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Project

Optimization of probiotics via experimental evolution: towards a treatment less prone to (antibiotic) resistance development

The rapid rise in antibiotic resistance urges the need for novel antimicrobial approaches. Strategies that make use of beneficial microbes (probiotics) are currently being pursued. However, it is crucial that we do not repeat the mistakes we made in the past with antibiotics by only acting upon resistance development when the level of threat is already severe. This project therefore aims to improve the selection of (next-generation) probiotics by elucidating the relationship between probiotics and (antibiotic) resistance in the enteropathogen Salmonella Typhimurium. We will test whether antibiotic resistance mechanisms in Salmonella provide cross-resistance to treatment with certain probiotics and to what extent (antibiotic) resistance can develop in Salmonella due to competitive interactions with these probiotics. Probiotics that are effective against antibiotic resistant strains and do not induce resistance development will then be further optimized via experimental evolution.
Date:1 Jan 2021 →  31 Oct 2021
Keywords:Probiotics, Antibiotic resistance, Experimental evolution, Salmonella
Disciplines:Infectious diseases, Microbiome, Bacteriology, Community ecology, Evolutionary biology not elsewhere classified, Environmental engineering and biotechnology not elsewhere classified