Head of the Laboratory
Prof. Modestas Ružauskas
Email: modestas.ruzauskas@lsmu.lt
Research objects: bacterial diseases of animals, their causative agents, bacterial resistance to antibiotics, the epidemiological situation of zoonoses and food-borne infections, the search for alternative means to antibiotics, the effects and effectiveness of them and immune preparations. Research is carried out using conventional microbiological and molecular biology methods.
Project “Characterisation of uropathogenic and neuroinvasive Escherichia coli strains by molecular methods” is conducted. Project aim: to characterise in detail the virulence profiles of E. coli strains characterised by uropathogenicity and neuroinvasiveness.
During the work, it is planned to study E. coli strains isolated from the clinical sector, characterised by uropathogenicity: the ability to cause urinary tract infections and neuroinvasiveness: ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, causing a condition characterised by extremely high mortality – meningitis. Untreated urinary tract infections complicate pyelonephritis, then urosepsis, which is characterised by high mortality. It has been observed that sometimes urosepsis is complicated by bacterial meningitis, but the detailed mechanism of bacterial translocation from the patient’s bloodstream to the brain has not yet been fully elucidated. The aim of the work is to characterise the pathogenicity profiles of uropathogenic and neuroinvasive bacteria by applying classical microbiological, molecular, genotyping and bioinformatic analysis methods. The student who has characterised the presented sample will have mastered the methods of classical microbiology, molecular biology (PCR, RAPD), bioinformatic analysis (creating phylogenetic trees). During the project, it is expected to profile the virulence factors of 75 (n=75) E. coli strains.
The research is funded by the European Social Fund under measure no. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712 “Education of competence of scientific activities of scientists, other researchers, students through practical scientific activities”.
Head of the Laboratory
Prof. Raimundas Mockeliūnas
Email: raimundas.mockeliunas@lsmu.lt
Research objects: epidemiology of zoonoses, animal and bird-associated viral infections and food-borne infections, biological and specific immunity properties of local strains of viruses, ecological factors and phenotypic biological properties of isolated pathogens.