Gordon Group - Population biology of micro-organisms

Research in the Gordon Group falls under three main, highly interrelated themes:

  1. Functional role and evolution of bacteriocins
  2. The ecology and evolution of the Enterobacteriaceae
  3. The ecology and evolution of plasmids.

Honorary Group Leader

Selected publications

  • O'Brien, Claire L; Pavli, Paul; Gordon, David M; Allison, Gwen E; 2014. Detection of bacterial DNA in lymph nodes of Crohn's disease patients using high throughput sequencing. Gut. 63,10,1596-1606.
  • Clermont, Olivier; Christenson, Julia K; Daubié, Anne-Sophie; Gordon, David M; Denamur, Erick; 2014. Development of an allele-specific PCR for Escherichia coli B2 sub-typing, a rapid and easy to perform substitute of multilocus sequence typing. Journal of Microbiological Methods. 101,24-27.
  • Abraham, Sam; Trott, Darren J; Jordan, David; Gordon, David M; Groves, Mitchell D; Fairbrother, John M; Smith, Matthew G; Zhang, Ren; Chapman, Toni A; 2014. Phylogenetic and molecular insights into the evolution of multidrug-resistant porcine enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in Australia. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. 44,2,105-111.
  • Blyton, Michaela DJ; Banks, Sam C; Peakall, Rod; Lindenmayer, David B; Gordon, David M; 2014. Not all types of host contacts are equal when it comes to E. coli transmission. Ecology Letters. 17,8,970-978.
  • Blyton, Michaela DJ; Cornall, Samantha J; Kennedy, Karina; Colligon, Peter; Gordon, David M; 2014. Sex‐dependent competitive dominance of phylogenetic group B2 Escherichia coli strains within human hosts. Environmental Microbiology Reports. 6,6,605-610.
  • Clermont, Olivier; Gordon, David; Denamur, Erick; 2015. Guide to the various phylogenetic classification schemes for Escherichia coli and the correspondence among schemes. Microbiology,161,5,980-988.
  • Blyton, Michaela DJ; Herawati, Nur‘Aini; O'Brien, Claire L; Gordon, David M; 2015. ",Host litter‐associated gut dynamics affect Escherichia coli abundance and adhesion genotype in rats. Environmental Microbiology Reports. 7,3,583-589.
  • Guo, SiYu; Wakeham, David; Brouwers, Huub JM; Cobbold, Rowland N; Abraham, Sam; Mollinger, Joanne L; Johnson, James R; Chapman, Toni A; Gordon, David M; Barrs, Vanessa R; 2015. Human-associated fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli clonal lineages, including ST354, isolated from canine feces and extraintestinal infections in Australia. Microbes and Infection. 17,4,266-274.
  • Gordon, David M.; O'Brien, Claire L.; Pavli, Paul; 2015. Escherichia coli diversity in the lower intestinal tract of humans. Environmental Microbiology Reports. 7,642-648.
  • Blyton, Michaela D. J.; Pi, Hongfei; Vangchhia, Belinda; et. al; 2015.",Genetic Structure and Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli and Cryptic Clades in Birds with Diverse Human Associations. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 81,15,5123-5133.
  • Parsons, Sandra K; Bull, C Michael; Gordon, David M; 2015.  Spatial Variation and Survival of Salmonella enterica Subspecies in a Population of Australian Sleepy Lizards (Tiliqua rugosa). Applied and Environmental Microbiology,81,17,5804-5811.
  • Abraham, Sam; Jordan, David; Wong, Hui S; Johnson, James R; Toleman, Mark A; Wakeham, David L; Gordon, David M; Turnidge, John D; Mollinger, Joanne L; Gibson, Justine S; 2015. First detection of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-and fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli in Australian food-producing animals. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance. 3,4,273-277.
  • Barron Pastor, Heli J; Gordon, David M; 2015. Effects of dispersal limitation in the face of intense selection via dietary intervention on the faecal microbiota of rats. Environmental Microbiology Reports. 8,2,187-195.
  • O'Brien, Claire L; Bringer, Marie-Agnès; Holt, Kathryn E; Gordon, David M; Dubois, Anaëlle L; Barnich, Nicolas; Darfeuille-Michaud, Arlette; Pavli, Paul; 2016. Comparative genomics of Crohn's disease-associated adherent-invasive Escherichia coli. Gut. gutjnl-2015-311059
  • Power, Michelle L; Samuel, Angelingifta; Smith, James J; Stark, Jonathon S; Gillings, Michael R; Gordon, David M; 2016. Escherichia coli out in the cold: Dissemination of human-derived bacteria into the Antarctic microbiome. Environmental Pollution. 215,,58-65.

Selected publications

New course for 2014

Story | Monday 14 October 2013

2012 ARC grant success

Story | Friday 23 November 2012

ARC grant success

Story | Thursday 3 November 2011

RSB staff promotions

Story | Tuesday 11 January 2011
Recorded EE Seminar - Truc Nguyen

E&E PhD Exit Webinar: The ecological niche of human-associated Escherichia coli (E. coli)

Event | Fri 2 September 2022
Extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) strains are responsible for the majority of extra-intestinal infections in humans, including urinary tract infections, neonatal meningitis, and bacteraemia.
Recorded E&E webinar   Veronica Alozie Chidi

E&E PhD Exit Webinar: Why Do Some Human Associated Escherichia coli Strains Lack Antibiotics Resistance?

Event | Fri 11 February 2022
The extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli lineages STs 131, 73 and 95, of the phylogroup B2 are equally likely to be responsible for hospital- and community-acquired human extra-intestinal disease.
Recorded EE Seminar - Judith Bourne

E&E PhD Exit Seminar: Cats choose their E. coli; or vice versa?

Event | Fri 12 November 2021
Escherichia coli extraintestinal infections (ExPEC) cause significant disease in humans and companion animals (cats and dogs).
Recorded EE Seminar - Behruznia

E&E PhD Exit Seminar: Genotypic and Phenotypic Characterisation of Escherichia coli Isolates from Septic Tanks

Event | Fri 25 September 2020
While we know many things about E. coli under laboratory conditions, relatively little is known about the ecology of this bacterium in the environment.

E&E PhD Exit Seminar: Genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of Escherichia coli bloom strains

Event | Fri 16 November 2018

E. coli is widely used as an indicator of faecal contamination of water.