"Analysis of interbacterial competition amongst lactobacilli isolated f" by Kaylie Hintze

Author

Kaylie Hintze

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

Committee Chair

Tatyana Sysoeva

Committee Member

Luis R. Cruz-Vera

Committee Member

Sara Cooper

Research Advisor

Tatyana Sysoeva

Subject(s)

Competition (Biology), Lactobacillus, Microbiomes, Urinary tract infections--Alternative treatments

Abstract

The rise of antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections (UTIs) has led to an increased interest in alternative treatment and prevention methods without antibiotics. Female urinary bladders host microbial communities that often contain lactobacilli bacteria. Many lactobacilli are known for their ability to kill urinary pathogens in vitro and proposed as a probiotic treatment for UTIs. It is not known whether urinary lactobacilli compete with one another and what is the potential impact of introducing probiotic lactobacilli. Well-diffusion inhibition assays were used to detect competition amongst several urinary lactobacilli species. My results identified one species-specific and cell-contact dependent inhibition of Lactobacillus delbrueckii growth by Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus. Near-complete whole genomes of eleven new urinary lactobacilli strains of five species were established using hybrid de novo assembly and analyzed for homology and genetic markers such as plasmids, prophages, bacteriocin and antibiotic resistance genes, that are possibly involved in the interspecies competition.

Available for download on Wednesday, May 05, 2027

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