They are what you eat: the role of dietary lipids during bacterial infection

Abstract:
The links between nutritional anomalies and infection susceptibility are well established, however the significance of specific nutrients, such as lipids, remains contentious. This impedes our ability to optimise nutritional interventions to control infections. Our work describes how host fatty acid uptake is key to the virulence of diverse bacterial pathogens. The desire for saturated and unsaturated fatty acids is niche- and pathogen specific, and requires diligent balancing, as an indiscriminate greed for host fatty acids can lead to antimicrobial activities. Our work demonstrates that the niche-specific metabolic state of the pathogen dictates their fatty acid needs. We have also identified that the sepsis-induced lipolysis paradigm is not applicable to all infectious agents and is impacted by diet. Collectively, our findings have established a foundation for personalised nutritional interventions as infection prevention and treatment strategies.

Speaker:
A/Prof Bart Eijkelkamp
Research Section Lead, Molecular Sciences & Technology;
Group Leader, Lipids in Infection Biology;
College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Australia

Biography:
A/Prof Bart Eijkelkamp completed his Master’s degree in Biomolecular Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2007 and PhD in 2012 from Flinders University in South Australia. Bart took up a position as a post-doctoral researcher in the Research Centre for Infectious Diseases at the University of Adelaide studying the resistance and virulence features of major bacterial pathogens, with a strong focus on the role of metal ions and host lipids on bacterial fitness. Whilst at the University of Adelaide, Bart was awarded a Beacon Research Fellowship which allowed him to establish his own research group. In 2019, he returned to Flinders University where he continued as a Research Academic in Microbiology. The Eijkelkamp Laboratory examines how the host nutritional status affects bacteria during infection. Bart is also the president of The Lipid Network (www.lipidnetwork.com), which will be launched officially in mid-2025.