Mavridou Lab

About The Mavridou Lab

The Mavridou Lab is interested in the biology of Gram-negative bacteria and more specifically in processes that occur in the extra-cytoplasmic environment. The Lab's approaches span from the fundamental to the applied and researchers currently focus on three main research directions:

• Understanding the involvement of disulfide bond formation in mechanisms of virulence and adaptation in key Gram-negative bacterial pathogens;

• Investigating whether proteins involved in cell envelope proteostasis could be potential targets for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria;

• Studying the dynamics of bacterial communities and more specifically the competitive interactions between toxin-producing strains encountered in polymicrobial environments.

2023 Research

• Gadar K, de Dios R, Kadeřábková N, Prescott TAK, Mavridou DAI, McCarthy RR. Disrupting iron homeostasis can potentiate colistin activity and overcome colistin resistance mechanisms in Gram-Negative Bacteria. Commun Biol. 2023 Sep 13;6(1):937. PMID: 37704838; PMCID: PMC10499790.

• Kadeřábková N, Furniss RCD, Maslova E, Eisaiankhongi L, Bernal P, Filloux A, Landeta C, Gonzalez D, McCarthy RR, Mavridou DAI. Antibiotic potentiation and inhibition of cross-resistance in pathogens associated with cystic fibrosis. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 Aug 2:2023.08.02.55166. PMID: 37577508; PMCID: PMC10418187.

• Kadeřábková N, Mahmood AJS, Furniss RCD, Mavridou DAI. Making a chink in their armor: Current and next-generation antimicrobial strategies against the bacterial cell envelope. Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:221-307. Epub 2023 Jun 27. PMID: 37507160.

• Parker JK, Gu R, Estrera GA, Kirkpatrick B, Rose DT, Mavridou DAI, Mondy KE, Davies BW. Carbapenem-Resistant and ESBL-Producing Enterobacterales Emerging in Central Texas. Infect Drug Resist. 2023 Mar 2;16:1249-1261. PMID: 36891378; PMCID: PMC9987243.

• Randall JR, DuPai CD, Cole TJ, Davidson G, Groover KE, Slater SL, Mavridou DAI, Wilke CO, Davies BW. Designing and identifying β-hairpin peptide macrocycles with antibiotic potential. Sci Adv. 2023 Jan 13;9(2):eade0008. Epub 2023 Jan 11. PMID: 36630516; PMCID: PMC9833666.

2022 Research

• Kaderabkova N, Bharathwaj M, Furniss RCD, Gonzalez D, Palmer T, Mavridou DAI. The biogenesis of β-lactamase enzymes. Microbiology (Reading). 2022 Aug;168(8). PMID: 35943884.

• P Bernal, RCD Furniss, DAI Mavridou, A Filloux. Type VI Secretion System: a bacterial killing machine and biocontrol weapon. Biosaia, Biosaia: Revista de los másteres de Biotecnología Sanitaria y Biotecnología Ambiental, Industrial y Alimentaria 11. March 17, 2022.

• RCD Furniss, N Kadeřábková, D Barker, P Bernal, E Maslova, AAA Antwi, H McNeil, HL Pugh, L Dortet, JMA. Blair, G Larrouy-Maumus, RR McCarthy, D Gonzalez and DAI Mavridou. Breaking antimicrobial resistance by disrupting extracytoplasmic protein foldin, eLife, accepted (bioRxiv MS:2021.08.27.457985). January 13, 2022.

2021 Research

• M Humphrey, G Larrouy-Maumus, RCD. Furniss, DAI Mavridou, A Sabnis and AM Edwards. Colistin resistance in Escherichia coli confers protection of the cytoplasmic but not outer membrane from the polymyxin antibiotic, Microbiology, 167(11), 001104. November 1, 2021.

• LM Nolan, AK Cain, T Clamens, RCD Furniss, E Manoli, MA Sainz-Polo, G Dougan, D Albesa-Jové, J Parkhill, DAI Mavridou* and A Filloux*. Identification of Tse8 as a Type VI secretion system toxin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa that targets the bacterial transamidosome to inhibit protein synthesis in prey cells, Nat. Microbiol., 6(9), 1199-1210 (*joint corresponding author). August 19, 2021.

• SA Howard, RCD Furniss, D Bonini, P Paracuellos-Torrecilla, D Zlotkin, T Costa, A Levy, DAI Mavridou and A Filloux. The breadth and molecular basis of Hcp-driven type six secretion system (T6SS) effector delivery, mBio, 12(3), e0026221. June 1, 2021.

• A Sabnis, KLH Hagart, A Klöckner, M Becce, LE Evans, RCD Furniss, DAI Mavridou, R Murphy, MM Stevens, JC Davies, G Larrouy-Maumus, TB Clarke and AM Edwards. Colistin kills bacteria by targeting lipopolysaccharide in the cytoplasmic membrane, eLife, 10, e65836. April 6, 2021.

• SL Slater and DAI Mavridou. Harnessing the potential of bacterial oxidative folding to aid protein production, Mol. Microbiol., 116(1), 16-28. February 12, 2021.

• P Bernal, RCD Furniss, S Fecht, RCY Leung, L Spiga, DAI Mavridou* and A Filloux*.  Novel structural components produce distinct type VI secretion system anchoring modes, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 118(7), e2008500118 (*joint corresponding author). February 8, 2021.

• R Krishna Kumar, TA Meiller-Legrand, A Alcinesio, D Gonzalez, DAI Mavridou, OJ Meacock, WPJ Smith, L Zhou, W Kim, GS Pulcu, H Bayley, KR Foster.  Droplet printing reveals the importance of micron-scale structure for bacterial ecology, Nat. Commun., 12(1), 857. February 8, 2021.

2020 Research

• KP Ha, RS Clarke, GL Kim, JL Brittan, JE Rowley, DAI Mavridou, D Parker, TB Clarke, AH Nobbs and AM Edwards. Staphylococcal DNA repair is required for infection, mBio, 11(6), e02288-20. November 17, 2021.

• LS Stelzl, DAI Mavridou, E Saridakis, D Gonzalez, AJ Baldwin, SJ Ferguson, MSP Sansom and C Redfield. Local frustration determines loop opening during the catalytic cycle of an oxidoreductase, eLife, 9, e54661. June 22, 2020.

• RCD Furniss, M Kostrzewa, DAI Mavridou* and G Larrouy-Maumus*.  The clue is in the lipid A: rapid detection of colistin resistance, PLOS Pathog., 16(4), e1008331 (*joint corresponding author). April 9, 2020.