Polymer-coated urinary catheter reduces biofilm formation and biomineralization: a first in man prospective pilot study (2023)
Journal Article
Kalenderski, K., Dubern, J., Lewis-Lloyd, C., Sloan, T., Jeffery, N., Heeb, S., …Williams, P. (in press). Polymer-coated urinary catheter reduces biofilm formation and biomineralization: a first in man prospective pilot study. Journal of Urology Open PLus,

Purpose: Biofilm formation and biomineralization on urinary catheters may cause severe complications including infection and obstruction. Here we describe an in vitro evaluation and prospective pilot clinical study of a silicone catheter coated w... Read More about Polymer-coated urinary catheter reduces biofilm formation and biomineralization: a first in man prospective pilot study.

Quorum-sensing, intra- and inter-species competition in the staphylococci (2023)
Journal Article
Williams, P., Hill, P., Bonev, B., & Chan, W. C. (2023). Quorum-sensing, intra- and inter-species competition in the staphylococci. Microbiology, 169(8), https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001381

In Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and the coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), the accessory gene regulator (agr) is a highly conserved but polymorphic quorum-sensing system involved in colonization, virulence and biofilm de... Read More about Quorum-sensing, intra- and inter-species competition in the staphylococci.

Conformational analysis and interaction of the Staphylococcus aureus transmembrane peptidase AgrB with its AgrD propeptide substrate (2023)
Journal Article
Bardelang, P., Murray, E. J., Blower, I., Zandomeneghi, S., Goode, A., Hussain, R., …Bonev, B. B. (2023). Conformational analysis and interaction of the Staphylococcus aureus transmembrane peptidase AgrB with its AgrD propeptide substrate. Frontiers in Chemistry, 11, Article 1113885. https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2023.1113885

Virulence gene expression in the human pathogen, S. aureus is regulated by the agr (accessory gene regulator) quorum sensing (QS) system which is conserved in diverse Gram-positive bacteria. The agr QS signal molecule is an autoinducing peptide (AIP)... Read More about Conformational analysis and interaction of the Staphylococcus aureus transmembrane peptidase AgrB with its AgrD propeptide substrate.

Effect of deleting four Toxoplasma gondii calcium-binding EGF domain-containing proteins on parasite replication and virulence (2022)
Journal Article
Wang, X., Li, T., Elsheikha, H. M., Zheng, X., Zhao, D., Wang, J., …Zhu, X. (2023). Effect of deleting four Toxoplasma gondii calcium-binding EGF domain-containing proteins on parasite replication and virulence. Parasitology Research, 122, 441-450. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07739-6

Several calcium-binding proteins including calcium-dependent protein kinases play important roles in several facets of the intracellular infection cycle of the apicomplexan protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. However, the role of the calcium-bindin... Read More about Effect of deleting four Toxoplasma gondii calcium-binding EGF domain-containing proteins on parasite replication and virulence.

Diagnosis and Management of Acanthamoeba Keratitis: A Continental Approach (2022)
Journal Article
Bouten, M., & Elsheikha, H. M. (2022). Diagnosis and Management of Acanthamoeba Keratitis: A Continental Approach. Parasitologia, 2(3), 167-197. https://doi.org/10.3390/parasitologia2030016

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a potentially blinding infection caused by protozoa found worldwide. The topical application of biguanides and diamidines is the most common anti-amoebic treatment for AK. In this study, we hypothesized that geographica... Read More about Diagnosis and Management of Acanthamoeba Keratitis: A Continental Approach.

Methanogenesis from Mineral Carbonates, a Potential Indicator for Life on Mars (2022)
Journal Article
Wormald, R. M., Hopwood, J., Humphreys, P. N., Mayes, W., Gomes, H. I., & Rout, S. P. (2022). Methanogenesis from Mineral Carbonates, a Potential Indicator for Life on Mars. Geosciences, 12(3), Article 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12030138

Priorities for the exploration of Mars involve the identification and observation of biosignatures that indicate the existence of life on the planet. The atmosphere and composition of the sediments on Mars suggest suitability for anaerobic chemolitho... Read More about Methanogenesis from Mineral Carbonates, a Potential Indicator for Life on Mars.

Actinomadura graeca sp. nov.: A novel producer of the macrocyclic antibiotic zelkovamycin (2021)
Journal Article
Tarantini, F. S., Brunati, M., Taravella, A., Carrano, L., Parenti, F., Hong, K. W., …Chan, W. C. (2021). Actinomadura graeca sp. nov.: A novel producer of the macrocyclic antibiotic zelkovamycin. PLoS ONE, 16(11), Article e0260413. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260413

As part of a screening programme for antibiotic-producing bacteria, a novel Actinomadura species was discovered from a soil sample collected in Santorini, Greece. Preliminary 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons highlighted Actinomadura macra as the mo... Read More about Actinomadura graeca sp. nov.: A novel producer of the macrocyclic antibiotic zelkovamycin.

