Molecular characterisation of a muli-drug resistant globally disseminated E.coli clone

Event Details

Date:

Tuesday, 10 June 2014 - Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room:

Level 3, Large Seminar Room Qld Bioscience Precinct Building 80, St Lucia

UQ Location:

Queensland Bioscience Precinct (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.qaafi.uq.edu.au/qaafi-science-seminars-2014

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Presented by
Prof. Mark Schembri
Professor and ARC Future Fellow
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, UQ

ABSTRACT
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is extremely common, and accounts for more than
1 million hospitalizations and $1.6 billion in medical expenses each year in the USA. Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) is the primary cause of UTI. Research in my lab is focused on the study of UPEC virulence factors that contribute to adhesion, aggregation, biofilm formation and colonization of the urinary tract by multidrug resistant (MDR) UPEC strains. In this seminar, I will discuss our recent work on the molecular characterisation of the dominant MDR UPEC ST131 clone, including: (i) the use of genome sequencing to demonstrate
its rapid and recent global dispersal, (ii) the development of a high-throughput transposon mutagenesis system in combination with next generation sequencing to define the serum resistome of UPEC, and (iii) the potential of anti-adhesion FimH inhibitors as an alternative treatment against MDR UPEC.