Bacterial Genome Instability group

Principal Investigator Dr. Olga Bochkareva

The Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS), UniVienna

Computational biology, Genomics, Molecular Evolution

Research interests

Bacterial genomes hide rapid and reversible mechanisms, commonly called ‘phase variation’, responsible for switching of gene expression and lead to genetic/phenotypic heterogeneity of pure bacterial cultures. Although independent phase-variable genes are reported in many species, phase-variable loci, which modulate expression of many genes and produce a mixed population expressing multiple allelic variants, remains under-investigated. How many genotypes are present simultaneously in a pure bacterial colony? What is responsible for the rates of genotype switching in a one cell line? What are the limitations of the classic model ‘one bacterial colony - one genome’ which is still a basis of genome assemblers?

I’m working on the intersection of comparative genomics, algorithmic biology, and evolutionary biology to build a deep understanding of bacterial genome organization and the molecular mechanisms providing complex dynamic genotype-phenotype connections. To tackle my research goals, I created a synthesis between theory and experimentation under the confines of a single laboratory combining the computational methods developed by myself and experimental assays of engineered cultures performed in collaborations with top-ranked scientists. Mainly working on fundamental knowledge about bacterial genome complexity, I create efficient pipelines which might be used as a basis for clinical and industrial applications.

Funding and Awards

2022 ESPRIT Programme (“Early Stage Programme: Research, Innovation and Training”), funding from Austrian Science Fund (FWF), total amount – 294.015€

2019 ISTplus postdoctoral fellowship, funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 754411.