Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Sasha Tetu is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Molecular Sciences at Macquarie University. Sasha obtained her PhD from the University of Sydney for research into the interactions of different mobile genetic elements within bacterial genomes. Following this she worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof Ian Paulsen here at Macquarie University, applying molecular microbiology and ‘omics techniques to microorganisms involved in disease, industrial and agricultural processes. This was followed by an ARC DECRA fellowship (finished in 2020) investigating how anthropogenic pollutants affect marine bacteria, from population and phenotypic changes, down to changes in gene expression.
Sasha’s current research efforts focus on understanding the genetic basis for microbial adaptation to environmental pressures and how environmental perturbations impact microbial communities. She is particularly interested in how mobile genetic elements contribute to niche adaptation in bacteria.
Dr Tetu would love to hear from motivated students keen to join her Applied and Environmental Microbiology research group.
Research engagement
Projects currently underway include:
Investigating the impact of human pollutants on key marine microbes
Bacterial primary producers underpin marine food webs and are critical to biogeochemical cycling in the ocean. However, despite their importance, they are often not considered in pollution threat assessment. We are working to address this knowledge gap, with a number of projects underway looking at how key marine photosynthetic bacteria are affected by anthropogenic pollutants, such as chemicals leached from plastic litter.
This research applies culture-based microbiology and molecular biology techniques to look at how different chemicals affect the growth, physiology and gene expression of these important marine microbes. Techniques used in this work include flow cytometry, photophysiology measurements, metagenomics and transcriptomics. Work to date has led to widely acclaimed publications (eg https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-019-0410-x, covered by >40 news outlets around the world).
For more information on this work please also check out our recent review (https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-0789-4)
Origins and spread of integron gene cassettes (together with Prof Michael Gillings)
Integrons and their associated gene cassettes are mobile genetic elements capable of transferring genetic information across a wide range of bacteria, including between distantly related taxa. They are best known for their role in spreading antibiotic resistance genes among pathogens. In addition to their clinical significance there is good evidence they contribute to broader niche adaptation in many bacterial species.
In this ARC funded project, we are setting out to address key outstanding questions in integron biology. How are integron gene cassettes generated and in which taxa does this occur? What range of traits are encoded in gene cassettes? This research involves applying a suite of molecular microbiology tools and bioinformatic analyses to samples from a diverse array of environments. Understanding cassette origins is key to controlling their activity, both to prevent pathogens from acquiring new, dangerous traits and in investigating potential beneficial biotechnological applications.
For more information please see our recent review (Ghaley et al 2020 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966842X19303178?via%3Dihub)
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Network
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Assessing the impacts of Snomax, an ice-nucleating bacterium for creating artificial snow, on the Australian Alpine environment.
2/12/22 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
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Probiotics in honey bees to fight bacterial and fungal diseases
Ponton, F., Narendra, A., Tetu, S. & Colin, T.
19/04/22 → 28/02/25
Project: Research
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FAAB: ARC Training Centre for Facilitated Advancement of Australia's Bioactives (FAAB)
Rodger, A., Sunna, A., Garcia-Bennett, A., Guillemin, G., Packer, N., Thaysen-Andersen, M., Cain, A., Connor, M., Haynes, P., Paulsen, I., Ponton, F., Tetu, S., Wang, Y., Adcock, J., Callahan, D., Walsh, T. R., Joyce, P., Prestidge, C. A., Reddy, N., Ashton, J., Ball, M., Bucca, D., de Silva, T., Ferguson, K., Gilbert, A., Gilbert, E., Hayes, E., Mazumder, D., Morrison, J., Petrie, J., Pollard, N., Ruff, N., Stockham, K., Winberg, P. & De Simone, A.
21/02/22 → 20/02/27
Project: Research
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Genetic factors influencing biocontrol bacteria colonisation of plant surfaces
Paulsen, I., Fabian, B. & Tetu, S.
1/04/17 → …
Project: Research
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MQSIS High-throughput Flow Cytometer
Paulsen, I., Tetu, S., Packer, N., Haynes, P., Anwer, A., Gillings, M., Armand, L., Ostrowski, M., Sunna, A. & Hose, G.
1/01/17 → …
Project: Research
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Characterizing Effects of Microbial Biostimulants and Whole-Soil Inoculums for Native Plant Revegetation
Alfonzetti, M., Doleac, S., Mills, C. H., Gallagher, R. V. & Tetu, S., Jan 2023, In: Microorganisms. 11, 1, 15 p., 55.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
Defining biodiverse reforestation: why it matters for climate change mitigation and biodiversity
Andres, S. E., Standish, R. J., Lieurance, P. E., Mills, C. H., Harper, R. J., Butler, D. W., Adams, V. M., Lehmann, C., Tetu, S. G., Cuneo, P., Offord, C. A. & Gallagher, R. V., Jan 2023, In: Plants People Planet. 5, 1, p. 27-38 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)3 Downloads (Pure) -
Identification of integrons and gene cassette-associated recombination sites in bacteriophage genomes
Qi, Q., Rajabal, V., Ghaly, T. M., Tetu, S. G. & Gillings, M. R., 19 Jan 2023, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 14, p. 1-10 10 p., 1091391.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile12 Downloads (Pure) -
TransAAP: an automated annotation pipeline for membrane transporter prediction in bacterial genomes
Elbourne, L. D. H., Wilson-Mortier, B., Ren, Q., Hassan, K. A., Tetu, S. G. & Paulsen, I. T., Jan 2023, In: Microbial Genomics. 9, 1, p. 1-10 10 p., 000927.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Uncovering bacterial hosts of class 1 integrons in an urban coastal aquatic environment with a single-cell fusion-polymerase chain reaction technology
Qi, Q., Ghaly, T. M., Penesyan, A., Rajabal, V., Stacey, J. A. C., Tetu, S. G. & Gillings, M. R., 28 Mar 2023, In: Environmental Science and Technology. 57, 12, p. 4870-4879 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review