Research foci Molecular Bacteriology

The overall objective of our work is to uncover genetic determinants of P. aeruginosa adaptation to a chronic, persistent state of infection, and of antibiotic resistance. The realization of genome-wide association studies are at the core of the Institute of Molecular Bacteriology. Phenotype-genotype association methods are applied on a large sequence variation and gene expression dataset of a plethora of clinical P. aeruginosa isolates. This will be the basis for the identification of genetic markers of biofilm resistance in individual bacteria strains as well as physiological states that confer biofilm recalcitrance in a holistic approach.

Furthermore genetic markers of antimicrobial resistance will be identified. We aim to combine basic molecular biology research, technology-driven approaches and data-driven science to advance molecular diagnostics for resistance profiling and to develop alternative therapeutic strategies to combat chronic biofilm-associated infections.