Investigating the diversity, molecular epidemiology, competitive influence and therapeutic potential of pneumococcal bacteriocins using large genome datasets

Infectious diseases are a leading cause of early childhood deaths, and pneumonia is one of the most common. An estimated 1.3 million children worldwide died of pneumonia in 2013.  The leading cause of pneumonia is the pneumococcus and it is also a major cause of paediatric meningitis and bacteraemia. 

Genomics has revolutionised science and medicine. We are now able to obtain all the genetic information about bacteria and use that information to understand how they cause disease, become antibiotic-resistant and evade the immune system. I will research bacteriocins, which are antibiotics produced by bacteria to kill other bacteria.  Pneumococci have many different bacteriocins and it is unclear why they need so many different types. We think it might be to compete with other pneumococci and other bacterial species in the region of the body where these bacteria live. 

If we understand these relationships better it will help us understand the consequences of disturbing their natural dynamics, which happens when vaccines are given to children. It may also be possible to develop these bacteriocins as novel antibiotics, which is important in the context of the global problem of antibiotic resistance and the need for new treatment options.