Speaker: Dr. Bastiaan P. Krom Ph.D., Associate Professor of Preventive Dentistry, Department of Preventive Dentistry, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam
Abstract:
The fungus Candida albicans is a commensal to most, if not all, mammals. This versatile fungus thrives in diverse niches of humans such as the skin, GI-tract, vagina and the oral cavity. In all of these niches it encounters different bacteria. It is therefore not surprising that C. albicans has developed specific systems to interact with co-inhabiting bacteria. These interactions can be chemical (signaling and metabolic) or physical (adhesion and aggregation) in nature. In this webinar I will present approaches we currently use to study dynamics of these interactions and their biological function. In particular I will focus on real-time analysis of bacterial adhesion to C. albicans and on the effect of fungus-bacterium interactions in relation to macrophage function. In addition, I will discuss how we study the effect of bacterial small molecules on fungal behavior.
