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New tool tracks how microbes spread — even when they look almost identical
Researchers at Peter Mac have developed a powerful new tool that can track how microbes spread between people with unprecedented precision, offering new ways to prevent infections and improve treatments based on healthy bacteria.
The research, led by Group Leader Dr Gerry Tonkin-Hill at Peter Mac in collaboration with the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Oslo, was published in Nature Microbiology today.
Dr Tonkin-Hill said that the new tool, called TRACS, allows researchers to distinguish between closely related strains of the same microbial species.
“Traditionally, making this distinction has been very difficult for us to achieve, yet it is incredibly important to know, as people can carry several slightly different versions or strains of the same species at once, which makes it challenging to understand how microbes move between individuals,” he said.
“We now have a clearer picture of how microbes are shared between people because of this new technology.
“We need to be able to separate similar strains of microbes and track their movement more accurately. This will give us a better understanding of how microbes spread to help us prevent infection in vulnerable populations, like our cancer patients.”
The team tested the TRACS tool using a wide range of data, including viruses responsible for COVID-19, bacteria that cause pneumonia, and parasites responsible for malaria.
“We also used TRACS to study how microbes are passed from mothers to infants,” said Dr Tonkin-Hill.
“The study revealed that one beneficial bacterium, Bifidobacterium breve, persisted in infants longer than previously recognised, a discovery that earlier methods had missed.”
“Our research could also support the development of new treatments that use beneficial microbes to improve health.”
“By understanding exactly how microbes move between people, we can design better ways to prevent infections and learn how helpful microbes are shared.”
“This opens the door to safer healthcare environments and new microbiome-based therapies.”
Researchers believe the TRACS tool will play an important role in infection prevention, outbreak response, and the development of treatments designed to improve the human microbiome.
