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Chlorinated phenol based biocides and the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Speaker: Sudeshna Ghosh, University of Michigan

Talk Title: Chlorinated phenol based biocides and the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract: Increasing resistance to antimicrobials among bacteria is a growing problem. While antimicrobials are used to treat infections, their use also selects for drug resistant bacteria that elude treatment. Understanding the ecology of antibiotic resistance has been an important part of my research. Recently, I started looking at this problem from a different angle. I am asking if certain biocides, in addition to selecting for resistant bacteria, have other roles, such as increasing the infectivity of pathogens.
My presentation concerns an opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, that infects people with lower immunity. Infections caused by P. aeruginosa are particularly hard to treat due to its large arsenal of defense mechanisms against antimicrobials. Prominent among its antibiotic resistance mechanisms is antibiotic efflux by the MexAB-OprM efflux pump, which confers resistance to a wide spectrum of antibiotics. I have found that chlorinated phenols control the expression of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump by interacting with a protein regulator of the pump. This interaction renders P. aeruginosa more resistant to antibiotics. Additionally, it raises the possibility that chlorinated phenols may influence other microbial characteristics, including virulence. Chlorinated phenol based biocides such as triclosan and chloroxylenol are commonly used as disinfectants in household cleaners, in health-care facilities and on medical devices. Is it possible that our use of these chlorinated phenol based biocides is self-defeating? This is the question that I am addressing now.


Host: Sonny Astani Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Erin Sigman