Synthesis and Antibacterial Evaluation of New Pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines Kinase Inhibitors (2020)
Journal Article
Greco, C., Catania, R., Balacco, D. L., Taresco, V., Musumeci, F., Alexander, C., …Schenone, S. (2020). Synthesis and Antibacterial Evaluation of New Pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines Kinase Inhibitors. Molecules, 25(22), Article 5354. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25225354

Pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines represent an important class of heterocyclic compounds well-known for their anticancer activity exerted by the inhibition of eukaryotic protein kinases. Recently, pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines have become increasingly attracti... Read More about Synthesis and Antibacterial Evaluation of New Pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines Kinase Inhibitors.

Gaussia luciferase as a reporter for quorum sensing in staphylococcus aureus (2020)
Journal Article
Blower, I., Tong, C., Sun, X., Murray, E., Luckett, J., Chan, W., …Hill, P. (2020). Gaussia luciferase as a reporter for quorum sensing in staphylococcus aureus. Sensors, 20(15), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20154305

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Gaussia luciferase (GLuc) is a secreted protein with significant potential for use as a reporter of gene expression in bacterial pathogenicity studies. To date there are relatively few example... Read More about Gaussia luciferase as a reporter for quorum sensing in staphylococcus aureus.

Bacteriophages to Control Campylobacter in Commercially Farmed Broiler Chickens, in Australia (2020)
Journal Article
Chinivasagam, H. N., Estella, W., Maddock, L., Mayer, D. G., Weyand, C., Connerton, P. L., & Connerton, I. F. (2020). Bacteriophages to Control Campylobacter in Commercially Farmed Broiler Chickens, in Australia. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00632

© Copyright © 2020 The State of Queensland (through the Department Agriculture and Fisheries). This study describes the development and use of bacteriophage cocktails to control Campylobacter in broiler chickens, in a commercial setting, in Queenslan... Read More about Bacteriophages to Control Campylobacter in Commercially Farmed Broiler Chickens, in Australia.

Application of a broad range lytic phage LPST94 for biological control of salmonella in foods (2020)
Journal Article
Islam, M. S., Zhou, Y., Liang, L., Nime, I., Yan, T., Willias, S. P., …Li, J. (2020). Application of a broad range lytic phage LPST94 for biological control of salmonella in foods. Microorganisms, 8(2), Article 247. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8020247

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Salmonella, one of the most common food-borne pathogens, is a significant public health and economic burden worldwide. Lytic phages are viable alternatives to conventional technologies for pat... Read More about Application of a broad range lytic phage LPST94 for biological control of salmonella in foods.

Improving children’s and their visitors’ hand hygiene compliance (2019)
Journal Article
Lary, D., Calvert, A., Nerlich, B., Segal, J., Vaughan, N., Randle, J., & Hardie, K. (2020). Improving children’s and their visitors’ hand hygiene compliance. Journal of Infection Prevention, 21(2), 60-67. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757177419892065

Background: Numerous interventions have tried to improve healthcare workers' hand hygiene compliance, however little attention has been paid to children's and their visitors’ compliance. Aim: To increase children’s and visitors’ compliance using in... Read More about Improving children’s and their visitors’ hand hygiene compliance.

Cathelicidin-Derived Synthetic Peptide Improves Therapeutic Potential of Vancomycin Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2019)
Journal Article
Mohammed, I., Said, D. G., Nubile, M., Mastropasqua, L., & Dua, H. S. (2019). Cathelicidin-Derived Synthetic Peptide Improves Therapeutic Potential of Vancomycin Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10, Article 2190. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02190

© Copyright © 2019 Mohammed, Said, Nubile, Mastropasqua and Dua. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is the leading cause of corneal blindness worldwide. A constant increase in multi-drug resistant PA strains have heightened the challenge of effectively mana... Read More about Cathelicidin-Derived Synthetic Peptide Improves Therapeutic Potential of Vancomycin Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Resistance mechanisms adopted by a Salmonella Typhimurium mutant against bacteriophage (2019)
Journal Article
Wang, C., Nie, T., Lin, F., Connerton, I. F., Lu, Z., Zhou, S., & Hang, H. (2019). Resistance mechanisms adopted by a Salmonella Typhimurium mutant against bacteriophage. Virus Research, 273, Article 197759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2019.197759

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Bacteriophages have key roles in regulating bacterial populations in most habitats. A Salmonella Typhimurium mutant (N18) with impaired sensitivity to phage fmb-p1 was obtained and examined, the adsorption efficiency of fmb-p1 to... Read More about Resistance mechanisms adopted by a Salmonella Typhimurium mutant against bacteriophage.

