Overview
Bovine Digital Dermatitis (BDD) is an infectious skin disease of cattle which is endemic globally. It is found on 90% of UK dairy farms and affects 50% of the UK dairy herd annually. The disease causes painful ulcerative lesions on the foot skin, most commonly between the heel bulbs, impacting cattle production and welfare.
About this opportunity
Bacteria from the Treponema genus have been established as the primary pathogens, largely by the research group at the University of Liverpool, which is considered world leading in treponeme research. Recently we have described the role of treponemes in the bovine foot skin microbiome in initiation and progression of disease, alongside other potential pathogens, supporting the paradigm that BDD is a polymicrobial disease. Aside from treponemes, the pathogen with the most evidence for its role in BDD pathogenesis is Porphyromonas levii. Here, we will develop a novel “disease consortium” to model BDD which includes both P.levii and BDD associated Treponema spp.
Longitudinal data from our microbiome projects has identified bacteria which appear to be protective against development of disease. The aim of this project is to determine whether these putative protective bacteria can suppress growth of “disease consortium” members, and to identify gene pathways and metabolic pathways producing secondary metabolites which could be responsible for antibacterial effects. The translation of this project is to be able to engineer and optimise a “health consortium” of bacteria which may serve as a probiotic preventative treatment to reduce the incidence of BDD lesions in cattle.
The successful candidate will undertake their PhD studies within the Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences at the University of Liverpool, the top-performing institute in Agriculture and Animal Sciences in Research Excellence Framework 2022. You will be part of the dynamic and supportive Ruminant Research Group which currently includes 7 PhD students and 3 postdoctoral researchers alongside 8 academic staff. As part of the University of Liverpool (UoL), you will have access to academic and career development events run by the Academy, and we will support you to make the most of your PhD studies. As part of the wider cohort of CODE-M students, the successful candidate will have access to a range of training opportunities, and cohort events to develop your network and skills and kickstart your career.
This project is an exciting opportunity to engineer a microbial system to inhibit pathogens responsible for BDD. The team here at UoL is responsible for a substantial amount of knowledge on BDD and is well-regarded internationally. You will gain a wide range of experience in the field of infection biology, including techniques in molecular biology, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and computational biology, which will be advantageous for a career in many areas of infectious disease research.