You Lab
Principal Investigator: Lingchong You
Institution: Duke University (Durham, NC)
Primary Subfield: Immunology
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Abstract The spread of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) can influence the dynamics, function, and survival of microbial communities. A major mechanism of HGT, conjugation, plays a critical role in the acquisition and spread of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. By combining high- throughput phenotypic quantification and genomic sequencing, we recently showed that >25% of >200 clinical bacterial isolates expressing extended spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBLs) can effectively transfer their resistance through conjugation. The widespread of transferable plasmids raises fundamental questions regarding the determinants of their persistence and how it can be reversed. Past studies have established that the persistence of a plasmid depends on two critical traits – the fitness effect of the plasmid and its transfer rate. In preliminary work, we discovered a robust threshold-linear correlation between plasmid burden and conjugation efficiency. Most of the plasmids do not experience a significant increase in burden unless their conjugation efficiency reaches a threshold. Beyond the threshold, a significant tradeoff emerges between the two aspects: th…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01AI125604-08: Tradeoffs between fitness costs and transfer rates in horizontal gene transfer (2026)
- 5R01GM098642-12: Evolutionary dynamics of combinational antimicrobial treatments (2025)
- 5R01AI125604-07: Tradeoffs between fitness costs and transfer rates in horizontal gene transfer (2025)
- 5R01AI125604-06: Tradeoffs between fitness costs and transfer rates in horizontal gene transfer (2024)
- 5R01GM098642-11: Evolutionary dynamics of combinational antimicrobial treatments (2024)
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