About
Thursday 18 April @ 11:00 am
Auditorium F. Jacob (CFJ building)
Clare M. SMITH
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham – USA
Host vs Pathogen: discovering genetic drivers of diverse tuberculosis outcomes.
Abstract:
Genetic diversity is a key factor underlying heterogenous disease states of tuberculosis. However, current standard mouse models fail to incorporate both genetic and phenotypic diversity. We approach this problem by leveraging new mammalian and bacterial genetic resources to study each of these variables in isolation and in combination. Host diversity is modeled using the new mammalian genetics resource known as the Collaborative Cross (CC). The CC is a genetically diverse but reproducible panel of mice, which show diverse immunity and infection outcomes. Bacterial variation is concurrently incorporated using new genetic reporters or libraries of M. tuberculosis mutants (TnSeq). Using this highly tractable system, our research program focuses on defining the mechanisms by which genetic variation in the host and pathogen impact interventions and outcomes to infectious diseases in model systems and human patients. By combining both host and bacterial genetics approaches, we are defining the host pathways that mediate protection, and the bacterial tactics used to exploit and evade them.