Overview
We are interested in how microbial populations evolve under selective pressure by lytic bacteriophages ('phages,' viruses that infect and kill bacteria), and in how phages themselves evolve.
The lab addresses questions in microbial evolution using E. coli and phage U136B. We previously established his host-phage pair as a study system to study the effects of pleiotropy from the molecular level to the population level. We discovered that phage U136B infection of the host is reliant on the antibiotic resistance gene tolC, such that phage selection can also alter antibiotic resistance. We are now using this study system to ask:
Our methods include traditional microbiology, molecular genetics, experimental evolution, and genome sequencing to understand how evolution happens in real time.
- When faced with phage selection, bacteria often evolve phage resistance through mutations to cell-surface structures that prevent phage attachment.
- As a side-effect of those changes, the bacteria may also change other key phenotypes, such as antibiotic resistance.
- Understanding these pleiotropic side-effects is important to understanding if and how phages might be used to evolutionarily 'steer' bacterial populations to a state of antibiotic sensitivity.
- Understanding pleiotropy is also important to understanding how diversity is generated and maintained in nature.
The lab addresses questions in microbial evolution using E. coli and phage U136B. We previously established his host-phage pair as a study system to study the effects of pleiotropy from the molecular level to the population level. We discovered that phage U136B infection of the host is reliant on the antibiotic resistance gene tolC, such that phage selection can also alter antibiotic resistance. We are now using this study system to ask:
- How and when do phages play a role in shaping bacterial population structure and trait distributions, such as antibiotic resistance?
- How can phages be used as models for understanding the causes and consequences of extinction?
Our methods include traditional microbiology, molecular genetics, experimental evolution, and genome sequencing to understand how evolution happens in real time.
Key papers:
- Burmeister A.R.# and Turner P.E. 2020. Trading-off and Trading-up in the World of Bacteria-Phage Evolution. Current Biology 30:19 PR1120-R1124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.036
- Burmeister A.R.#, Fortier A., Roush C., Lessing A.J., Bender R.G., Barahman R., Grant R., Chan B.K., Turner P.E. 2020. Pleiotropy Complicates a Trade-Off Between Phage Resistance and Antibiotic Resistance. PNAS 5:15, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1919888117
- Burmeister A.R.#, Tzintzun-Tapia E., Roush C., Mangal I., Barahman R., Bjornson R.D., and Turner P.E. 2023. Experimental evolution of the TolC-receptor phage U136B functionally identifies a tail fiber protein involved in adsorption through strong parallel adaptation. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Doi/10.1128/aem.00079-23. https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.00079-23
Available Positions
I welcome inquiries and applications at all levels (undergraduate, post-bacc, Masters/Ph.D. students, and post-docs) - see all currently-open positions and how to apply here.
Publications and Presentations
Selected Publications in Microbiology & Evolution (# indicates corresponding author)
See my STEM Education tab for publications and presentations related to my work in undergraduate education.
See my STEM Education tab for publications and presentations related to my work in undergraduate education.
- Schwarz J.C., An W., Theroux A., Vargas L., Chan B.K., Turner P.E., and Burmeister A. R.# 2023. Complete genome assembly and annotation of Escherichia coli bacteriophage 55 from Rivière la Quint in Gonaïves, Haiti. Microbiology Resource Announcements e00107-23.
- Burmeister A.R.#, Tzintzun-Tapia E., Roush C., Mangal I., Barahman R., Bjornson R.D., and Turner P.E. 2023. Experimental evolution of the TolC-receptor phage U136B functionally identifies a tail fiber protein involved in adsorption through strong parallel adaptation. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Doi/10.1128/aem.00079-23. https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.00079-23
- Schwarz J.C., Chan B.K., Turner P.E., and Burmeister A. R.# 2023. Complete genome assembly and annotation of Escherichia coli bacteriophage 107. Microbiology Resource Announcements. e00106-23.
- Gupta, A., Zaman L., Strobel H.M., Gallie J., Burmeister A.R., Kerr B., Tamar E., Kishony R., Meyer J.R. 2022. Host-parasite coevolution promotes innovation through deformations in fitness landscapes. Elife 11:e76162.
