My lab studies bacteria important in fermented foods and in human health. We are particularly interested in understanding the molecular basis for prebiotic sugar metabolism and regulation by probiotic bacteria. Specific research projects are focused on the physiology of lactobacilli and how these bacteria ferment prebiotic oligosaccharides. We are also interested in the anti-adhesive properties of oligosaccharides and the molecular mechanisms involved in pathogen binding to the surface of host cells. My lab, as part the Lactic Acid Bacteria Genome Consortium, has recently sequenced the genome of Streptococcus thermophilus, an organism used in dairy fermentations, and we are now using a functional genomics approach to identify genes responsible for processing and nutritional traits.
Five Selected Publications:
Barrangou, R., E. Altermann, R. Hutkins, R. Cano, and T.R. Klaenhammer. 2003. Functional and comparative genomic analyses of an operon involved in fructooligosaccharide utilization by Lactobacillus acidophilus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100:8957-8962.
Durso, L., D. Smith, and R.W. Hutkins. 2004. Measurements of fitness and competition in commensal Escherichia coli and E. coli O157:H7 Strains. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:6466-6472.
Goh, Y.J., C. Zhang, A.K. Benson, V. Schlegel, J.-H. Lee, and R.W. Hutkins. 2006. Identification of a putative operon involved in fructooligosaccharide utilization by Lactobacillus paracasei. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72:7518-7530.
Shoaf, K., G.L. Mulvey, G.D. Armstrong, and R.W. Hutkins. 2006. Prebiotic galactooligosaccharides reduce adherence of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to tissue culture cells. Infect. Immun. 74:6920-6928
Makarova, K., et al., 2006. Comparative genomics of the lactic acid bacteria. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103:15611-15616.
