The Univeristy of Melbourne The Royal Melbourne Hopspital

A joint venture between The University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital

EDUCATION

Research Projects

Project: Impact of adenine methylation in unstable small colony variants of Staphylococcus aureus

Stinear Group

Type I restriction modification through adenine methylation of the DNA plays an important role in the “speciation” of Staphylococcus aureus. We have recently characterised a novel mechanism in the formation of unstable small colony variants (SCV) of S. aureus through an inversion of almost half of the chromosome (Guerillot et al 2019 PNAS). Using long read sequencing, we identified that the adenine methylation profile could be modified upon SCV formation. This project will investigate the impact that adenine methylation plays in the formation of SCVs, identify the mechanism behind unstable SCV formation and the impact of methylation on gene expression.

Contact project supervisor for further
information and application enquiries

Project Supervisor

Professor Tim Stinear

Project Co-supervisor

Dr Ian Monk
Dr Romain Guerillot

Project availability
Master of Biomedical Science
Honours

Stinear Group

tstinear@unimelb.edu.au

3 vacancies

Themes
Antimicrobial Resistance
Bacterial and Parasitic Infections
Cross Cutting Disciplines
Computational Science and Genomics

The Stinear group study bacteria that can infect humans and cause disease and we study human immune responses to those bacteria. We make mutants.  We uncover molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis. We discover new antibiotics. We make vaccines. We create new diagnostic tests. We track disease outbreaks, . We sequence genomes and we expose dodgy science. Our research usually involves close collaboration with public health laboratories and with major hospitals  so that our research can be rapidly implemented and used to benefit society.


Stinear Group Current Projects