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Coordinated growth in microbial communities and implications for antibioticsensitivities

Award Number: F32AI183748
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2024
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2027

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Coordinated growth in microbial communities and implications for antibioticsensitivities - Project Summary The discovery of antibiotics greatly decreased the public health burden associated with bacterial infections; however, antibiotics also disrupt the beneficial microbiome. An added challenge is that the efficacy of treatments is often not what is seen in the laboratory setting in part due to the fact bacteria live in mixed microbial populations. While some mechanisms of community protection have been well studied such as degradation or sequestration of the antibiotic, significantly less effort has gone into understanding the ways that physiological changes protect the cells. Efforts to study mixed microbial systems often use synthetic communities where interactions are dominated by nutrient competition and stress response pathways. To address these issues, our laboratory uses a naturally formed community of lactic acid bacteria and Acetobacter that is highly reproducible form natural environments and displays coevolved properties. Recently we have shown that the beneficial microbe Lactiplantibacillus plantarum has a difference in antibiotic sensitivities when grown in a mixed microbial community with Acetobacter species compared to when it is grown as an isolated strain. Previous work has focused on how these microbes engage in cross feeding; however little work has gone into understanding how non-nutritional cues might affect cellular physiology. My research aims to close this gap by understanding how L. plantarum and Acetoabcter coordinate growth to modify physiology and sensitivity to antibiotics. Leveraging the chemically defined media I co-created, I have recapitulated this antibiotic sensitivity change with the addition of the small molecule acetate which is produced by Acetobacter. Additionally, I have seen that acetate stimulates the growth of L. plantarum. This work led me to identify a mutant of L. plantarum that can grow fast without the stimulation of acetate. Through a combination of genetic, metabolomic, and microscopic approaches I will identify the underlying molecular mechanism of the phenotype. This project will identify how a cross-phylum signals affect cellular physiology which may have implications across bacterial species to understanding how antibiotic sensitives are modulated by mixed microbial communities.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $80,224 )
2025	2025	THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	001	2	8/21/2025	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$80,224
2025	2024	CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON	5241 BROAD BRANCH RD NW	WASHINGTON	DC	20015	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	1	8/21/2025	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $80,224

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $76,756 )
2024	2024	CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON	5241 BROAD BRANCH RD NW	WASHINGTON	DC	20015	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	1	4/1/2024	NEW	$71,792
2024	2024	CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON	5241 BROAD BRANCH RD NW	WASHINGTON	DC	20015	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	001	1	4/1/2024	NEW	$0
2024	2024	CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON	5241 BROAD BRANCH RD NW	WASHINGTON	DC	20015	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	002	1	5/8/2024	NEW	$4,964
														Subtotal = $76,756

Grand Total All Awards = $156,980

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Coordinated growth in microbial communities and implications for antibioticsensitivities

Award Number: F32AI183748

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2024

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2027

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