Sally Procter

• BSc (Hons) Biochemistry with Immunology
• Nutrient acquisition by prominent members of the human gut microbiota

Our gut contains a vast community of microbes, the microbiota, that play a significant role in maintaining normal health and nutrition. The most numerous of the microbiota in our normal gut- Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and Bacteroides. Ovatus- survive by harvesting the energy from complex sugars which humans are unable to digest. It is known that protein components embedded in the bacterial cell outer membrane allow the uptake of these nutrients, but how they initially bind to them is unclear. The aim of the project is to further our understanding of how these important bacteria adhere to their carbohydrate food sources.

 Funding source: Newcastle University