Topic: Structural and molecular biology of the spread of antibiotic resistance genes among bacterial populations

Speaker: Prof. Gabriel Waksman

Time: 16:00-17:30 PM, 10 Nov., 2025

Venue: Lecture hall 111, Lynn Library

Abstract:

Bacterial conjugation is the unidirectional transport of genetic materials from a donor to a recipient cell. It plays crucial roles in bacterial evolution and adaptation. It is also the principal means by which antibiotic resistance genes spread among bacterial populations. It is mediated in the donor cell by three major complexes that work in concert: a DNA-processing machinery called the relaxosome, a double-membrane spanning transfer machinery termed type 4 secretion system (T4SS), and an extracellular appendage termed pilus. Recent studies on all 3 complexes have shed light on the respective part they play in the process and how they might work together.

Brief introduction of the speaker:

Professor Waksman is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society, the German National Academy of Sciences, and the European Academy of Sciences. He currently holds the Courtauld Chair in Biochemistry at University College London (UCL). He previously served as Head of the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology at UCL/Birkbeck, Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (now the Research Department of Structural and Molecular Biology) at UCL, and Head of the School of Crystallography (now the School of Natural Sciences) at Birkbeck. His research focuses on bacterial secretion systems, particularly Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) and pilus assembly, revealing their roles in antibiotic resistance and host infection. Supported by the Wellcome Trust and MRC, he has published nearly 100 high-impact papers (Nature, Science, Cell), cited over 31,000 times (h-index 93). He was elected to the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 2007 and received the Wolfson–Royal Society Merit Award in 2003.