Research Interests

My laboratory studies the evolution bacterial pathogens, specifically, those responsible for food and waterborne diseases.  Many of the explorations focus on pathogens with invasive phenotypes.  In studying these organisms, we are using changes occurring at the molecular level to infer evolutionary relationships with respect to both genotype and the resulting phenotype.  These genotypic changes include polymorphisms, gene acquisition, and gene loss.  It is widely accepted that virulence phenotypes have resulted as bacterial genomes have acquired plasmids, pathogenicity islands and phage-borne elements.  The converse of gene acquisition is the idea of gene loss.  Although there are fewer examples of gene loss conferring a virulence phenotype (loss of cadA in Shigella), comparative genomic analyses provide evidence for parallel gene loss suggesting a selective pressure to inactivate gene function.

Students interested in learning about current projects and research opportunities are invited to browse the Bumbaugh Lab site. 

Collaborators

     Dr. Thomas S. Whittam at the Microbial Evolution Laboratory, Michigan State University

     Dr. Chobi DebRoy at the Gastroenteric Disease Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus

     Dr. James Winsor, The Pennsylvania State University, Altoona Campus

     Dr. Andrew Stephenson, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus

Publications

• Hyma, K. E., D. W. Lacher, A. M. Nelson, A. C. Bumbaugh, J. M. Janda, N. A. Strockbine, V. B. Young, and T. S. Whittam. 2005.  Evolutionary genetics of  a new pathogenic Escherichia species: Escherichia albertii and related Shigella boydii strains.  Journal of Bacteriology 187:619-628. [Download pdf]

• Whittam, T. S. and A. C. Bumbaugh. 2002. Inferences from whole-genome sequences of bacterial pathogens. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development 12:719-725. [Download pdf]
• Bumbaugh A. C., E. A. McGraw, K. L. Page, R. K. Selander, and T. S. Whittam. 2002. Sequence polymorphism of dotA and mip alleles mediating invasion and intracellular replication of Legionella pneumophila. Current Microbiology 44:314-322.  [Download pdf]
• Reid S. D, C. J. Herbelin, A. C. Bumbaugh, R. K. Selander, T. S. Whittam.  2000.  Parallel evolution of virulence in pathogenic Escherichia coli.  Nature 406:64-67. [Download pdf]