SCELSE Seminar Series: Uncovering Fusobacterium diversity in Vietnamese colorectal cancer patients

Abstract:
Perturbations in the gut microbiome have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC), with the colonic overabundance of Fusobacterium nucleatum shown as the most consistent marker. Despite its significance in the promotion of CRC, genomic studies of Fusobacterium is limited. We profiled the CRC microbiomes of Vietnamese CRC patients, and used anaerobic culturing and whole genome sequencing to characterize the Fusobacterium population within patients. We isolated two potential novel species associated with CRC tumours, and showed that the Fusobacterium population within each individual was distinct and in some cases diverse, with minimal intra-clonal variation. Our work provides a framework to understand the genomic diversity of Fusobacterium within the CRC patients, which can be exploited for the development of CRC diagnostic and therapeutic options targeting this oncobacterium.

Speaker:
DR CHUNG THE HAO
• Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore
• Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford

Biography:
Dr. Hao is a trained microbiologist fascinated at how microbes evolve and interact with human. His research seeks to combine high-resolution genomic data and clinical studies to answer relevant public health questions on infectious diseases epidemiology and evolution, and to translate understandings on bacterial evolution and ecology into better approaches in healthcare.