Metabolic and competitive diversity of an omnipresent bacterium

This project aims to use systems biology approaches to define the metabolic and competitive diversity of Klebsiella oxytoca, a bacterium relevant to the veterinary, medical and biotech industries, and a coloniser of the mammalian gut where it can inhibit key pathogens. Expected outcomes include; 1) the first systematic evaluation of the impact of metabolic diversity on inter-species competition, which should change the way researchers study and understand bacterial communities; 2) knowledge and resources that should vastly improve our understanding of K. oxytoca to optimise industrial processes and prevent disease. It will also contribute to training Australia’s future biology data analysts, who are key to a thriving new age economy.