WR DTP project: Gaming the system: how bacterial pathogens steal food from commensals

The mammalian gut is a complex environment where communities of bacteria live together creating a robust microflora that protects us from infections. Invading pathogens need to somehow interfere in these relationships to gain access to nutrients otherwise used by the commensals. One important nutrient for gut bacteria is sialic acid, which is provided by the host in the mucin layer that lines the gut. One gut commensal has evolved a unique mechanism to liberate sialic in a novel anhydro- form that only it can use (Bell et al., 2019 Nature Microbiology 4:2393-2404).

In this project, the student will test the hypothesis that other bacterial pathogens have got smart to this ‘unique’ mechanism, by evolving routes to scavenge the anhydro-sialic acid for themselves to enable them to colonise the gut. The project will use a biochemical, structural and microbiological method to characterise these systems to understand if these pathogens can really ‘game the system’. The work extends a collaboration with the Juge group (Quadrum Institute, Norwich) where the anhydro-sialic acid process was discovered and gives the student access to the York Structural Biology lab.

The White Rose DTP in Mechanistic Biology is committed to recruiting extraordinary future scientists regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or career pathway to date. We understand that commitment and excellence can be shown in many ways and have built our recruitment process to reflect this. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in science, who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills.