Doctoral position - Displacement of the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus from the human nasal microbiome

Department/Institute: LMU Faculty of Biology, Microbiology

Subject areas/Research fields: Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Systems Biology

Keywords: Human microbiome, pathogen colonization, polymicrobial interactions

Name of supervisor: Prof. Simon Heilbronner

Project title: Displacement of the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus from the human nasal microbiome

Project description: 

The human microbiome is fundamentally associated with human health and disease. One aspect of this is that pathogens can hide within the microbiome of healthy humans and can cause disease if they get the change. A prime example in this regard is Staphylococcus aureus. The aggressive pathogen colonizes the anterior nares of 1/3 of the human population and is responsible for >1.000.000 infection-associated deaths each year. Displacement of S. aureus form the human microbiome is a promising strategy to prevent infection. We lack central understanding of the reasons enabling S. aureus to colonize certain human individuals, but the composition of the microbiome is known to be important. In our lab we possess extensive strain collections representing healthy as well as S. aureus-infected microbiomes. We assess the molecular mechanisms of interaction between the harmless microbiome members and the pathogen to identify probiotic commensals that prevent pathogen colonization.

In this project we will use hundreds of nasal isolates and investigate their impact on pathogen growth and physiology using automated systems. Genetic traits fostering collaboration/competition with S. aureus will be identified using transposon mutant libraries along with transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches followed by investigation on the molecular and biochemical level. Finally, the ability of strains to prevent S. aureus colonization will be tested in vivo using germ-free animal models with humanized microbiomes.

References:

1) Zhao, Y., Bitzer, A., Power, J. J., Belikova, D., Salazar, B. O. T., Adolf, L. A., Gerlach, D. L., Krismer, B., & Heilbronner, S. (2024). Nasal commensals reduce Staphylococcus aureus proliferation by restricting siderophore availability. ISME J. https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrae123 

2) Heilbronner, S., Krismer, B., Brotz-Oesterhelt, H., & Peschel, A. (2021). The microbiome-shaping roles of bacteriocins. Nat Rev Microbiol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-021-00569-w 

3) Adolf, L. A., & Heilbronner, S. (2022). Nutritional Interactions between Bacterial Species Colonising the Human Nasal Cavity: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects. Metabolites, 12(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12060489 

For further information, please contact: Simon Heilbronner - simon.heilbronner@lmu.de

Research group website: AG Heilbronner LMU Munich 

Apply: Please send your application through the online portal of the Graduate School Life Science Munich (LSM)