Profile
Dr Bridget Watson
BBSRC Discovery Fellow
B.Watson3@exeter.ac.uk
Environment and Sustainability Institute
Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
Overview
I am interested in the evolution and ecology of bacteria-phage interactions, mobile genetic elements, defence systems and horizontal gene transfer.
Qualifications
2015-2018: PhD Research at the University of Otago, New Zealand
2019-2023: Postdoctoral Research at the University of Exeter (Cornwall campus)
March 2023-present: BBSRC Discovery Fellow
Publications
Journal articles
Forsyth J, Barron N, Scott L, Bridget W, Chisnall M, Meaden S, Van Houte S, Raymond B (In Press). Decolonizing drug-resistant E. coli with phage and probiotics: breaking the frequency-dependent dominance of residents. Microbiology Abstract.
Watson BNJ, Capria L, Alseth EO, Pons BJ, Biswas A, Lenzi L, Buckling A, van Houte S, Westra ER, Meaden S, et al (2024). CRISPR-Cas in Pseudomonas aeruginosa provides transient population-level immunity against high phage exposures. The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology, 18(1).
Watson BNJ, Pursey E, Gandon S, Westra ER (2023). Transient eco-evolutionary dynamics early in a phage epidemic have strong and lasting impact on the long-term evolution of bacterial defences. PLoS Biol, 21(9). Abstract. Author URL.
Watson BNJ, Steens JA, Staals RHJ, Westra ER, van Houte S (2021). Coevolution between bacterial CRISPR-Cas systems and their bacteriophages. Cell Host Microbe, 29(5), 715-725. Abstract. Author URL.
Rollie C, Chevallereau A, Watson BNJ, Chyou T-Y, Fradet O, McLeod I, Fineran PC, Brown CM, Gandon S, Westra ER, et al (2020). Publisher Correction: Targeting of temperate phages drives loss of type I CRISPR-Cas systems. Nature, 579(7799). Abstract. Author URL.
Rollie C, Chevallereau A, Watson BNJ, Chyou T-Y, Fradet O, McLeod I, Fineran PC, Brown CM, Gandon S, Westra ER, et al (2020). Targeting of temperate phages drives loss of type I CRISPR–Cas systems. Nature, 578(7793), 149-153.
Hampton HG, Watson BNJ, Fineran PC (2020). The arms race between bacteria and their phage foes. Nature, 577(7790), 327-336. Abstract.
Watson BNJ, Easingwood RA, Tong B, Wolf M, Salmond GPC, Staals RHJ, Bostina M, Fineran PC (2019). Different genetic and morphological outcomes for phages targeted by single or multiple CRISPR-Cas spacers. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 374(1772).
Watson BNJ, Vercoe RB, Salmond GPC, Westra ER, Staals RHJ, Fineran PC (2019). Type I-F CRISPR-Cas resistance against virulent phage infection triggers abortive infection and provides population-level immunity. Abstract.
Watson BNJ, Vercoe RB, Salmond GPC, Westra ER, Staals RHJ, Fineran PC (2019). Type I-F CRISPR-Cas resistance against virulent phages results in abortive infection and provides population-level immunity. Nat Commun, 10(1). Abstract. Author URL.
Watson BNJ, Staals RHJ, Fineran PC (2018). CRISPR-Cas-Mediated Phage Resistance Enhances Horizontal Gene Transfer by Transduction. mBio, 9(1), e02406-e02417.
Pawluk A, Staals RHJ, Taylor C, Watson BNJ, Saha S, Fineran PC, Maxwell KL, Davidson AR (2016). Inactivation of CRISPR-Cas systems by anti-CRISPR proteins in diverse bacterial species. Nature Microbiology, 1(8).
Richter C, Dy RL, McKenzie RE, Watson BNJ, Taylor C, Chang JT, McNeil MB, Staals RHJ, Fineran PC (2014). Priming in the Type I-F CRISPR-Cas system triggers strand-independent spacer acquisition, bi-directionally from the primed protospacer. Nucleic Acids Research, 42(13), 8516-8526.
McNeil MB, Hampton HG, Hards KJ, Watson BNJ, Cook GM, Fineran PC (2013). The succinate dehydrogenase assembly factor, SdhE, is required for the flavinylation and activation of fumarate reductase in bacteria. FEBS Letters, 588(3), 414-421.