NIBN Applied Microbial Ecology Seminar Series
"The role of the intestinal microbiota in protection against enteric infection"
Presented by Dr. Alan Walker
University of Aberdeen, Scotland
One of the main beneficial activities of the human intestinal microbiota is that it provides protection against invading pathogenic microbes, a process termed “colonisation resistance”. Different microbiota compositions can result in varying levels of colonisation resistance, and this may be one reason why some individuals are more susceptible to enteric infections than others. In addition, pathogens such as Salmonella spp. and Clostridioides difficile appear to have evolved distinct behavioural strategies in order to outcompete indigenous gut microbes, further emphasising the tripartite nature of gastrointestinal infectious disease, involving the host, the pathogen and the microbiota. In my talk I will discuss recent studies showing how diarrhoeal disease can impact the microbiota, and how pathogens interact with indigenous microbes. I will also discuss recent work that aims to enhance or restore colonisation resistance by identifying specific microbiota species that have activity against gut pathogens.
About the speaker:
I am a microbiologist by training with specific interests in the bacteria that inhabit the gastrointestinal tracts of mammalian hosts. After receiving a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology from the University of Aberdeen I studied for my PhD at the Rowett Institute and at the University of Dundee, specialising in gut microbiology and the role that intestinal bacteria play in the breakdown of dietary fibre. Following my PhD I spent eight years at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, before moving to my current post as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen. My current research uses a combination of anaerobic culturing and DNA sequencing techniques to better characterise gut microbial communities, and shed light on the roles these microbes play both in health and in disease.
