Dynamic conditions are typical for natural microbial habitats. The different (physical and (bio)chemical) environmental factors show spatially and temporally heterogeneous distribution. This heterogeneity may have a profound effect on various biological processes from single cell level to populations or ecosystems.
In our laboratory we use the technique of microfabrication and microfluidics to model the complexity of natural habitats. We fabricate precisely designed and well-controlled microenvironments in which we study the behavior of bacteria: communication, motility, spatial distribution, growth and evolution.
1. Spatial heterogeneity (chemical gradients) might have an important role in the evolution of bacterial antibiotic resistance. We use microfluidic devices to study the effect of chemical concentration gradients of antimicrobials of different mechanisms of action on bacteria. We will answer the following specific questions:
− Do antibiotics act as chemoeffectors for bacteria?
− Does the presence of antibiotic gradients affect the evolution of resistance and lead to a fast evolution? If so, how do various physicochemical parameters contribute to this effect?
− May chemotaxis have a role in the evolution of resistance?
− What are the genetic changes that lead to an increased resistance of bacteria evolved in antibiotic gradients?
− What kind of phenotypic changes can we identify in bacteria evolved in antibiotic gradients?
2. It is an interesting and important biological question how the characteristic parameters of cells change during the growth of a genetically homogeneous population, and how the phenotypic heterogeneity arises over the generations. Phenotypic heterogeneity helps the bacterial population adopt to and survive in a dynamically changing environment. Our study focuses on the following topics:
− Studying the effect of stress (e.g. antibiotic treatment).
− Phenotypic heterogeneity in bacterial communication (quorum sensing) and in quorum sensing-related phenomena.
For these experiments, we fabricate microfluidic devices in which we are able to trap and monitor single cells for a long period (for hundreds of generations) in a well-defined microenvironment.
Required language skills: English
Deadline for application: 2024-12-31
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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