Deborah Oakley

Peer Bork, from the European Molecular Biology Lab, visited the MRC’s Clinical Sciences Centre (CSC) this week to update scientists on his latest work on the microbes that live in and on our bodies, and in the world around us.

“In 2008, nothing was known. We didn’t know how many species are in the gut,” Bork told researchers.

Since then, this new field, known as meta-genomics, has moved ahead at great speed. We’ve learned that we each harbour around 1,000 species of bacteria in our gut, many with a genetic make-up that is specific to us as an individual. “We now know that each of us carry unique bacterial strains,” Bork said.

“We were very excited to host Peer Bork, as one of the leading computational biologists in Europe,” Sylvia Santos, who leads the
Quantitative Cell Biology Group at the CSC, commented after the seminar.

“One of the strategic priorities of the CSC is the development of quantitative approaches to understand biological systems. Our newly established Integrative Biology section has hired many junior researchers who tackle questions that combine experimental and theoretical methods. As a new section, one of our missions is to let other computational biologists know about the type of work we do, and get people as excited about our research as we are!”

Scientists working in meta-genomics have been looking for associations between gut bacteria and diseases such as diabetes, colon cancer, obesity and even neurological conditions autism.

Bork told CSC researchers the latest that teams in this field are learning about antibiotic resistance, and how long resistant bacteria can persist in the gut. “So it is quite frightening. If you get them, you are stuck with them for at least a year,” said Bork. “I think we have to be more careful with the use [of antibiotics], for sure.” Bork suggested that engineering bacteria might be one way to fight antibiotic resistance.

His latest work involves a study of the diversity of microbial life in the world’s oceans.  “One has to see humans in the context of their environment”.

This ocean research is part of an ongoing project called Tara Expeditions. Scientists have been working from a schooner called Tara and have taken tens of thousands of samples of ocean water over 4 years at depths of up to 2000 metres. It was clearly quite some experience: “I was aboard [the boat] at one point and it was fun because it was not in a storm,” he said.

Dr Santos said Bork was eager to know more about the work of the CSC’s laboratories, about the strategy of the section and connections to Imperial College London. “Having been awarded the Nature Award for Creative Mentoring, Peer is also in a great spot to talk to many of us young group leaders about establishing our labs.”

You can learn more about the work of Peer Bork and others with the Tara Oceans expedition, published in the journal Science this evening (21 May 2015)

 

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For further information about the CSC’s seminar series, contact:

Deborah Oakley
Science Communications Officer
MRC Clinical Sciences Centre
Du Cane Road
London W12 0NN
T:  0208 383 3791
M: 07711 016942
E: