Research

1. Molecular Mechanisms of Plant-Microbe Interactions

This is the long-term research performed in our lab with the model plant growth-promoting bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25. SBW25 was originally isolated from the phyllosphgere of field-grown sugar beet at the University of Oxford farm (Wytham, Oxford). It is also capable of aggressively colonizing other crops such as wheat, maize, and peas. When growing on plant surfaces, SBW25 activates the expression of a suite of genes invovled in nutrient acquisition and copper homeostasis. Further molecular characterization of these plant inducible genes can reveal new modes of gene regulation in bacteria, and also provide insights into the nature of the complex plant environment itself.

2. Experimental evolution of copper resistance on metallic copper surfaces

This research is motivated by the potential use of antimicrobial copper surfaces to reduce the risk of heathcare-associated infections (HAIs). HAIs are a major and growing health problem worldwide. Currently in New Zealand, about one in ten patients will acquire an infection while receiving treatments for other diseases in hospitals. One emerging strategy for HAI prevention is to apply self-sanitizing copper surfaces to commonly touched places within hospital facilities. A wide range of microorganisms can be killed within minutes of contact with a copper surface. Our work aims to understand how bacterial pathogens are rapidly killed on the surfaces of copper-containing surface materials, and investage the potential of bacterial pathogens to evovle resistance to copper.

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