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Back to session list | Personal timetableOral Session 5: Thematic Topic: The Ecology and Evolution of Microbiomes
Tuesday 18 December
| Add | 11:15 | Unrest at home: Stability and Resilience in the Human Microbiome |
| David Relman (Stanford University) | ||
My laboratory group studies stability and resilience in the human oral and distal gut microbial communities using longitudinal sampling schemes, deliberate disturbance in human volunteers, molecular assessments of community structure and function, and ecological theory and statistics. Our goal is to understand and predict community robustness in the face of disturbance in order to improve health and disease. |
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| Add | 11:45 | Evolutionary ecology of cystic fibrosis lung infections |
| Michael Brockhurst (University of York), Craig Winstanley (University of Liverpool), Steve Paterson (University of Liverpool), Ben Evans (University of Liverpool), Chloe James (University of Liverpool) | ||
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the predominant pathogen infecting the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. Since 2009 we have tracked the phenotypic and genetic diversity of P. aeruginosa populations infecting 10 cystic fibrosis patients. Our analysis demonstrates that these populations have evolved high levels of diversity and that this diversity is very dynamic with turnover of dominant phenotypes over short intervals. |
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| Add | 12:00 | Causes and possible consequences of variation in the gut bacterial community of a UK bird population |
| Kenneth Wilson (Lancaster University), Clare Benskin (Lancaster University), Ian Hartley (Lancaster University), Roger Pickup (Lancaster University), Glenn Rhodes (NERC - CEH Lancaster), Rachel Hope (Lancaster University) | ||
There is a growing understanding of the causes and consequences of variation in the community of microorganisms living in the human gut, but much less is known about the microbiomes of wild animals. Here we present initial findings from a molecular analysis of spatio-temporal variation in the gut bacterial community of a population of blue tits and its possible fitness consequences. |
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| Add | 12:15 | Biogeography, season and parasites are linked to the wild mouse gut microbiota |
| Amy Pedersen (University of Edinburgh), Corinne Maurics (Harvard University), Sarah Knowles (Imperial College), Andy Fenton (University of Liverpool), Peter Turnbaugh (Harvard University) | ||
The trillions of microorganisms found with the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, the gut microbiota, are shaped by many environmental factors. Studies of inbred laboratory mice have emphasized the importance of biogeography, diet, and infectious disease. Here, we survey the gut microbiota of wild wood mice for two consecutive years, demonstrating that these factors are also relevant to wild mouse populations. |
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| Add | 12:30 | Microbial community ecology of cystic fibrosis respiratory infections: Ecological insights for clinical benefit |
| Christopher Van der Gast (NERC Centre for Ecology Hydrology) | ||
Our overarching aim is to exploit and adapt ecological models, theories, and principles, coupled with ever improving molecular methodologies to move beyond basic inventory descriptions of composition and diversity of CF microbial communities. This will allow us to better understand and predict how microbial communities assemble and develop in the CF lung, and how microorganisms are distributed between- and within-patients. |