Prospecting deep sea sponges for new antimicrobials.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Biochemistry
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health issue of immediate concern. The UK strategy for overcoming this growing threat includes the development of new antibiotics. Industry has essentially withdrawn from antibiotic discovery, and the onus now falls on academia to feed the development pipeline with new natural products. The microbial consortia associated with marine sponges are a fertile source of such natural products but to date bioprospecting has been heavily focused upon sponges from warm and shallow waters and these niches have been thoroughly sampled. In contrast, we have now amassed a unique collection of over 100 sponges from the seabed of the Atlantic Ocean, representing remote, deep and cold waters that to our knowledge have never been sampled before. This novel resource holds the exciting prospect of discovering a variety of small molecules with therapeutic potential. This project will thus explore whether novel antibiotics can be identified within the microbial consortia of deep-sea sponges.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Paul Curnow (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Samuel Williams (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MR/N013794/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2025 | |||
| 1952965 | Studentship | MR/N013794/1 | 01/10/2017 | 24/02/2022 | Samuel Williams |
| Description | Partnership Engagement Fund |
| Amount | £495 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2019 |
| End | 09/2019 |
| Description | ABX meeting and the Upton Plymouth group - also discovering novelling molecules from sponge accosiated bacteria |
| Organisation | University of Plymouth |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Knowledge exchange partnership where we have offered our chemistry facilities at the University of Bristol |
| Collaborator Contribution | The group from University of Plymouth have detailed knowledge of marine biology and set up the ABX: Antibiotic discovery accelerator meeting which we are apart of |
| Impact | ABX meeting in the Eden project which formed numerous collaborations with other collaborators across the UK |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Novel molecule testing collaboration with SUMMIT therapetuics in Cambridge |
| Organisation | Summit Plc |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Provided antimicrobial natural products produced by the project for testing against SUMMIT's discovery platform. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expert knowledge, MIC and extensive data on compounds. Expert knowledge and industry ability to take molecules down the preclinical and clinical trial pipeline |
| Impact | Detailed information on molecules we have discoverd on the project. Assessment of therapeutic potential of the molecule. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Antibiotic sustainability panel discussion by the Cabot Institute - Oral presentation and panel member - Bristol, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Around 100 people attend an expert panel (of which I was a member) about sustainability hosted by the cabot institute. Panel included a 10 minute talk, a 30 minute discussion with questions from the general public in the audience. Also released on soundcloud |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.bristol.ac.uk/cabot/events/2018/rwb.html |
| Description | Bristol Cable interview on this project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A reporter from the bristol cable interviewed me about the research we are doing on antibiotic discovery at Bristol. This video was then uploaded to the bristol cable website and facebook reaching a large regional audience |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://thebristolcable.org/2018/07/watch-searching-the-natural-world-for-new-antibiotics/ |
| Description | Runner up - Three Minute Thesis (Univerisity of Bristol) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Over 150 people watched my three minute thesis talk about my project. I won runner-up award and the talk was later uploaded onto facebook and youtube. The talk recieved >5000 views online through different platforms and made people unrelated to my project aware of the importance of antibiotic discovery and this project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zprEekONkY0 |