Toxin delivery mediated decision making at the bacteria-host interface

Many bacterial infections are heterogeneous in the ability of the pathogen to cause disease and antibiotics to cure the same.

There are many factors that can explain such heterogeneity, but one that hasn’t gained enough attention is how metabolic heterogeneity among bacterial and host cells contribute to infections.

In this project we aim to find out how metabolic heterogeneity arises and how it contributes to the outcome and treatability of infections.

Our preliminary data suggests that kin-delivery of bacterial toxins contribute to the generation of such metabolic heterogeneity.

At the same time, these toxins affect the ability of bacteria to make infection relevant life-style choices, but whether the metabolic changes are driving the decision-making or if they are simply a signature of the same is not known. Here we will investigate if the metabolic changes are indeed what guides the changes in bacterial gene-expression.

Also host-cells show remarkable heterogeneity in metabolism, and we will investigate how such heterogeneity arises and how it affects the ability of intra-cellular bacteria to rewire the host cell metabolism in their favor.

The results from this project will help us understand the basis of variation in bacteria-host interaction as well why drugs sometimes fail to elicit the expected response.

Thus, our findings could generate important information that could be used for development of new antibiotics, enhancers as well as biofilm or immune modulating drugs