Horizontal transfer, evolution, and cellular integration of Staphylococcus antibiosis islands (SAbIs) (B04)

• Subject Area: Medical Microbiology and Mycology, Hygiene, Molecular Infection Biology
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 398967434

We recently described that staphylococcal species produce a variety of antibacterial compounds. The responsible gene clusters show signs of mobility and we suggest to term them SAbIs. We will identify families of SAbIs and investigate the routes and frequency of SAbI transfer. Using in vitro evolution experiments and metabolomics/genomics approaches, we will investigate adaptation processes that mediate producer resistance and metabolic fluxes that optimize fitness in SAbI recipients. The project will deliver novel insights into physiologic and metabolic bottlenecks as well as associated adaptations, shaping the diversity of compounds produced within bacterial communities.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 261: Cellular Mechanisms of Antibiotic Action and Production
• Applicant Institution: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Simon Heilbronner; Professor Dr. Andreas Peschel