- An W., Emsbo C., Frey E., Hu V., Jones A., Latif N., Perrilli M., Reillo K., Schwarz J.C., Strasner S., Theroux A., Vargas L.D., Turner P.E., Burmeister A.R.#. 2022. Assembly and annotation of Escherichia coli phage U115. Microbiology Resource Announcements 11 (2) e00949-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00949-21
- Roush C., Chan B, Turner PE, and Burmeister AR#. 2021. Assembly and annotation of the complete genome sequence of T4-like bacteriophage 132. Microbiology Resource Announcements 10 (39) e00649-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00649-21
- Burmeister A.R.#, Sullivan R.M., Gallie J., and Lenski R.E. 2021. Sustained coevolution of phage Lambda and Escherichia coli involves inner as well as outer membrane defenses and counter-defenses. Microbiology 167:001063. 10.1099/mic.0.001063
- Burmeister A.R.#, Piya D., and Turner P.E. 2021. Complete genome sequence of Escherichia coli bacteriophage U136B. Microbiology Resource Announcements 10 (13) e00030-21. 10.1128/MRA.00030-21
- Burmeister A.R.#, Hansen E., Cunningham J.J., Rego E.H., Turner, P.E., Weitz, J.S., and Hochberg, M.E. 2020. Fighting microbial pathogens by integrating host ecosystem interactions and evolution. BioEssays. 2000272. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202000272
- Khan, A., Burmeister A.R., and Wahl, L.M. 2020. Evolution Along the Parasitism-Mutualism Continuum Determines the Genetic Repertoire of Prophages. PLOS Computational Biology 16 (12), e1008482. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008482
- Burmeister A.R.# and Turner P.E. 2020. Trading-off and Trading-up in the World of Bacteria-Phage Evolution. Current Biology 30:19 PR1120-R1124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.036
- Burmeister A.R.#, Fortier A., Roush C., Lessing A.J., Bender R.G., Barahman R., Grant R., Chan B.K., Turner P.E. 2020. Pleiotropy Complicates a Trade-Off Between Phage Resistance and Antibiotic Resistance. PNAS 5:15, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1919888117
- Burmeister A.R.#, Sullivan R.M., and Lenski R.E. 2020. Fitness Costs and Benefits of Resistance to Phage Lambda in Experimentally Evolved Escherichia coli. In Evolution in Action: Past, Present, and Future. Springer. Ch. 11, p. 123-143. (Peer-reviewed book chapter) https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-39831-6_11
- Burmeister, A.#, Abedon, S., and Turner, P. 2019. Bacteriophage Ecology. In: Schmidt, T.M. (ed) Encyclopedia of Microbiology, 4th Edition. Vol 1, 434-440.
- Petri K. L., Palmer N. D., Johnson D. T., Yan S.J., Li V., Burmeister, A. and Meyer, J. R. 2018. Destabilizing mutations encode nongenetic variation that drives evolutionary innovation. Science 30 359, 6383: 1542-1545 DOI: 10.1126/science.aar1954
- Burmeister, A.# and Lenski, R. 2018. Specifying the Harsh Conditions of Life: Resource Competition and Predation in the 1970s. The American Naturalist, Jan. 8, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1086/695985
- Burmeister, A.#, Lenski, R., and Meyer, J. 2016. Host coevolution alters the adaptive landscape of a virus. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 283: 20161528; https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1528
- Dover J., Burmeister A., Molineux I., and Parent K. 2016. Evolved populations of Shigella flexneri phage Sf6 acquire large deletions, altered genomic architecture, and faster life cycles. Genome Biology and Evolution. 8:2827-2840; https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evw177
- Lenski, R., Wiser, M., Ribeck, N., Blount, Z., Nahum, J., Morris, J., Zaman, L., Turner, C., Wade, B., Maddamsetti, R., Burmeister, A., Baird, E., Bundy J., Grant, N., Card, K., Rowles, M., Weatherspoon, K., Papoulis, S., Sullivan, R., Clark, C., Mulka, J., and Hajela, N. 2015. Sustained fitness gains and variability in fitness trajectories in the long-term evolution experiment with Escherichia coli. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 282: 20152292. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2292
- Burmeister, A.# 2015. Horizontal Gene Transfer. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. (1): 193-194. https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eov018
Selected presentations (*indicates invited seminar or award presentation):
- * American Society for Microbiology Region I Northeast Branch Meeting. Randolph, MA. Nov. 7-8, 2019. Alita Burmeister. “Evolutionary Tradeoffs Between Phage Resistance and Antibiotic Resistance.”
