The group’s major areas of interest include infectious bacterial pathogens of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients, and in particular, the genomic variation and global gene expression, epidemiology, phenotypic characteristics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa these patients.

Overview of research programme

The group’s main area of research interest is the genetic factors influencing virulence and persistence of P. aeruginosa in CF patients. CF patients are infected by either frequent and infrequent epidemic clones of PA, or both. There is evidence that frequent clones are more virulent, result in greater morbidity and mortality, and cause greater exacerbations amongst patients. Our work is continuing at both genotypic and phenotypic levels, and has led to characterisation of the differences between infecting P. aeruginosa strains that may lead to better treatment options for infected patients.

Major funding sources

NHMRC Project Grant #632788: Identification of proteins specific to transmissible Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis infection. Cordwell, S. Manos, J. and Harbour C. 2010-2012.

Selected Publications

1. Jim Manos, Jonathan Arthur, Barbara Rose, Scott Bell, Pholawat Tingpej, Honghua Hu, Jeremy Webb, Staffan Kjelleberg, Mark Douglas Gorrell, Peter Bye and Colin Harbour. 2009 Gene expression characteristics of a cystic fibrosis epidemic strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa during biofilm and planktonic growth FEMS Microbiology Letters 292: 107-114.
2. Jim Manos, Jonathan Arthur, Barbara Rose, Pholawat Tingpej, Carina Fung, Michelle Curtis, Jeremy S. Webb, Honghua Hu, Staffan Kjelleberg, Mark D. Gorrell, Peter Bye and Colin Harbour. 2008 Transcriptome analyses and biofilm-forming characteristics of a clonal Pseudomonas aeruginosa from the cystic fibrosis lung Journal of Medical Microbiology 57: 1454-1465
3. Pholawat Tingpej, Lucas Smith, Barbara Rose, Hua Zhu, Tim Conibear, Khaled Al Nassafi, Jim Manos, Mark Elkins, Peter Bye, Mark Willcox, Scott Bell, Claire Wainwright and Colin Harbour. 2007 Phenotypic characterization of clonal and non-clonal Pseudomonas aeruginosa from the lungs of adults with cystic fibrosis. J Clin Micro 45: 1697-1704.
4. Smith, L. Rose, B., Tingpej, P., Zhu, H. Conibear, T. Manos, J. Bye P. Elkins, M. Willcox, M. Bell S. Wainwright, C. and Harbour, C. 2006 Protease IV production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa from the lungs of adults with cystic fibrosis Journal of Medical Microbiology 55: 1641-1644.
5. Manos J and Belas R. Transcription of Proteus mirabilis flaAB. Microbiology 2004; 150:2857-2863.
6. Belas R, Manos J and Suvanasuthi R. Proteus mirabilis ZapA metalloprotease degrades a broad spectrum of substrates, including antimicrobial peptides. Infection and Immunity 2004; 72:5159-5167.
   Manos J, Artimovich E and Belas R. Enhanced motility of a Proteus mirabilis strain expressing hybrid FlaAB flagella. Microbiology 2004; 150:1291-1299.
7. Zhang DL*, Manos J*, Ma X, Belas R and Karaolis, DKR. Transcriptional analysis and operon structure of the tagA-orf2-orf3-mop-tagD region of the Vibrio pathogenicity island in epidemic Vibrio cholerae. FEMS letters 2004; 235:199-207. *Equal contribution.
8. Prouty AC, Brodsky I, Manos J, Belas R, Falkow S and Gunn JS. Transcriptional regulation of Salmonella enteritica Serovar Typhimurium genes by bile. FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology 2004; 40: 177-185.

Major collaborations

• Adult Cystic Fibrosis Unit at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital - Professor Peter Bye.
• Paediatric Unit, Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane - A/Prof Claire Wainwright.
• Molecular and Microbial Biosciences University of Sydney - Dr Stuart Cordwell.
• Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Research Group- University of Sydney – Dr Jamie Triccas