Joanna Urbaniec
About
My research project
Investigation of antibiotic persistence mechanisms in Escherichia coliAntibiotic persistence is a phenomenon observed when a subpopulation of genetically susceptible microorganisms survives a prolonged exposure to a high concentration of an antibiotic. Persistence is a public health concern as there is a growing array of evidence that it is can contribute to treatment failure and that ‘persisters’ can be a stepping-stone for the development of antimicrobial resistance.
My project focuses on investigating antibiotic persistence in Escherichia coli. Due to its phenotypic nature, the ‘persister state’ is generally not heritable, however genetic mutations can increase the frequency of persisters. These are found in so called ‘high-persister’ strains. One such strain is E. coli HipQ which also has been previously demonstrated to display a phenotype of ‘reduced phenotypic inheritance’ (RPI) i.e., reduced correlation of growth parameters between cells of the same lineage. RPI is hypothesized to result in an increased number of small, slow-growing persister cells. I am aiming to further investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the RPI phenomenon and its link to antibiotic persistence.
Supervisors
Antibiotic persistence is a phenomenon observed when a subpopulation of genetically susceptible microorganisms survives a prolonged exposure to a high concentration of an antibiotic. Persistence is a public health concern as there is a growing array of evidence that it is can contribute to treatment failure and that ‘persisters’ can be a stepping-stone for the development of antimicrobial resistance.
My project focuses on investigating antibiotic persistence in Escherichia coli. Due to its phenotypic nature, the ‘persister state’ is generally not heritable, however genetic mutations can increase the frequency of persisters. These are found in so called ‘high-persister’ strains. One such strain is E. coli HipQ which also has been previously demonstrated to display a phenotype of ‘reduced phenotypic inheritance’ (RPI) i.e., reduced correlation of growth parameters between cells of the same lineage. RPI is hypothesized to result in an increased number of small, slow-growing persister cells. I am aiming to further investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the RPI phenomenon and its link to antibiotic persistence.