Peter Norberg

Institution/Department: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Micro Biology
Previous studies: University of Gothenburg; Chalmers University
of Technology
Thesis: Evolution of Human Alpha-herpesviruses
Research areas: Bioinformatics; Evolution and adaptation of Viruses and ­bacteria; Antibiotic and anti viral resistances; Vaccines
Current research: I am currently working with IncP-1 plasmids, which are broad-host-range plasmids, known to carry and spread a wide spectrum of ­antibiotic resistances. These resistances are usually located on transposable genetic elements incorporated in the plasmid backbone. While these mobile genetic elements carried by the plasmids have been well ­characterized, ­information about the evolution of the incP-1 plasmid backbone is sparse. Our recent results demonstrate that IncP-1 plasmids are more diverged than ­previously thought, and that homologous recombination is a frequent and continuous feature of the evolution of the plasmid backbone. The evolutionary presence of inter-type recombination events supports that incP-1 plasmids are mobile and can move between different bacteria in different environments, which may have implications for the spread of antibiotic resistances.
Furthermore, recombination requires simultaneous replication of two plasmids within the same host-cell, and a direct implication hereof is that those plasmids, at least occasionally, move between bacteria already carrying plasmids from the same family. Such free movement facilitates the exchange of genetic ­material directly between different IncP-1 plasmids and may therefore also ­increase the risk for the accumulation of multi-antibiotic resistances in one single plasmid.

E-mail address: peter.norberg@gu.se