Research Focus

Schematic diagram of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria — Horizontal gene transfer in bacteria

We seek to understand the processes that govern horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in bacteria. We are specifically interested in natural competence, one of the three main avenues of HGT.

Naturally competent bacteria can undergo natural transformation by taking up free extracellular DNA and integrating it into their genome. This process contributes to the spread of antibiotic resistance and other pathogenicity traits amongst bacteria; an ever-growing problem for modern medicine. The overarching goal of our research is to understand how DNA uptake and translocation across the bacterial membranes is achieved. Our aim is to characterise the proteins involved biochemically, structurally and functionally. We combine cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in a complementary manner.