Veterinary Bacteriology at Murdoch University

Welcome

The Veterinary Bacteriology group conducts research in three main areas:-

• Studies on disease associations, molecular epidemiology, population genetics and population structure of pathogenic bacteria, particularly involving definitive studies on anaerobic intestinal spirochaetes of the genus Brachyspira (formerly Serpulina).

• Studies on interactions in the gastrointestinal tract between enteric bacterial pathogens and dietary components, including consideration of effects on the intestinal microenvironment and on intestinal structure and function.

• Development of novel recombinant vaccines for the control of Brachyspira infections in pigs and chickens, using a whole genomic sequencing and bioinformatics approach (“reverse vaccinology”) to identify potential vaccine candidates.
  
  Much of the work concerns diseases of pigs and poultry. The group forms part of the School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences’Centre for Production Animal Research (CPAR), and has strong research links with the Biochemistry and Nutrition Group in the School and with staff in the University’s Centre for Comparative Genomics (CCG). Besides its own laboratories and facilities it utilises the resources of theWestern Australian State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (SABC), which is located adjacent to the microbiology laboratories in the School.

Contact: Professor David Hampson
Tel: +61 8 9360 2287
Fax: +61 89310 4133
E-mail: d.hampson@murdoch.edu.au