Bacterial cell-to-cell signaling promotes the evolution of resistance to parasitic bacteriophages (2017)
Journal Article
Moreau, P., Diggle, S. P., & Friman, V. (2017). Bacterial cell-to-cell signaling promotes the evolution of resistance to parasitic bacteriophages. Ecology and Evolution, 7(6), doi:10.1002/ece3.2818. ISSN 2045-7758

The evolution of host–parasite interactions could be affected by intraspecies variation between different host and parasite genotypes. Here we studied how bacterial host cell-to-cell signaling affects the interaction with parasites using two bacteria... Read More

An ex vivo lung model to study bronchioles infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms (2016)
Journal Article
Harrison, F., & Diggle, S. P. (in press). An ex vivo lung model to study bronchioles infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Microbiology, 162, doi:10.1099/mic.0.000352. ISSN 1465-2080

A key aim in microbiology is to determine the genetic and phenotypic bases of bacterial virulence, persistence and antimicrobial resistance in chronic biofilm infections. This requires tractable, high-throughput models that reflect the physical and c... Read More

Role of multicellular aggregates in biofilm formation (2016)
Journal Article
Kragh, K., Hutchison, J. B., Melaugh, G., Rodesney, C., Roberts, A., Irie, Y., …Bjarnsholt, T. (2016). Role of multicellular aggregates in biofilm formation. mBio, 7(2), doi:10.1128/mBio.00237-16. ISSN 2150-7511

In traditional models of in vitro biofilm development, individual bacterial cells seed a surface, multiply, and mature into multicellular, three-dimensional structures. Much research has been devoted to elucidating the mechanisms governing the initia... Read More

Conflict of interest and signal interference lead to the breakdown of honest signalling (2015)
Journal Article
Popat, R., Pollitt, E. J., Harrison, F., Naghra, H., Hong, K. W., Chan, K. G., …Diggle, S. P. (2015). Conflict of interest and signal interference lead to the breakdown of honest signalling. Evolution, 69(9), doi:10.1111/evo.12751. ISSN 0014-3820

Animals use signals to coordinate a wide range of behaviours, from feeding offspring to predator avoidance. This poses an evolutionary problem, because individuals could potentially signal dishonestly to coerce others into behaving in ways that benef... Read More

A 1,000-year-old antimicrobial remedy with antistaphylococcal activity (2015)
Journal Article
Harrison, F., Roberts, A., Gabrilska, R., Rumbaugh, K., Lee, C., & Diggle, S. P. (2015). A 1,000-year-old antimicrobial remedy with antistaphylococcal activity. mBio, 6(4), (1-7). doi:10.1128/mBio.01129-15. ISSN 2150-7511

Plant-derived compounds and other natural substances are a rich potential source of compounds that kill or attenuate pathogens that are resistant to current antibiotics. Medieval so- cieties used a range of these natural substances to treat condition... Read More

Recombination is a key driver of genomic and phenotypic diversity in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa population during cystic fibrosis infection (2015)
Journal Article
Darch, S. E., McNally, A., Harrison, F., Corander, J., Barr, H. L., Paszkiewicz, K., …Diggle, S. P. (2015). Recombination is a key driver of genomic and phenotypic diversity in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa population during cystic fibrosis infection. Scientific Reports, 5, doi:10.1038/srep07649. ISSN 2045-2322

The Cystic Fibrosis (CF) lung harbors a complex, polymicrobial ecosystem, in which Pseudomonas aeruginosa is capable of sustaining chronic infections, which are highly resistant to multiple antibiotics. Here, we investigate the phenotypic and genotyp... Read More

Development of an ex vivo porcine lung model for studying growth, virulence, and signaling of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2014)
Journal Article
Harrison, F., Muruli, A., Higgins, S., & Diggle, S. P. (2014). Development of an ex vivo porcine lung model for studying growth, virulence, and signaling of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Infection and Immunity, 82(8), doi:10.1128/IAI.01554-14. ISSN 0019-9567

Research into chronic infection by bacterial pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, uses various in vitro and live host models. While these have increased our understanding of pathogen growth, virulence, and evolution, each model has certain limi... Read More

Cooperation, quorum sensing, and evolution of virulence in Staphylococcus aureus (2014)
Journal Article
Pollitt, E. J., West, S. A., Crusz, S. A., Burton-Chellew, M. N., & Diggle, S. P. (2014). Cooperation, quorum sensing, and evolution of virulence in Staphylococcus aureus. Infection and Immunity, 82(3), doi:10.1128/IAI.01216-13. ISSN 0019-9567

The virulence and fitness in vivo of the major human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus are associated with a cell-to-cell signaling mechanism known as quorum sensing (QS). QS coordinates the production of virulence factors via the production and sensing... Read More