Impact of Desulfovibrio spp. and sulfur metabolism on the pathogenesis of chronic intestinal inflammation and colitis-associated cancer (P18#)

• Subject Area: Medical Microbiology and Mycology, Hygiene, Molecular Infection Biology
• Term: from 2021 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 395357507

We recently linked Desulfovibrio spp., the main sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) in the human gut, and associated sulfur metabolism to active disease and relapse in chronic inflammatory bowel disease patients. However, the current lack of well-characterized human Desulfovibrio isolates and reference genomes, hinders the discovery of their potential role in disease-related mechanisms. In this project, we will isolate human SRB strains and characterize their functional and strain diversity. We will use this information to identify potential disease-related mechanisms computationally based on multi-omics data analysis and experimentally in gnotobiotic mouse models of colitis and colitis-associated cancer.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1371: Microbiome Signatures -- Functional Relevance in the Digestive Tract
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Dirk Haller; Dr. Melanie Schirmer