Fluorescent Drugs to Detect Resistant Bugs: Repurposing fluorescent Strathclyde-Minor Groove Binders to detect vancomycin-resistant Grampositive pathogens
Supervisors:
Dr Liam Rooney, University of Glasgow
Dr Fraser Scott, University of Strathclyde)
Prof Andrew Roe, University of Glasgow
Summary:
Vancomycin is a last-resort antibiotic used to treat serious Gram-positive infections. Worryingly, resistance to vancomycin is on the rise, creating major challenges for diagnosis and treatment.
Current detection methods, including fluorescent vancomycin derivatives, fail to label
vancomycin-resistant bacteria (VRBs), leaving these high-risk pathogens effectively invisible. This cross-disciplinary project aims to repurpose a new fluorescent DNA-binding antibiotic, SMGB-245, as a powerful tool to detect and study VRBs. We will assess S-MGB-245’s antimicrobial activity, develop advanced fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy-based detection assays, and apply these to mixed bacterial populations and infected tissues with varying resistance profiles.
Using cutting-edge multi-scale imaging, we seek to uncover where and how VRBs spread during infection. In parallel, we will attempt to generate resistance to S-MGB-245 using a long-term evolution experiment and uncover any mechanisms of resistance that emerge. This project will instil practical experience in microbiology, advanced microscopy, biofilm research, image analysis, and antimicrobial resistance evolution, as well as training in bioinformatics and data visualisation. This project is ideal for applicants microbiology, molecular biology, or biochemistry background, and an interest in imaging, infection biology, or AMR.