Matthew Shepherd,

Our data show the vital need for ongoing genomic surveillance of microbial pathogen populations to guide appropriate intervention strategies. Additionally, genomic insights of a pathogen population fr...

Symbiotic bacteria can have exceedingly small genomes. This study finds that ancient bacterial symbionts of planthoppers have repeatedly evolved the smallest known genomes, losing most biosynthetic fu...

Allied leaders know that any positive gesture they make will count for nothing.

Abstract. How gene order along chromosomes affects cellular homeostasis and genome evolution remains poorly understood. Bacterial chromosomes are organized

This postdoctoral research position is part of a Cystic Fibrosis Canada Early Career Investigator Award funded for 3-years led by Dr. Fabrice Jean-Pierre and Dr. Fiona Whelan. The aim of this project is to identify the genetic changes that arise in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa genome following perturbations – such as antibiotic treatment – in an in vitro system. The PDRA will use a large dataset of P. aeruginosa genomes and experimental metadata to predict key mutationsto the organism.

Colonization of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) often precedes bloodstream infection and serves as a reservoir for onward patient transmission in h...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections are notoriously difficult to treat and are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. While the genetic basis of resistance in P. aeruginosa is well docum...

Nature Reviews Genetics - Bacterial genome evolution is shaped by epistasis, which can constrain or promote specific evolutionary paths. The authors review how integrating the effects of epistatic...

npj Complexity - Priority effects inhibit the repeated evolution of phototrophy

PhD Project - MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Resistant zombies: how drug-resistance plasmids manipulate the behaviour of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa at University of Li...

Many bacteria rely on efflux pumps to survive antibiotic stress, and exposure to antibiotics often leads to mutations in pump genes or their regulators that increase pump expression. Predicting the sp...

Experts describe findings as deeply concerning and predict 70% increase in related deaths by 2050 Hospitals across the world have recorded an alarming rise in common infections that are resistant to antibiotics, with doctors saying the number of deaths driven by drug resistance will increase sharply in the years ahead. One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotic treatments in 2023, with more than 40% of antibiotics losing potency against common blood, gut, urinary tract and sexually-transmitted infections between 2018 and 2023, records show. Continue reading...