Capturing oligosaccharides from mammalian milk to determine their microbiological impact
Supervisors
Dr Simon Cameron, Queens University Belfast
Dr Ying Fu, Strathclyde University
Prof Geoff McMullan, Queens University Belfast
Summary
Many mammalian milks contain compounds called oligosaccharides, and can be the third or fourth most abundant milk component. Human milk for example, can contain up to 20 g/L of oligosaccharides with over 200 different structures reported. However, these oligosaccharides are not digestible by the infant and appear to serve primarily as a source of prebiotics to microorganisms in the offspring’s developing gastrointestinal microbiome. The importance of milk oligosaccharides and microbiome development has been explored, to date, largely through correlative studies of oligosaccharide composition of milk and microbial communities. In this project, we propose the use of surface capture chemistry to trap oligosaccharides from different mammalian milks onto a surface to accommodate microbiological study. Through this, we aim to achieve a better understanding of how specific milk oligosaccharides interact with different microorganisms, both beneficial and pathogenic species.
This project has interdisciplinarity at its core, and this will be reflected in the offered training. Technical expertise will be developed across microbiology (including anaerobic culture), analytical biochemistry (primarily mass spectrometry for small molecule analysis), and biofabrication for developing surface-capture methodologies for milk oligosaccharides. The student will further have opportunities to undertake public engagement activities within the Northern Ireland Science Festival and Breastival, which works to normalise breastfeeding.