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:Acinetobacter baumannii AB042, a triclosan-resistant mutant, was examined for modulated gene expression using whole genome sequencing, transcriptomics, and proteomics in order to understand the mechanism of triclosan-resistance as well as its impact on A. Baumannii.
Project description:In this study the transcriptomes of Acinetobacter baumannii strains ATCC 17978 and 17978hm were compared. Strain 17978hm is a hns knockout derivative of strain ATCC 17978. Strain 17978hm displays a hyper-motile phenotype on semi-solid Mueller-Hinton (MH) media (0.25% agar). ATCC 17978 and 17978hm from an 37C overnight culture were transferred to the centre of the semi-solid MH plate and incubated at 37C for 8 hours. Only 17978hm cells displayed a motile phenotype and covered the complete surface of the plate. These motile 17978hm cells and the non-motile wild-type ATCC 17978 cells were harvested and RNA was isolated. The comparative transcriptome analysis was performed using the FairPlay labeling kit and a custom made Agilent MicroArray with probes designed to coding regions of the ATCC 17978 genome. The data was analyzed using Agilent GeneSpring GX9 and the significance analysis of microarray MS Excel add-on.
Project description:In this study the transcriptomes of Acinetobacter baumannii strains ATCC 17978 and 17978hm were compared. Strain 17978hm is a hns knockout derivative of strain ATCC 17978. Strain 17978hm displays a hyper-motile phenotype on semi-solid Mueller-Hinton (MH) media (0.25% agar). ATCC 17978 and 17978hm from an 37C overnight culture were transferred to the centre of the semi-solid MH plate and incubated at 37C for 8 hours. Only 17978hm cells displayed a motile phenotype and covered the complete surface of the plate. These motile 17978hm cells and the non-motile wild-type ATCC 17978 cells were harvested and RNA was isolated. The comparative transcriptome analysis was performed using the FairPlay labeling kit and a custom made Agilent MicroArray with probes designed to coding regions of the ATCC 17978 genome. The data was analyzed using Agilent GeneSpring GX9 and the significance analysis of microarray MS Excel add-on. The motile 17978hm cells and the non-motile wild-type ATCC 17978 cells were harvested and RNA was isolated. The comparative transcriptome analysis was performedThe probes on the microarray cover all predicted open reading frames (at least 4 per ORF) and additional replicates of housekeeping genes of the A. baumannii ATCC 17978 genome .
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: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.