Spray-dried anti-Campylobacter bacteriophage CP30A powder suitable for global distribution without cold chain infrastructure (2019)
Journal Article
Carrigy, N. B., Liang, L., Wang, H., Kariukic, S., Nagel, T. E. .., Connerton, I. F., & Vehringa, R. (2019). Spray-dried anti-Campylobacter bacteriophage CP30A powder suitable for global distribution without cold chain infrastructure. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 569, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2019.118601

Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of foodborne illness globally. In this study, a spray drying and packaging process was developed to produce a thermally-stable dry powder containing bacteriophages that retains biological activity against C. je... Read More about Spray-dried anti-Campylobacter bacteriophage CP30A powder suitable for global distribution without cold chain infrastructure.

Timing is everything – impact of naturally occurring Staphylococcus aureus AgrC cytoplasmic domain adaptive mutations on auto-induction (2019)
Journal Article
Sloan, T. J., Murray, E., Yokoyama, M., Massey, R. C., Chan, W. C., Bonev, B., & Williams, P. (2019). Timing is everything – impact of naturally occurring Staphylococcus aureus AgrC cytoplasmic domain adaptive mutations on auto-induction. Journal of Bacteriology, 201(20), Article e00409-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00409-19

Mutations in the polymorphic Staphylococcus aureus agr locus responsible for quorum sensing (QS) dependent virulence gene regulation occur frequently during host adaptation. In two genomically closely related S. aureus clinical isolates exhibiting ma... Read More about Timing is everything – impact of naturally occurring Staphylococcus aureus AgrC cytoplasmic domain adaptive mutations on auto-induction.

A novel high sensitivity bacteriophage-based assay identifies low level Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteraemia in immunocompetent patients with active and incipient tuberculosis (2019)
Journal Article
Verma, R., Swift, B. M., Handley-Hartill, W., Lee, J. K., Woltmann, G., Rees, C. E., & Haldar, P. (2020). A novel high sensitivity bacteriophage-based assay identifies low level Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteraemia in immunocompetent patients with active and incipient tuberculosis. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 70(5), 933-936. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciz548

Haematogenous dissemination of M. tuberculosis (Mtb) is critical to pathogenesis of progressive tuberculous infection in animal models. Using a novel phage-based blood assay, we report the first concordant evidence in well-characterised immunocompete... Read More about A novel high sensitivity bacteriophage-based assay identifies low level Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteraemia in immunocompetent patients with active and incipient tuberculosis.

Examining diabetic heel ulcers through an ecological lens: microbial community dynamics associated with healing and infection (2019)
Journal Article
Sloan, T. J., Turton, J. C., Tyson, J., Musgrove, A., Fleming, V. M., Lister, M. M., …Jeffcoate, W. (2019). Examining diabetic heel ulcers through an ecological lens: microbial community dynamics associated with healing and infection. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 68(2), 230-240. https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.000907

Purpose: While some micro-organisms, such as Staphylococcus aureus, are clearly implicated in causing tissue damage in diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), our knowledge of the contribution of the entire microbiome to clinical outcomes is limited. We profile... Read More about Examining diabetic heel ulcers through an ecological lens: microbial community dynamics associated with healing and infection.

Polyionic tags as enhancers of protein solubility in recombinant protein expression (2018)
Journal Article
Paraskevopoulou, V., & Falcone, F. (2018). Polyionic tags as enhancers of protein solubility in recombinant protein expression. Microorganisms, 6(2), 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms6020047

Since the introduction of recombinant protein expression in the second half of the 1970s, the growth of the biopharmaceutical field has been rapid and protein therapeutics has come to the foreground. Biophysical and structural characterisation of rec... Read More about Polyionic tags as enhancers of protein solubility in recombinant protein expression.

Alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 glycoprotein B: recombinant expression and antibody recognition (2015)
Journal Article
Dry, I., Todd, H., Deane, D., Percival, A., Mclean, K., Inglis, N. F., …Russell, G. C. (2016). Alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 glycoprotein B: recombinant expression and antibody recognition. Archives of Virology, 161(3), 613-619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-015-2701-y

The gammaherpesvirus alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1) causes fatal malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) in susceptible species including cattle, but infects its reservoir host, wildebeest, without causing disease. Pathology in cattle may be influenced b... Read More about Alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 glycoprotein B: recombinant expression and antibody recognition.