Targeted design and manipulation of minimal bacterial consortia for strain replacement within microbiomes (P14)

• Subject Area: Medical Microbiology and Mycology, Hygiene, Molecular Infection Biology ; Gastroenterology
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 395357507

In P14 we will work on the targeted modulation of synthetic communities (SYNs) by developing personalized strategies for strain-level replacement within mouse and human complex communities. This will be achieved by using combinations of phage treatment and targeted colonization with specific niche competitor strains. The work will focus on Enterobacteriaceae and enterococci as clinically relevant taxa related to infections, antimicrobial resistances, and chronic inflammation. We will also extend the concept to the commensal species Phocaeicola (formerly Bacteroides) vulgatus, a prevalent and genetically modifiable member of the core microbiota in the mouse and human gut, to study bacterial factors that facilitate strain engraftment and to modulate specific ecosystem functions such as complex carbohydrate conversion and proinflammatory functions.

• 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. Thomas Clavel; Professorin Dr. Barbara Stecher-Letsch