Automated, model-guided phenotyping to identify metabolite/gene/microbe interactions

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R21 · $178,949 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract DNA sequencing has spawned the “microbiome revolution” -- thousands of microbes and a dizzying number of microbial interactions that are associated with human health and disease. Unfortunately, most species in the microbiome are known only by a (partial) genome. The limited phenotypic data on newly discovered bacteria reveal species that behave unlike any of our model organisms. While genome-scale modeling plays an important role in understanding the microbiome, the paucity of phenotypic data for most species prevents detailed simulation of the microbial communities that affect our health. This project will develop an automated system for profiling, synthesizing, and modeling microbial communities. The center of our approach is Deep Phenotyping, an automated robotic platform that performs complex growth experiments on demand. Data from Deep Phenotyping will be used to train metabolic and statistical models of the oral pathogens Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans to predict conditions that keep both microbes in a nonpathogenic state.

Key facts

NIH application ID
9852330
Project number
5R21EB027396-02
Recipient
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
Principal Investigator
Paul Anthony Jensen
Activity code
R21
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2020
Award amount
$178,949
Award type
5
Project period
2019-02-01 → 2021-11-30