Project Description
Antibiotic resistance is a persistent problem in healthcare and a factor that may help maintain diversity in natural environments. Bacteriophages (‘phages’) are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. Our lab previously discovered and characterized a specific phage that infects bacteria through TolC. TolC is an antibiotic resistance protein that helps the cell pump antibiotics out of the cell. Over short timescales, this phage can be used to evolutionarily ‘steer’ bacterial populations to lose or modify the TolC protein, sometimes reducing antibiotic resistance. In this project, we are investigating how this process unfolds from the molecular level (genes and proteins) to the population level (ecology and evolution). This work is important for understanding how and when phages can be used to treat bacterial infections as alternatives to antibiotics. We will use methods from microbiology (culturing bacteria and phage, conducting growth assays, and testing infectivity profiles) and evolutionary biology (experimental evolution and population genomics) to identify how bacteria and phage evolve over time.
Tasks and Responsibilites
Student tasks and responsibilities include applying principles of microbiology, molecular biology, and evolution to study bacteria and phages in the laboratory. The student will work directly under my mentorship to conduct experiments, collect and analyze data, read the literature, write and present findings, help run the day-to-day functions of the lab, and participate in lab meetings.