Characterization of Streptococcus suis S10 tn-seq mutants for the identification of conditionally essential genes Characterization of Streptococcus suis S10 tn-seq mutants for the identification of conditionally essential genes

Background:

Streptococcus suis is a leading zoonotic cause of endemic bacterial disease in pigs, with world-wide negative impact on piglet health, farmers' income and public health. The absence of effective vaccines, or effective surveillance tools to understand and interrupt transmission, has led to inadequate prevention and global reliance on widescale use of antibiotics resulting in only partial control. Nowadays, S. suis is resistant to some of the main groups of antibiotics, including macrolides, lincosamides, and tetracyclines. This increased resistance highlights urgent need to develop new antimicrobials, or disease prevention strategies targeting genes required for survival and growth in the environment of the host.

 Objectives:

The identification of metabolic or other genes required for S. suis survival and growth in the body fluids of the host.

 Methodology:

The student will investigate several S. suis strain S10 mutants, looking for changes in the fitness compared to the S10 wild-type. The analysis will be conducted under different selective conditions, such as medium with antibiotics, and host body fluids. After the selection of interesting mutants, whole-genome sequencing will be carried out to identify the mutated gene, using Nanopore sequencing technologies. There will be the possibility of using diverse molecular microbiology tools to study the role and importance of genes of interest for S. suis survival in the host.

 Requirements:

We are looking for BSc/MSc students in the field of Biology, Microbiology, or related fields. We expect that the student has interest in learning more about microbiology techniques and molecular methods. The project will have a duration between 3 and 6 months.

 Contact information:

Maria Juanpere Borras (email: maria.juanpereborras@wur.nl   ), PhD candidate Host-Microbe Interactomics, Wageningen University and Research. Visiting address: Room E1205, De Elst 1, 6708 WD, Wageningen.

Project leader: Prof. Jerry Wells (email: jerry.wells@wur.nl)