Analysis of clinical strains reveals genome diversity and pathogenic potential
Work from former CGEBM Bioinformatician Matthew Gemmell, started here at the CGEBM, was recently published in Emerging Microbes & Infections detailing comparative genomics of Campylobacter concisus. This oral commensal species has been associated with various human gastrointestinal diseases as well as gingivitis and periodontitis. In this study, the genomes of 53 strains of C. concisus were sequenced and assembled, allowing for comparison of isolates from various disease states and ecological niches. Results of these comparisons indicate that variability in the bacterial secretion system may hold an important role in virulence.
The full publication can be viewed here.
Matthew Gemmell is now working as a Research Associate at the University of Liverpool.
Prof. Hold has recently left the University of Aberdeen to take on the post of Professor of Gut Microbiology at the St George and Sutherland Clinical School, UNSW Australia. For more details on her work - https://stgcs.med.unsw.edu.au/people/professor-georgina-hold.