Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The study of bacterial adaptation to environmental change requires rigorous culture conditions. In our laboratories, we achieve this using bioreactors (fermentors) which have the added advantage of allowing the control and monitoring of many physico-chemical parameters, which enable us to produce culture conditions unattainable otherwise. The bacteria we study are of utmost interest in the fields of health (Vibrio cholerae, Staphylococcus aureus), biotechnology (Streptomyces spp.), and environment (the nitrogen-fixing Frankia sp.). Some of these share also the characteristics of sudden dormancy in late-phase cultures and warrant research in to their mechanisms of adaptation to environmental stress. The automated sampling and analysis instrument requested will allow us to expand our research into new horizons, exploiting proteomic and transcriptomic strategies to better understand how horizontal gene transfer translates into ecological fitness in Vibrio cholerae, and how environmental conditions affect the metabolism in Streptomyces spp., S. aureus, and Frankia sp. The instrument requested will allow the continuous sampling and monitoring of nutrients and metabolites in continuous bioreactor cultures which would not be feasible otherwise. It will be central to the training of highly qualified personnel in microbiology and biotechnology.