- * Microbial Systems Seminar Series, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, MA. Nov. 1, 2019. Alita Burmeister. “Evolutionary Tradeoffs Between Phage Resistance and Antibiotic Resistance.”
- * AxioMx (Abcam, PLC). Branford, CT. July 17, 2019. Alita Burmeister. “Evolutionary Tradeoffs Between Phage Resistance and Antibiotic Resistance.”
- Phage Hunters of New York and New England Symposium. The City University of New York. New York, NY. May 9, 2019. Alita Burmeister. “A Dual-Receptor Phage Puts Escherichia coli in an Evolutionary Double-Bind.”
- * Biotechnology Institute, University of Minnesota. Alita Burmeister. Invited Seminar Speaker. Evolutionary and applied implications of phage resistance tradeoffs.” Oct. 25, 2018.
- Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology. Montpellier, FR. Aug. 22, 2018. Alita Burmeister. “Antibiotic resistance and the evolution of virus-mediated horizontal gene transfer.”
- * Saybrook College Fellow’s Meeting. Yale University. April 26, 2018. Alita Burmeister. “Blood-Curdling: A Madcap Science Fiction About Microbiology, Evolution, and Cheese.”
- Phage Hunters of New York and New England Symposium. The City University of New York. New York, NY. May 12, 2018. Alita Burmeister. “Evolution of Phage Resistance at the Cost of Antibiotic Resistance.”
- * Distinguished Student Speaker Seminar. Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University. 2015. Alita Burmeister. “Evolution and extinction in experimental communities of bacteria and phage.”
- * Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Population Biology. Andover, NH. Peer-selected, top three presentation from the Gordon Research Seminar for presentation at the main conference. 2015. Alita Burmeister.“A honeypot model of host-virus interactions.”
- Midwest Ecology and Evolution Conference. Bloomington, IN. 2015. Alita Burmeister. “Do populations reach peaks? Comparing multiple methods of calculating fitness.”
- * Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Undergraduate Microbiology Club. Michigan State University. 2015. Alita Burmeister “Evolution and ecology in experimental communities of bacteria and phage.”
- Society for the Study of Evolution Annual Conference. Raleigh, NC. 2014. Alita Burmeister. “Assessing student perceptions and explanations of microbial evolution.”
- Society for the Study of Evolution Annual Conference. Snowbird, UT. 2013. Alita Burmeister. “Coevolution facilitates the evolution of a novel function in phage Lambda by altering the fitness landscape.”
Conference Sessions Convened and Moderated
- "Using Experimental Evolution to Predict the Evolution of Microbes." American Society for Microbiology World Microbe Forum. 2021. Convener
- “Evolutionary tradeoffs in bacteria and viruses: Genetic mechanisms, prevalence, and applications.” BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action Annual Congress, East Lansing, MI. 2018. Sandbox Session Convener and Moderator.
- "Horizontal gene transfer in bacteria: Evolutionary origins, maintenance, and practical implications.” BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action Annual Congress, East Lansing, MI. 2017. Sandbox Session Convener and Moderator.
- “Can we evolution-proof antibiotic therapy?” BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action Annual Congress, East Lansing, MI. 2016. Symposium Convener and Moderator.
- “Unwelcome guests: Evolution along the parasitism-mutualism continuum.” BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action Congress, East Lansing, MI. 2015. Symposium Convener and Moderator.