Publications by authors named "R Dunstan"
Bacteriophages (phages), viruses capable of infecting and lysing bacteria, are a promising alternative for treating infections from hypervirulent, antibiotic-resistant pathogens like Klebsiella pneumoniae, though narrow host range and phage resistance remain challenges. In this study, the hypervirulent K. pneumoniae NTUH-K2044 was used to purify phage ΦK2044, while two ΦK2044-resistant strains were used to purify two further phages: ΦKR1, and ΦKR8 from hospital sewage.
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- The study isolated two sub-populations of the bacteriophage Merri-merri-uth nyilam marra-natj (phage MMNM) in a Wurundjeri waterway, revealing minor phenotypic differences between them, particularly in their infection abilities.
- Through experimental evolution, 20 distinct phages were developed and sequenced, showing mutations concentrated in proteins that form the baseplate of the phage, similar to other minimalist phages.
- The research highlights that small mutations can drive phenotypic variation in phages, suggesting an alternative evolutionary pathway to the well-understood method of phage mosaicism for increasing host range diversity.
Polymyxins are often the only effective antibiotics against the "Critical" pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. Worryingly, highly polymyxin-resistant A. baumannii displaying dependence on polymyxins has emerged in the clinic, leading to diagnosis and treatment failures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigated the effect of high-intensity interval exercise on total and individual amino acid concentrations in red blood cells (RBCs) and plasma. Seven males (31 ± 13 yr) provided venous blood samples at rest, immediately and 15 min and 30 min following an 8-min high-intensity exercise bout. The exercise bout was 16 × 15 s cycle efforts at 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOuter membrane proteins (OMPs) are essential components of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. In terms of protein targeting and assembly, the current dogma holds that a 'β-signal' imprinted in the final β-strand of the OMP engages the β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM) complex to initiate membrane insertion and assembly of the OMP into the outer membrane. Here, we revealed an additional rule that signals equivalent to the β-signal are repeated in other, internal β-strands within bacterial OMPs, by peptidomimetic and mutational analysis.
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