Dr Nicky O'Boyle
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Member of the Roe Group, March 2017 - present
I am interested in learning about how microbes interact with the host at a molecular level, how the metabolic environment of the host shapes these interactions and how bacteria interpret alterations in host environments and change their behaviour to successfully colonise the host.
I obtained a PhD in Microbiology at the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2013 for studies on the food-borne pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus. My project involved an investigation into the role of type IV pili in adhesion to epithelial cells, a process which is critical for efficient injection of bacterial type 3 secretion system effectors into the host. I thoroughly enjoyed my PhD research project and decided to pursue a career in the research of host-microbe interactions. I arrived at the University of Glasgow in 2014, carrying out a part industry funded Postdoc with Dr Robert Davies employing the in vitro culture of primary cattle and sheep respiratory cells for the study of interactions with the pneumonia-associated pathogen Mannheimia haemolytica. I joined the Roe group in 2017, first analysing the effect of a host metabolite D-serine on global gene expression in various pathotypes of E. coli associated with intestinal and extraintestinal diseases. This metabolite is interesting because it reduces expression of the primary colonisation machinery of enterohaemmorhagic E. coli – the “LEE” type 3 secretion system.
My current project funded by the BBSRC aims to build on this work by investigating the effect of dietary supplementation with D-serine on the composition of the microbiome. I also recently secured a Tenovus Scotland pilot grant to investigate the effects of long-term exposure of EHEC to D-serine. We hope that these investigations will collectively improve our understanding of how dietary compounds affect the microbes interacting with us, potentially allowing for diet-based intervention in the treatment of specific diseases.
Recent Publications:
Plastic circuits: Regulatory flexibility in fine tuning pathogen success. N O’Boyle, NCA Turner, AJ Roe, JPR Connolly. Trends in Microbiology (2020)
Distinct intraspecies virulence mechanisms regulated by a conserved transcription factor. JPR Connolly, N O’Boyle, NCA Turner, DF Browning, AJ Roe. PNAS (2019)
Characterization of the mode of action of Aurodox, a type III secretion system inhibitor from Streptomyces goldiniensis. RE McHugh, N O’Boyle, JPR Connolly, PA Hoskisson, AJ Roe. Infection and immunity (2019)