Dirk Bumann

University of Basel, Switzerland

Single-cell biology of pathogens in host tissues

The physiology of bacterial pathogens in host tissues is crucial for infectious disease progression and control. Single-cell technologies reveal an astonishing diversity of pathogen cells that co-exist in different microenvironments in the same host tissue and show disparate molecular composition, metabolism, fate, and impact on overall disease progression. We use 3D imaging methods at nm to cm scales and combine them with flow cytometry and mass spectrometry to unravel this complexity and its impact on disease progression and control. I will present our current work on (i) heterogeneous Salmonella iron access in mouse spleen, (ii) the surprisingly poor anti-Salmonella activity of antimicrobials in vivo, and (iii) Staphylococcus aureus biology in human patients.

Selected publications

• Roche, B., Cunrath, O., Bleck, C., Claudi, B., Antelo Varela, M., Li, J., Bumann, D. (2023). Heterogeneous dual-metal control of Salmonella infection, bioRxiv doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.23.562652
• Li J, Claudi B, Fanous J, Chicherova N, Cianfanelli FR, Campbell RAA, Bumann D. Tissue compartmentalization enables Salmonella persistence during chemotherapy (2021) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 118(51):e2113951118
• Cunrath O, Bumann D. Host resistance factor SLC11A1 restricts Salmonella growth through magnesium deprivation. Science 2019 ; 366:995-999