Dr Tatiana Dimitriu
Royal Society University Research Fellow
Research areas
Tatiana Dimitriu is a Royal Society University Research Fellow studying the interactions between bacteria and their mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Promoting successful transmission of MGEs within bacterial communities can benefit us in several contexts, from phage therapy to biotechnological applications. On the other hand, MGEs frequently confer antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and virulence traits to pathogens, making the control of their transmission of great interest for public health.
The spread of AMR is for a large part due to the carriage of AMR genes on conjugative plasmids, genetic elements that can spread horizontally by conjugation. To limit AMR spread, it is key to understand what factors control conjugative transmission of AMR plasmids. To defend themselves against their parasites, bacteria carry a wide range of defence systems including restriction-modification systems and CRISPR-Cas systems. Defence systems are mostly studied as a defence against phages, viruses which cause bacterial death, however, they can also act on conjugative plasmids. However, there is little data on how defence systems act against plasmid conjugation. In addition to immune systems, plasmids themselves can be a direct barrier to AMR plasmid transmission, as plasmids compete with each other within and between cells and resident plasmids that do not carry AMR genes can act as a barrier to AMR plasmid carriage. However, what drives the distribution of these competing plasmids in nature is unknown. Thus, we aim to understand the impact of AMR plasmids, bacterial defence systems and antibiotic treatment on the overall spread of AMR, with the ultimate goal of suggesting treatments that limit AMR prevalence.
We use molecular biology, bacterial genetics and experimental evolution approaches to understand the mechanistic and evolutionary drivers of MGE transmission and AMR spread in bacteria.
For more information, visit our lab website at https://dimitriulab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/
PhD supervision
- Nivi Pulavan
- Allan Zuza
Selected publications
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Open access
Plasmid streamlining drives the extinction of antibiotic resistance plasmids under selection for horizontal transmission
Matthews, A. C., Lehtinen, S. & Dimitriu, T., 11 Dec 2025, In: PLoS Biology. 23, 12, p. 1-21 21 p., e3003564.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Various plasmid strategies limit the effect of bacterial restriction-modification systems against conjugation
Dimitriu, T., Szcelkun, M. D. & Westra, E. R., 27 Nov 2024, In: Nucleic Acids Research. 52, 21, p. 12976–12986 11 p., gkae896.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Why do mobile genetic elements transfer DNA of their hosts?
Vos, M., Buckling, A., Kuijper, B., Eyre-Walker, A., Bontemps, C., Leblond, P. & Dimitriu, T., 4 Nov 2024, In: Trends in Genetics. 40, 11, p. 927-938 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Antibiotics that affect translation can antagonize phage infectivity by interfering with the deployment of counter-defenses
Pons, B. J., Dimitriu, T., Westra, E. R. & van Houte, S., 24 Jan 2023, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 120, 4, p. 1-6 6 p., e2216084120.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Selecting for infectivity across metapopulations can increase virulence in the social microbe Bacillus thuringiensis
Dimitriu, T., Souissi, W., Morwool, P., Darby, A., Crickmore, N. & Raymond, B., Mar 2023, In: Evolutionary Applications. 16, 3, p. 705-720 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Bacteriostatic antibiotics promote CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity by enabling increased spacer acquisition
Dimitriu, T., Kurilovich, E., Łapińska, U., Severinov, K., Pagliara, S., Szczelkun, M. D. & Westra, E. R., 12 Jan 2022, In: Cell Host & Microbe. 30, 1, p. 31-40.e5 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
CRISPR-Cas is associated with fewer antibiotic resistance genes in bacterial pathogens
Pursey, E., Dimitriu, T., Paganelli, F. L., Westra, E. R. & van Houte, S., 17 Jan 2022, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 377, 1842, p. 1-9 9 p., 20200464.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Increased copy number couples the evolution of plasmid horizontal transmission and plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance
Dimitriu, T., Matthews, A. C. & Buckling, A., 3 Aug 2021, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 118, 31, p. 1-7 7 p., e2107818118.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review