Research

Many types of infections, including chronic human infections, are polymicrobial, meaning two or more microbial species occupy the infection site. These polymicrobial communities often display increased antibiotic tolerance and are associated with longer recovery times compared to single-species infections. Our research focuses on three chronic polymicrobial infection contexts: chronic wounds, cystic fibrosis (CF) lung infections, and periodontitis (gum disease). While each site harbors different microbes, across all these systems we investigate how inter-microbial interactions influence bacterial physiology and virulence. Recent studies from our lab and others have shown that such interactions can dramatically alter which bacterial genes are essential for survival and can change how pathogens respond to antibiotics, highlighting the importance of studying microbes in community contexts. By studying pathogens in the context of their microbial neighbors, we aim to unravel how cooperative and competitive interactions drive infection severity and treatment resistance. Ultimately, we believe that a deeper grasp of these polymicrobial dynamics will inform strategies to disrupt harmful microbial partnerships and improve patient outcomes.

Relevant papers

• Dolan SK, Duong AT, and M Whiteley 2024. Convergent evolution in toxin detection and resistance provides evidence for conserved bacterial–fungal interactions. PNAS 121 (32) e2304382121. 

• Lewin GR, Stacy A, Michie KL, Lamont RJ, M Whiteley. 2019. Large-scale identification of pathogen essential genes during coinfection with sympatric and allopatric microbes. PNAS. 116 (39) 19685-19694.

• Ibberson CB, Stacy A, Fleming D, Dees JL, Rumbaugh K, Gilmore MS, and M Whiteley. 2017. Co-infecting microbes dramatically alter pathogen gene essentiality during polymicrobial infection. Nature Microbiol. 2:17079.

• Stacy A, Everett J, Jorth P, Trivedi U, Rumbaugh KP, and M Whiteley. Bacterial fight-and-flight responses enhance virulence in a polymicrobial infection. 2014. PNAS, 111(21):7819-24.  

• Korgaonkar, A.K., U. Trivedi, K.P. Rumbaugh, and M Whiteley. 2013. Community surveillance enhances Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence during polymicrobial infection. PNAS. 110(3):1059-64. PMID: 23277552.

• Ramsey, M.M. and M Whiteley. 2009. Polymicrobial interactions stimulate resistance to host innate immunity through metabolite perception. PNAS 106:1578-83.