**SSA** Exploring the function of T3SS effectors during in vivo infection.

This current project at Imperial College London broadly aims to unravel the function of the individual A/E pathogen T3SS effectors by using the well-established C.rodentium mouse model of gut infection. In order to accomplish this objective, I will:

Complement a C. rodentium library of the effector knockouts with a plasmid that allows the overexpression of the deleted effector, allowing the functional study of both the absence of the effector as well as the presence of excess quantities of it.

Characterise the library of C. rodentium knock-out mutants and the complemented strains in vitro.

After the preliminary results in vitro, the most promising strains will be tested in vivo, where the infection profile will be characterised and compared to C. rodentium wild-type infections.

This will clarify how the deletion and overexpression of effectors would affect the pathogenesis in IECs and impact on the T3SS conduit in vivo. Additionally, it will highlight processes targeted by each effector and analyse feedback signals they may have upon each other.

Finally, interesting results will be followed-up by more in depth analysis e.g point mutations in the effectors to modify activity or binding to other proteins