Project description:A major reservoir for spread of the emerging pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii is hopsital surfaces, where bacteria persist in a desiccated state. To identify gene products influencing desiccation survival, a transposon sequencing (Tn-seq) screen was performed. Using this approach, we identified genes both positively and negatively impacting the desiccation tolerance of A. baumannii.
Project description:Acinetobacter baumannii is a major cause of nosocomial infections which can survive in different hospital environments and its multidrug-resistant capacity is major concern now-a-days. ppGpp dependent stringent response mediates reprogramming of gene expression with diverse function in many bacteria. A baumannii A1S_0579 gene is responsible for ppGpp production. Transcriptome analysis of early stationary phase cultures represents several differentially expressed genes in ppGpp deficient strain (∆A1S_0579). We found that the expression of csu operon, which is important in pili biosynthesis for early biofilm formation, was significantly reduced in the ppGpp-deficient strain. Our findings showed that ppGpp signaling plays critical role in biofilm formation, surface motility, adherence and virulence of A baumannii. This study is the first demonstration of the association between ppGpp and pathogenicity of A. baumannii.
Project description:The bacterial pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii, is a leading cause of drug-resistant infections. Here, we investigated the potential of developing nanobodies that specifically recognize A. baumannii over other Gram-negative bacteria. Through generation and panning of a synthetic nanobody library, we identified several potential lead candidates. We demonstrate how incorporation of next generation sequencing analysis can aid in selection of lead candidates for further characterization. Using monoclonal phage display, we validated the binding of several lead nanobodies to A. baumannii. Subsequent purification and biochemical characterization revealed one particularly robust nanobody that broadly and specifically bound A. baumannii compared to other common drug resistant pathogens. These findings support the potentially for nanobodies to selectively target A. baumannii and the identification of lead candidates for possible future diagnostic and therapeutic development.
Project description:Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging nosocomial pathogen that causes severe infections such as pneumonia or blood stream infections. As the incidence of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii infections in intensive care units increases, the pathogen is considered of greater clinical concern. Little is known about the molecular interaction of A. baumannii with its host yet. In order to study the host cell response upon A. baumannii infection, a complexome analysis was performed. For this, we identified a virulent ( A. baumannii 2778) and a non virulent (A. baumannii 1372) clinical isolate of genetic similarity > 95 % (both isolates from IC 2 harboring OXA 23). HUVECs were infected with each strain and enriched mitochondrial fraction was used for complexome profiling. Complexome analysis identified dramatic reduction of mitochondrial protein complexes in the strain of greater virulence.
Project description:RNA sequencing was carried out by ARK genomics, Edinburgh on an Illumina HiSeq platform to compare gene expression in Acinetobacter baumannii strain AYE and an adeRS deletion mutant in this strain.
Project description:RNA sequencing was carried out at BGI, Hong Kong on an Illumina HiSeq platform to compare gene expression in Acinetobacter baumannii strain S1 and an adeAB deletion mutant in this strain.
Project description:RNA sequencing was carried out at the University of Birmingham on an Illumina MiSeq platform to compare gene expression in Acinetobacter baumannii strain AYE and an adeB deletion mutant in this strain.
Project description:Nosocomial outbreaks of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii have emerged as a serious threat to human health. The phosphoproteomics of pathogenic bacteria have been investigated for their role in virulence regulation networks. In this study, we analyzed the phosphoproteomics of two clinical isolates of A. baumannii: imipenem-sensitive strain SK17-S and -resistant strain SK17-R.