Life Sciences Seminar: A bubbling cauldron of antibiotic resistance
Life Sciences Seminar
A bubbling cauldron of antibiotic resistance: Commensal Neisseria, a persistent threat for DNA donation to important human pathogens
Dr. Crista Wadsworth
Assistant Professor
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences
Rochester Institute of Technology
Abstract:
Alongside the crisis of antimicrobial resistant gonorrhea is the threat of bystander selection on commensal Neisseria. As Neisseria species are all permissive to gene flow across lineages, their evolutionary fates are irrevocably intertwined. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) within the genus occurs through transformation and also exchange of plasmids through conjugation. Both mechanisms of HGT threaten the long-term efficacy of antimicrobial treatments, with resistance having been passed between commensals and pathogens multiple times (e.g., ‘mosaic’ penA and mtr alleles; pConj and pbla plasmids). Current projects in the Wadsworth Lab focus on defining the Neisseria resistome, or all available resistance mechanisms present in the genus. We will discuss past and ongoing experimental evolution, population genomic, and experimental work all focused on elucidating the mechanisms of resistance in commensals, and how they have transmitted between Neisseria populations. Ultimately, we believe that predicting the future efficacy of antimicrobials for the treatment of gonorrhea will only be successful if the commensal Neisseria are also characterized.
Intended Audience:
All are Welcome!
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Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public
Interpreter Requested?
No