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The evolution of coagulation in the Staphylococcus genus and the adaptation of microbiologists to a changing climate

14.07.2022 12:30 pm Joint Microbiological Colloquium Amy Pickering

Speaker: Amy Pickering

Host: Andreas Peschel / Simon Heilbronner (CMFI)

Venue: Online via Zoom

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For further information please contact Leon Kokkoliadis: leon.kokkoliadis@uni-tuebingen.de


Abstract:

I am a Research Fellow in Prof. Ross Fitzgerald’s lab at the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh with a passion for both microbiology and sustainability. This will be a seminar of two halves allowing me to talk to you about each of these topics. The first half will mainly focus on the evolution of coagulation in the Staphylococcus genus, a phenotype closely associated with the ability of a Staphylococcal species to produce disease. I will discuss the role of two different proteins, coagulase (Coa) and von Willebrand binding protein (vWbp), in the coagulation of a range of Staphylococcal species as well as touching on some unpublished data about the adaptation of S. aureus to cause bovine mastitis. In the second half of the seminar I will present the results of a case study looking at ways in which microbiologists can reduce the amount of plastic waste generated during our research. I will also provide additional examples of the changes that all researchers can make to their working practices to allow us to play our part in mitigating the effects of climate change. Hopefully I will inspire you to take on your own sustainability initiative.