Project: Understanding the role of protein glycosylation within Acinetobacter baumannii
Scott group
Within the pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii multiple proteins are known to be O-linked glycosylated yet the functional significance of this is unclear. To date glycoproteomics studies have suggested similar proteins are targeted for glycosylation between A. baumannii strains yet the glycans used for glycosylation are highly variable between strains. A critical unanswered question within A. baumannii glycosylation is if different glycans have the same impacts on the proteome. Using a panel of clinical strains of A. baumannii we aim to assess the role of protein glycosylation by exploring the conserved and differential impacts on the proteome when glycosylation is inhibited by deleting the oligosaccharyltransferase pglL. Using a molecular approach, we then aim to test the hypothesis that different glycans may have different effects on the proteome by introducing cloned capsule loci into a common genetic background. Combined this work will provide new insight into the functional role of O-linked glycan diversity in A. baumannii.
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Scott group
4 vacancies
The Scott Group focuses on the application of molecular microbiology and mass spectrometry (MS)-based methodologies to characterise microbial systems. The key focus of the lab is understanding how pathogens of the Burkholderia genus cause disease and why proteins decorated with carbohydrates influence Burkholderia pathogenesis.
Projects within the Scott lab: Two broad projects are currently on offer in the Scott lab; Project 1 involves using proteomics and CRISPRi based approaches to understand which glycoproteins are preferentially glycosylated within Burkholderia cenocepacia. Project 2 involves using proteomics to study the impact of Burkholderia cenocepacia infections on Eukaryotic cells using a combination of proteomics approaches.
Scott group Current Projects
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Application of proteomics to explore Burkholderia pathogenesis
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Monitoring O-linked glycosylation dynamics within Burkholderia cenocepacia
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Turning a conserved system bad; Understanding how alterations within O-linked glycosylation biosynthesis results in toxicity in Burkholderia cenocepacia
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Understanding the role of protein glycosylation within Acinetobacter baumannii
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
Research degrees at the Doherty Institute are administered by the University of Melbourne.