Bacterial Host Adaptation Research

The Eijkelkamp Lab is based at Flinders University (South Australia) and examines how bacterial pathogens adapt to adverse conditions encountered at the host-pathogen interface, focusing on antimicrobial free fatty acids and metal ion stress. These factors strongly aid immune-mediated clearance of bacterial pathogens, and their dietary deficiencies are directly linked to an increased risk of contracting bacterial infections. However, metal ions and fatty acids are also critical nutrients to the pathogen, therefore our research studies how bacteria deal with maintaining an appropriate cellular homeostasis of metals ions and fatty acids in distinct host niches.