THYME: Summer Internship

Project Description

The students will carry out a computer-based project that will focus on the metabolism of the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus reuterii and the proteins that affect attachment to surfaces and colonisation. This work will help us to better understand which beneficial metabolites this species can synthesise and how it colonises the human gut. Improving metabolism and colonisation of good bacteria can lead to better probiotic supplements and better health effects. The student will use bioinformatic tools and databases (such as BLAST, KEGG, STRING) as well as literature databases for constructing gene and metabolite networks and maps. Finally, data analysis and interpretation will follow and a final report will be produced. Bioinformatic skills are highly important for the new generation of bioscientists, as they will need to keep up with the rapid developments in the fields of microbial genomics and metabolomics. This work will help developing new and more efficient probiotic products, which could have a strong impact on both human health and the probiotics industry.