Biology subjects

Mhade, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Mhade, S..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Talk To A Scientist: A Framework for a Webinar-Based Science Outreach Platform for Children

Given their future roles as citizens and decision makers, science outreach focused on children is important and relevant. We describe a scientist-led outreach platform (Talk To A Scientist), that uses a webinar-based approach to discuss a range of science topics with children (6-16 years). Based in India and led by two working scientists, Talk To A Scientist has been running for nearly 3 years, with a large and diverse reach across school students. In addition to webinars, the platform regularly hosts archived video content and weekly science activities, along with occasional summer family quizzes and age-specific webinars. We outline the framework used to build Talk To A Scientist, and discuss key considerations and challenges in the development and expansion of the program. We believe that the Talk To A Scientist outreach model focused on children can serve as a guideline for the implementation of similar platforms across diverse settings, and is amenable to a range of modifications to enhance engagement, sustain interest, and tailor outreach to specific groups.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2022

Adding a new dimension: Multi-level structure and organization of mixed-species Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus biofilms in a 4-D wound microenvironment

Biofilms in wounds typically consist of aggregates of bacteria, most often Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, in close association with each other and the host microenvironment. Given this, the interplay across host and microbial elements, including the biochemical and nutrient profile of the microenvironment, likely influences the structure and organization of wound biofilms. While clinical studies, in vivo and ex vivo model systems have provided insights into the distribution of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus in wounds, they are limited in their ability to provide a detailed characterization of biofilm structure and organization across the host-microbial interface. On the other hand, biomimetic in vitro systems, such as host cell surfaces and simulant media conditions, albeit reductionist, have been shown to support the co-existence of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus biofilms, with species-dependent localization patterns and interspecies interactions. Therefore, composite in vitro models that bring together key features of the wound microenvironment could provide unprecedented insights into the structure and organization of mixed-species biofilms. We have built a four-dimensional (4-D) wound microenvironment consisting of a 3-D host cell scaffold of co-cultured human epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts, and an in vitro wound milieu (IVWM); the IVWM provides the fourth dimension that represents the biochemical and nutrient profile of the wound infection state. We leveraged this composite 4-D wound microenvironment to probe the structure of mixed-species P. aeruginosa and S. aureus biofilms across multiple levels of organization such as aggregate dimensions and biomass thickness, species co-localization and organization within the biomass, overall biomass composition and interspecies interactions. In doing so, the composite 4-D wound microenvironment platform provides multi-level insights into the structure of mixed-species biofilms, which we incorporate into the current understanding of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus organization in the wound bed.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

AMPing up the search: An in silico approach to identifying Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) with potential anti-biofilm activity

Antibiotic resistance is a public health threat, and the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria, including those that form protective biofilms, further compounds this challenge. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been recognized for their anti-infective properties, including their ability to target processes important for biofilm formation. However, given the vast array of natural and synthetic AMPs, determining potential candidates for anti-biofilm testing is a significant challenge. In this study, we present an in silico approach, based on open-source tools, to identify AMPs with potential anti-biofilm activity. This approach is developed using the sortase-pilin machinery, important for adhesion and biofilm formation, of the multidrug-resistant, biofilm-forming pathogen C. striatum as the target. Using homology modeling, we modeled the structure of the C. striatum sortase C protein, resembling the semi-open lid conformation adopted during pilus biogenesis. Next, we developed a structural library of 5544 natural and synthetic AMPs from sequences in the DRAMP database. From this library, AMPs with known anti-Gram positive activity were filtered, and 100 select AMPs were evaluated for their ability to interact with the sortase C protein using in-silico molecular docking. Based on interacting residues and docking scores, we built a preference scale to categorize candidate AMPs in order of priority for future in vitro and in vivo biofilm studies. The considerations and challenges of our approach, and the resources developed, which includes a search-enabled repository of predicted AMP structures and protein-peptide interaction models relevant to biofilm studies (B-AMP), can be leveraged for similar investigations across other biofilm targets and biofilm-forming pathogens.

bioinformatics↗