role of mucoidy in plasmid transmission. Using clinical isolates, the student will generate a spontaneous non-mucoid variant of each strain and test conjugation rate of a resistance plasmid. The host range and phenotypic effects of plasmid acquisition will be correlated with genomic sequences of the bacterial strains and plasmid. This work will help us understand the transmissibility of plasmids in CF and other environments where mucoidy dominates, allowing us to improve therapeutics for treatment. Students will need to find their own accommodation and be expected to present their findings orally at a research day in York in September 2025.