The Puppet Master: Global virulence regulators in nasal colonisation by S. aureus

FUNDING: 8 weeks (full time 35 hours per week, £12.44 per hour, consumables £800)
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LOCATION: Leeds Beckett University, UK
SUPERVISOR(S):

Dr. Arya Gupta, Biomedical Sciences Dept., Leeds


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Staphylococcus aureus is an important human commensal and opportunistic pathogen, which colonises ~30% of the entire population. Hospitalised and immunocompromised patients are more prone to bloodstream infections with >250,000 global deaths in 2019 attributed to antibiotic resistance in S. aureus. Many pathogens interact with the microbiota; however, our knowledge and understanding of what controls these interactions is still in its early stages. The agr locus plays a central role in controlling the expression of staphylococcal proteins associated with virulence. This project aims to use an in vitro evolution model to elucidate its role on the interaction between nasal commensals and exogenous multi-drug resistant S. aureus. The student will evaluate colonisation potential of agr knockouts compared with wild type S. aureus JE2 and determine the effect of antibiotic treatment on these interactions. It has been predicted that antimicrobial resistance may cause 10 million global deaths by 2050. Therefore, understanding the underlying factors which facilitate pathogen-commensal interactions is important for developing better decolonisation procedures and finding new targets for development of novel therapeutics/diagnostics. Students will need to organise their own accommodation and be expected to present their findings orally at a research day in York in September 2025.