Research Projects

Burkholderia species are associated with several life-threatening human infections that often result in high morbidity and mortality rates due to their innate resistance to antibiotics. To improve clinical outcomes new therapies are needed which target conserved, yet unique, Burkholderia pathways. One such pathway is the Burkholderia O-linked protein glycosylation system which is required for virulence in Burkholderia cenocepacia and Burkholderia pseudomallei. This system relies on the O-Glycosylation gene Cluster (ogc), a five gene cluster sufficient and required for the generation of the glycan used for protein glycosylation, and the distally encoded oligosaccharyltransferase, pglL, responsible for the ligation of glycans to glycoproteins. Previous research from the lab has shown that the disruption of genes within the ogc cluster leads to profound impacts on bacterial physiology and that alterations in the expression of genes associated with ogc biosynthesis results in growth arrest. A critical question now is if these alterations are due to bactericidal or bacteriostatic impacts. Thus, this work aims to test how alterations in the Burkholderia O-linked glycosylation system impacts the viability of B. cenocepacia. Utilising inducible systems and phenotypic assessments this work will explore how the dysregulation of protein glycosylation could be used as a next generation therapy to control Burkholderia infections.

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