02.06.2020

First draft model for Corynebacterium striatum KC-Na-01

As a result of her research project, Tanja Urz constructed a new computer model.

The Gram-positive bacterium Corynebacterium striatum can lead to opportunistic infections, particularly in immunodeficient patients. The increasing mortality associated with C. striatum is due, among other things, to the growing antibiotic resistance of the bacterium. For reasons that remain to be fully clarified, C. striatum can reduce the virulence of the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, which is also found in the nose, when colonized nasally, although it has pathogenic properties. Thus, C. striatum could be a suitable prebiotic, as it could positively influence the behavior of the much more dangerous bacterium S. aureus towards commensalism.

In this research project, Tanja Urz presented a first model for C. striatum. The project aimed to reconstruct a genome-scale metabolic model (GEM) of C. striatum KC-Na-01, which will help better to understand the mechanisms of interaction with nasal S. aureus. Furthermore, nasal microbiomeʼs behavior can be simulated to identify possible competitive mechanisms that may serve as clinical therapy approaches.