The contribution of environmental sensing by Pseudomonas aeruginosa to antimicrobial resistance and infection outcomes

• Funding – self-funded/externally sponsored applicants  (PhD Fees can be found here)
• Applications are accepted year round
• Standard Entry dates – January and September
• Applicants are expected to have a degree (equivalent of Honours or Masters) in a relevant discipline.

Bacterial pathogens possess remarkable phenotypic plasticity, enabling them to survive in a range of hostile environments. An exemplar of this is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an environmental bacterium that is frequently isolated from soil, water and plants, but which is also an important cause of diseases of humans and animals. P. aeruginosa can survive a variety of environmental stressors including desiccation, heat shock and exposure to toxins, detergents and preservatives. This adaptability is derived from a large genome, encoding sophisticated environmental sensing systems, enabling co-ordinated responses to changing conditions.

This PhD project will build on recent work that has identified environmental cues that are sensed by P. aeruginosa and which lead to changes in critical bacterial phenotypes, including virulence, biofilm formation, growth rate and metabolism. The student will leverage bacterial transcriptomic data and host and bacterial NMR metabolomics data, captured under a range of environmental conditions, to identify and characterise microbial-environment interactions. This will include investigation of P. aeruginosa sensing of host-derived metabolites, which can act as a signal to alert the bacteria that they are in an infection environment. The student will also investigate how environmental temperature influences pathogen behaviour at both a transcriptional and post-transcriptional level, including consideration of RNA thermosensory elements that act as an important post-transcriptional mechanism of regulation of gene expression. Lastly, the project will consider how P. aeruginosa sensing of environmental conditions influences bacterial growth rate and how this relates to changes in virulence, environmental tolerance and susceptibility to chemical stresses, including antimicrobials.

The project will provide the student with experience in analysis of ‘omics datasets, including RNAseq and NMR metabolomics. There will be opportunity to learn methodologies for assessment of bacterial virulence, metabolic and growth phenotypes, as well as to develop new approaches for replicating environmental or within-host niches in laboratory settings. The student will learn how to explore genotype-phenotype relationships through generation and characterisation of gene knock outs or reporters in P. aeruginosa. Lastly, there will be the opportunity to use in vivo infection models to explore how environmental sensing influences virulence and antimicrobial resistance.

Improved understanding of how bacteria sense and respond to their environment will help us to better exploit their potential applications in industry and agriculture. It will enable us to explain how environmental bacteria such as P. aeruginosa are also able to establish colonisation and cause disease in human and animal hosts. 

Suggested reading:

1. William P and Cámara M, Curr Opin Microbiol, 12(2):182 (2009) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19249239/

2. Green AE et al., PLoS Pathogens, (2023) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1011630

3. Bergkessel M, Transcription, 12(4):232 (2021) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34486930/

Our research community thrives on the diversity of students and staff which helps to make the University of Dundee a UK university of choice for postgraduate research.  We welcome applications from all talented individuals and are committed to widening access to those who have the ability and potential to benefit from higher education.