The Great Escape: Mechanisms for dispersal of microbial communities from surfaces

Funding: 2016: $173,143

Project Member(s): McDougald, S.

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Research Council (ARC Discovery Projects)
Australian Research Council (ARC Discovery Projects)

Start year: 2016

Summary: Bacteria respond to a variety of environmental cues, including nutrient concentration, to optimise their growth strategy. One key growth strategy is the formation of biofilms or surface associated microbial communities. The aim of this project is to determine the molecular pathway for cAMP mediated starvation induced dispersal of bacterial biofilms. Our preliminary data suggest that the cAMP pathway overlaps with other intracellular second messengers, such as c-di-GMP, to control dispersal. Further, these second messengers may act at the level of subcellular pools that interact with closely associated protein complexes to control complex behaviours such as biofilm formation and dispersal.

Publications:

Alqarni, B, Colley, B, Klebensberger, J, McDougald, D & Rice, SA 2016, 'Expression stability of 13 housekeeping genes during carbon starvation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa', Journal of Microbiological Methods, vol. 127, pp. 182-187.
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FOR Codes: Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences, Bacteriology, Microbial Ecology, Bacteriology

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.