Invited Speaker Seminar Series Summer 2020

On Monday July 27th, Catherine Armbruster from Jen Bomberger lab at University of Pittsburg, will share her research with us.

The seminar will start at 3 pm EST, and you can join us via BlueJeans: https://bluejeans.com/790114426

Here is a brief summary of Catherine’s research on Different evolutionary genetic routes to pathoadaptation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the sinuses of people with cystic fibrosis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa adaptively evolves during chronic cystic fibrosis (CF) lung infections (termed “pathoadaptation”); genetically distinct lineages acquire mutations that inactivate genes important for acute infections and/or increase expression of genes promoting chronic infection. These mutations are epidemiologically linked with antibiotic resistance, failure to eradicate infection, later stages of disease, or worsened lung function, but conditions in the respiratory tract selecting for these mutations remain unclear. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is highly prevalent in CF and the sinuses are a primary colonization site that is hypothesized to support P. aeruginosa dissemination into the lungs. My research in the Bomberger Lab examines the ecology and evolution of sinus P. aeruginosa populations. We have identified at least 3 distinct evolutionary genetic routes by which P. aeruginosa adaptively evolves to persist in the upper respiratory tract in CF CRS. Ongoing work is aimed at determining whether and how selective pressures in the sinuses may be therapeutically relieved in order to prevent or delay P. aeruginosa pathoadaptation to the respiratory environment.