![Dr Petra Louis Dr Petra Louis](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/rwt066/P.Louis_square.jpg)
Senior Research Fellow
- About
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- Email Address
- p.louis@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 438735
- Office Address
Dr. Petra Louis
Microbiology Group
Gut Health Theme
The Rowett Institute
University of Aberdeen
Foresterhill
Aberdeen AB25 2ZD
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Biography
Petra Louis is a molecular microbiologist with an interest in the human gut microbiota, diet and health. She obtained her Diploma in Biology and PhD in Microbiology from the University of Bonn, Germany, where she conducted research on osmoadaptation in halophilic bacteria. She undertook post-doctoral research at the University of Aberdeen on stress responses in Escherichia coli and on RNA secondary structure melting during translation in yeast, before taking up a position as principal investigator at the Rowett Institute in Aberdeen in 2002.
Her research concentrates on the metabolism of the microbial community that inhabits the human intestine and how it can be modulated by diet to improve human health, with a particular emphasis on short-chain fatty acid production from dietary non-digestible carbohydrates. She utilises a wide range of technical approaches, including strictly anaerobic microbiology, molecular microbial community analysis, -omics technologies and mathematical modelling, to investigate which microbes are instrumental for primary fibre degradation and how different microbial community members interact with each other during fibre breakdown and fermentation product formation. Her work contributes to the development of effective and personalised nutritional strategies to improve human health via actions of the gut microbiota.
Qualifications
- Diploma Biology1992 - University of Bonn, Germany
- PhD Microbiology1996 - Univesity of Bonn, Germany
Prizes and Awards
PhD thesis award of the German Society for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM) 1996
Clarivate (Web of Science) highly cited researcher: 2018-2023
Member of the Rowett Gut Microbiology Group, who were runners up in the International Global Grants for Gut Health Nature Awards Research Group Prize 2023 - read more HERE
- Research
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Research Overview
The microbial community in the human large intestine consists of a diverse range of bacteria that break down complex nutrients of dietary and host origin. The members of this ecosystem form a complex metabolic network in which the product of one group can serve as substrate for another group. Overall, this leads to the accumulation of mainly three organic acids, acetate, propionate and butyrate, which are partially absorbed by the colon and serve as an additional energy source for the human host. Butyrate is of special interest, as it serves as the preferred energy source for the colonic wall and thus contributes to the proper functioning of the gut. It has also been claimed to be protective against colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease through effects on host gene expression and cellular development of the colon. Propionate also influences host physiology and its potential effects on host satiety is of particular interest in view of the current obesity epidemic.
Dietary intakes can influence the microbial gut community and shift the balance between different functional bacterial groups, with potential consequences for host health. Our research concentrates on the microbial metabolism of dietary non-digestible carbohydrates, with a particular emphasis on short-chain fatty acid production. We utilise are wide range of technical approaches, including strictly anaerobic microbiology of pure strains and mixed microbial consortia, molecular microbial community analysis of in vitro and human dietary studies, -omics technologies, enzymology and mathematical modelling.
Research Specialisms
- Microbiology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Ecology
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
- Publications
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Page 11 of 11 Results 101 to 109 of 109
Lactate-utilizing bacteria, isolated from human feces, that produce butyrate as a major fermentation product
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol. 70, no. 10, pp. 5810-5817Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.70.10.5810-5817.2004
Restricted distribution of the butyrate kinase pathway among butyrate-producing bacteria from the human colon
Journal of Bacteriology, vol. 186, no. 7, pp. 2099-2106Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.186.7.2099-2106.2004
A role for mechanosensitive channels in survival of stationary phase: regulation of channel expression by RpoS
PNAS, vol. 100, no. 26, pp. 15959-15964Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2536607100
Managing hypoosmotic stress: aquaporins and mechanosensitive channels in Escherichia coli
Current Opinion in Microbiology, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 166-169Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-5274(99)80029-0
Protection of Escherichia coli cells against extreme turgor by activation of MscS and MscL mechanosensitive channels: identification of genes required for MscS activity
EMBO Journal, vol. 18, pp. 1730-1737Contributions to Journals: ArticlesCompatible solutes: Ectoine production and gene expression
Microbiology and Biogeochemistry of Hypersaline Environments. Oren, A. (ed.). CRC Press, pp. 187-202, 16 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersCharacterization of genes for the biosynthesis of the compatible solute ectoine from Marinococcus halophilus and osmoregulated expression in Escherichia coli
Microbiology , vol. 143, no. 4, pp. 1141-1149Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-143-4-1141
Identification of plasmids in the genus Marinococcus and complete nucleotide sequence of plasmid pPL1 from Marinococcus halophilus
Plasmid, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 107-114Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSURVIVAL OF ESCHERICHIA-COLI DURING DRYING AND STORAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF COMPATIBLE SOLUTES
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 41, no. 6, pp. 684-688Contributions to Journals: Articles