Brazil-UK Partnership: New Bioactives for a Healthy Gut, targeting the gut microbiota.
Lead Research Organisation:
Lancaster University
Department Name: Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences
Abstract
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| Title | Application of LFASS to bacterial collection screening |
| Description | Development of a new high-throughput pipeline based on LFASS approaches (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31309734/) to assess the probiotic potential of bacterial strains and mixtures in C. elegans. We have submitted this to the Journal of Vizualised Experiments (JoVE) to promote transparent method reporting. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Our collaborators in Germany (Schulenburg lab) are in the process implementing the method in their setup and have asked me to advise on equipment specifications. We have used the method in our lab to screen 48 gut microbiota isolates and are now characterizing interesting hits in terms of their impact on C. elegans health and ageing. We have also adapted this method to initiate a genome-wide RNAi screen (using dsRNA expressing bacteria) in C. elegans. The visiting ECR from UNIPAMPA (Brazil) has learned the approach and has applied it further to the study of compound/bacterium/C. elegans interactions. |
| URL | https://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/highthroughput-screening-of-microbial-isolat... |
| Description | Knowledge Exchange activity with Lhasa Ltd. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | First meeting to explore collaborative and funding opportunities between the Partnership and Lhasa Ltd. to exploit C. elegans as an experimental model in compound design and toxicology profile prediction. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Knowledge Exchange activity with the Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I joined the MRC National Mouse Genetics Network (NMGN) as an expert member advising on the use of C. elegans as a replacement model organism to carry out in vivo research into human diseases. Our working group aims to design materials to assist clinicians and biomedical scientists in identifying alternative experimental models to rodents to answer biological questions. We are currently compiling information on each experimental model in a systematic manner, covering their benefits, limitations, amenability to various genetic, cell biology, omics and biochemical techniques, and pplicability to study human diseases, cell, tissue, and organ systems. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| URL | https://www.har.mrc.ac.uk/projects/national-mouse-genetics-network/ |
| Description | Lancaster University - UNIPAMPA symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Partners from Brazil came for a weelk of activities across the North of England. This activity was the first in-person scientific meeting between UNIPAMPA and LU partners, and collaborators. Each partner (and collaborator) presented their research aims, key findings and the key methodologies susceptible to be leveraged by or transferred to partner institutions. The symposium was open to other academics and researchers at Lancaster University. Discussions that followed led to plans for future collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/activities/c-elegans-screening-of-bioactives-and-probioti... |
| Description | Partners visit to Magnitude Biosciences |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Partners from Brazil came to Lancaster for a week of activities across the North of England. In this activity, they visited Magnititude Biosciences, a company based in Stockton-on-Tees at the North East Technology Park (NETPark), which uses C. elegans as a screening platform for drug testing and discovery, and as a model for human genetic diseases. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/activities/unipampalu-partnership-visit-to-magnitude-bios... |