E.coli as a pathogen
Major funding is provided by two BBSRC grants. Our research programs include understanding how E. coli pathotypes colonise specific niches within the host using relevant in vitro and in vivo models. This approach helps us understand the basis to infection and therefore enables the design and testing of virulence factor inhibitors. Under a current MRC grant, in collaboration with Dr Gill Douce, we aim to characterise the novel anti-infective agent, Aurodox. This project is led by Dr Ainsley Beaton.
A second BBSRC project investigates the regulation of the genotoxin colibactin, led by Dr Leonidas Spathis. Colibactin is a metabolite produced by certain E. coli, encoded within the pks pathogenicity island. Its importance lies in its dual role: it promotes microbial competition and survival in the gut, but is also strongly implicated in the development of colorectal cancer, where it causes DNA damage and characteristic mutational signatures. Because colibactin is toxic and costly to synthesize, its production is tightly regulated. This grants aims to decipher some of the control mechanisms surrounding colibactin expression- summarised in the figure below.
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