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dc.contributorDepartment of Applied Biology and Chemical Technologyen_US
dc.contributor.advisorChua, Song Lin (ABCT)en_US
dc.creatorLiu, Yang-
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/12189-
dc.languageEnglishen_US
dc.publisherHong Kong Polytechnic Universityen_US
dc.rightsAll rights reserveden_US
dc.titleCharacterization of novel factors in the interactions of pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms with caenorhabditis elegansen_US
dcterms.abstractBacteria-host interaction is an important research field in microbiology to understand the adhesion and infection of the pathogenic bacteria to the host organisms. One convenient whole-animal model of infection is the Pseudomonas. aeruginosa bacteria- Caenorhabditis. elegans nematode model, where the bacteria establish an intestinal infection within the host after the animal feeds on the bacteria. C. elegans is often used to studying bacterial virulence, especially for intestinal infections. P. aeruginosa is a major human opportunistic Gram-negative pathogen, which accounts for many lung, intestinal and urinary tract infections. With a strong ability to form multicellular biofilms encased in self-secreted matrix, P. aeruginosa employs the c-di-GMP secondary messenger signaling system which is found in most bacterial species, to colonize host surfaces and cause biofilm-mediated infections. Iron is an important nutrient for biofilm formation, so P. aeruginosa employs pyoverdine, a fluorescent iron siderophore for scavenging iron from the environment. Till date, most omics methods, especially proteomics focus on studying either the bacteria or host, but there is a lack of suitable approaches which can evaluate both host and bacteria simultaneously. Here, I developed a label-free SILAC proteomics method, which is mostly used in mammalian cell studies, to evaluate bacterial and host factors during the infection (6 h.p.i and 24 h.p.i) simultaneously, with high sensitivity and accuracy. This SILAC approach can be employed for other in vivo infection research involving host-pathogen interactions. Based on the proteomics results, novel factors from P. aeruginosa such as AlgR and PvdA, and the AlgR protein expression and correspondingly higher PvdA expression by 24 h.p.i were identified.en_US
dcterms.abstractAlgR is a protein which regulates the pathway alginate biosynthesis, which is part of Glycan biosynthesis (Little Alexander, Okkotsu et al. 2018). Protein PvdA catalyzes the conversion of L-ornithine to N5-hydroxyornithine, the first step in the biosynthesis of all hydroxamate-containing siderophores, such as pyoverdine (Minandri, Imperi et al. 2016). This also corroborated with a recent study that downregulation of AlgR will lead to upregulation of PvdA, the first enzyme in the synthesis pathway of pyoverdine. From the point view of host, C. elegans correspondingly upregulated its novel factor, FTN-2, which is ferritin, a host iron scavenging protein known for physiological iron homeostasis. It's showed that, during the interactions, P. aeruginosa upregulated pyoverdine production and secretion, in response to C. elegans's ferritin, indicating the iron competition is a novel process between P. aeruginosa and C. elegans. This showed the robustness of the SILAC approach in revealing host-pathogen interactions and indicating the role of FTN-2 in iron competition with pathogens during infections. To interfere with the iron competition and tilt the favor against the pathogen, I next identified and evaluated an inhibitor which downregulate pyoverdine production. This is achieved by using Galangin as a novel PvdA inhibitor identified by structure-based virtual-screening, where Galangin reduced pyoverdine synthesis and biofilm formation. The combinatorial treatment of Galangin and ciprofloxacin antibiotic reduced P. aeruginosa's ability to establish effective infection and promoted animal survival. My study shows the SILAC method designed in this study is a robust proteomics method with reproducibility and reliability, and results provide insights into the mechanisms detailing host-pathogen interactions and offer novel strategies for anti-infective treatment.en_US
dcterms.extent158 pages : color illustrationsen_US
dcterms.isPartOfPolyU Electronic Thesesen_US
dcterms.issued2022en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelPh.D.en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelAll Doctorateen_US
dcterms.LCSHMicroorganisms -- Behavioren_US
dcterms.LCSHMicrobial ecologyen_US
dcterms.LCSHHost-bacteria relationshipsen_US
dcterms.LCSHInfectionen_US
dcterms.LCSHHong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertationsen_US
dcterms.accessRightsopen accessen_US

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/12189