Lower respiratory tract infectious diseases are a world-wide healthcare burden with bacterial pathogens accounting for a large portion of primary and secondary infections. The human respiratory tract is home to hundreds of species of microbes that comprise the human airway microbiome. These commensals play a crucial role in human health in part by providing colonization resistance against pathogens. In a previous study from the Surette lab it was shown that specific bacterial isolates from the respiratory microbiome inhibits the growth of pathogens aerobically. This included an isolate of Staphylococcus aureus which inhibited the growth of Enterococcus faecium. This activity was further characterized in this thesis and the underlying mechanism was explored through comparative genomics. As well, this observation provided proof-of-concept for a large-scale screen for additional isolates which inhibit pathogen growth. I hypothesized that the respiratory tract microbiota included many other bacteria capable of inhibiting the growth of respiratory tract pathogens in both aerobic and anaerobic environments, and that anaerobic conditions will identify new activities not detected aerobically. To examine and identify potential beneficial bacteria, I have screened ~5000 respiratory tract bacteria from the Surette lab’s airway isolate collection against four pathogens: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The respiratory tract commensals were pinned onto the pathogen-lawn and their interaction was expressed as zones of clearing or altered growth phenotypes of the pathogen. The results of the screen showed that anti-pathogen activity was a common feature of respiratory tract commensals. In particular, S. pneumoniae was inhibited by taxonomically diverse members of the microbiota representing three phyla (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria). Many of the facultative anaerobes that inhibited S. pneumoniae expressed their activity in anerobic conditions. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / The human respiratory tract harbours commensal and pathogenic bacteria, and the latter cause most of the lower respiratory tract infections. The commensal bacteria help to train the immune system and impede the growth of pathogens through colonization resistance. A previous study by the Surette lab identified bacterial isolates from the respiratory tract that inhibit the growth of select pathogens, among them, a particular strain of Staphylococcus aureus. Based on the results of the earlier study, I hypothesized that the respiratory tract bacteria is a good source of commensals that can inhibit the growth of S. aureus and other respiratory pathogens, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. To find potential therapeutic bacteria, I screened ~5000 respiratory tract isolates from the Surette lab’s strain collection for the ability to impair growth of target pathogens. Additionally, I further characterized the activity of the previously identified S. aureus strain against various Lactobacillalles strains and used comparative genomics to identify potential biosynthetic genes required for biosynthesis of molecules with antibacterial activity within the genome of S. aureus. The research reported in this thesis demonstrates that many commensal bacteria that live within our airways have the ability to inhibit the growth of bacterial pathogens. This work may provide a new source of antibiotics against respiratory infections and new strategies to reduce susceptibility to infections in vulnerable populations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/25860 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Kadiu, Blerina |
| Contributors | Surette, Michael, Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
Page generated in 0.0019 seconds