Skip to main content

Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Krankenhaushygiene - Bereich Krankenhaushygiene

Forschung / Publikationen

Göttig Lab

Our research focuses on antibiotic resistance mechanisms and virulence factors of clinically relevant Gram-negative bacteria. Resistance to antibiotics has dramatically increased in recent years, especially among Gram-negative bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli or Acinetobacter baumannii. Multidrug resistance is often caused by acquisition of bacterial enzymes which are encoded on mobile genetic elements (e.g., plasmid-encoded carbapenemase genes). Highly pathogenic bacteria that are non-susceptible to last-line antibiotics like carbapenems or polymyxins pose a major threat to public health. These bacteria cause severe nosocomial infections like sepsis or pneumonia and can be transmitted from patient to patient. 

Therefore, we are interested in characterizing 

  • molecular mechanisms by which Gram-negative bacteria become resistant to carbapenems, hydroxyquinolines and colistin
  • the molecular evolution of carbapenemases like the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM)
  • how antibiotic resistance genes can be transmitted by horizontal gene transfer in vitro and in vivo
  • the impact of antimicrobial resistance on fitness and virulence of Gram-negative bacteria
  • the pathogenicity factor Acinetobacter trimeric autotransporter adhesin of A. baumannii

Group Leader 


Prof. Dr. med. Dr. rer. physiol. Stephan Göttig
stephan.goettig@unimedizin-ffm.de

Lab members


Dr. Tobias Appel
Zara Dogan
Monika Doll
Anna-Lena Hesse
Lena Ilievski
Luisa Langhoff
Malin Lauer
Amanda Muscheler
Bettina Stietz
Sara Garcia Torres

Funding

Selected Publications

Cacace E, Tietgen M, Steinhauer M, Mateus A, Schultze TG, Eckermann M, Galardini M, Varik V, Koumoutsi A, Parzeller JJ, Corona F, Orakov A, Knopp M, Brauer-Nikonow A, Bork P, Romao CV, Zimmermann M, Cloetens P, Savitski MM, Typas A, Göttig S. 
Uncovering nitroxoline activity spectrum, mode of action and resistance across Gram-negative bacteria. 
Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 22;16(1):3783. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58730-5

Vaidya S, Saha D, Rode DKH, Torrens G, Hansen MF, Singh PK, Jelli E, Nosho K, Jeckel H, Göttig S, Cava F, Drescher K. 
Bacteria use exogenous peptidoglycan as a danger signal to trigger biofilm formation. 
Nat Microbiol. 2025 Jan;10(1):144-157. doi.org/10.1038/s41564-024-01886-5

Sommer J, Reiter H, Sattler J, Cacace E, Eisfeld J, Gatermann S, Hamprecht A, Göttig S. 
Emergence of OXA-48-like producing Citrobacter species, Germany, 2011 to 2022. 
Euro Surveill. 2024 Apr;29(15):2300528. doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.15.2300528

Cacace E, Kim V, Varik V, Knopp M, Tietgen M, Brauer-Nikonow A, Inecik K, Mateus A, Milanese A, Mårli MT, Mitosch K, Selkrig J, Brochado AR, Kuipers OP, Kjos M, Zeller G, Savitski MM, Göttig S, Huber W, Typas A. 
Systematic analysis of drug combinations against Gram-positive bacteria. 
Nat Microbiol. 2023 Nov;8(11):2196-2212. doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01486-9

Hamprecht A, Sattler J, Noster J, Stelzer Y, Fuchs F, Dorth V, Gatermann SG, Göttig S. 
Proteus mirabilis - analysis of a concealed source of carbapenemases and development of a diagnostic algorithm for detection. 
Clin Microbiol Infect. 2023 Sep;29(9):1198.e1-1198.e6. doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2023.05.032

Leukert L, Tietgen M, Krause FF, Schultze TG, Fuhrmann DC, Debruyne C, Salcedo SP, Visekruna A, Wittig L, Göttig S. 
Infection of Endothelial Cells with Acinetobacter baumannii Reveals Remodelling of Mitochondrial Protein Complexes.
Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Jun 15;11(3):e0517422. doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.05174-22

Sommer J, Gerbracht KM, Krause FF, Wild F, Tietgen M, Riedel-Christ S, Sattler J, Hamprecht A, Kempf VAJ, Göttig S. 
OXA-484, an OXA-48-Type Carbapenem-Hydrolyzing Class D β-Lactamase From Escherichia coli. 
Front Microbiol. 2021 May 12;12:660094. doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.660094

Tietgen M, Leukert L, Sommer J, Kramer JS, Brunst S, Wittig I, Proschak E, Göttig S. 
Characterization of the novel OXA-213-like β-lactamase OXA-822 from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. 
J Antimicrob Chemother. 2021 Feb 11;76(3):626-634. doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkaa488

Das Ziel der Arbeitsgruppe ist es, durch die Analyse der Epidemiologie nosokomialer Infektionen gezielte infektionspräventive Maßnahmen zu entwickeln und diese zu evaluieren. Dazu gehört beispielsweise die Analyse von Infektionshäufungen und der nachfolgend eingeleiteten Maßnahmen. Weitere Untersuchungen betreffen die Analyse von Risikofaktoren  für die Übertragung nosokomialer Infektionserreger, speziell multiresistenter Erreger.

Arbeitsgruppenleiterin:

Prof. Dr. med. Claudia Reinheimer
claudia.reinheimer(at)unimedizin-ffm.de

Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a major threat to patients and cause millions of deaths worldwide each year. The spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is directly linked to the exchange of antibiotic resistance genes between different bacterial species. Our group seeks to understand the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance gene spread in order to develop new strategies to limit the impact of antibiotic resistant bacteria on global health.

We are particularly interested in:

  • Epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria
  • Molecular mechanisms that promote the exchange of antibiotic resistance genes between different bacterial species and in complex bacterial communities.
  • Dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in human microbiomes and interactions between microbiome diversity and the spread of resistance genes
  • Culture-based microbiology methods, e.g. antibiotic susceptibility testing, growth kinetics and fitness assays
  • in vitro and in vivo models of infection
  • Next-generation sequencing, including Oxford Nanopore and Illumina sequencing technologies and bespoke bioinformatics for whole genome and metagenome sequencing approaches and specialised sequencing data analysis.

Methods and technologies we use in our research:

  • Culture-based microbiology methods, e.g. antibiotic susceptibility testing, growth kinetics and fitness assays
  • in vitro and in vivo models of infection
  • Next-generation sequencing, including Oxford Nanopore and Illumina sequencing technologies and bespoke bioinformatics for whole genome and metagenome sequencing approaches and specialised sequencing data analysis.

Group leader:

Dr. med Julian Sommer
Julian.Sommer@med.uni-frankfurt.de
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3654-2006

Members:

Catharina Joly
Mara Herterich
Marie Welter

Publications:

Sommer J, Reiter H, Sattler J, Cacace E, Eisfeld J, Gatermann S, et al. Emergence of OXA-48-like producing Citrobacter species, Germany, 2011 to 2022. Eurosurveillance. 2024 Apr 11;29(15):2300528.

Sattler J, Noster J, Stelzer Y, Spille M, Schäfer S, Xanthopoulou K, et al. OXA-48-like carbapenemases in Proteus mirabilis - novel genetic environments and a challenge for detection. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2024 Dec;13(1):2353310.

Sattler J, Tsvetkov T, Stelzer Y, Schäfer S, Sommer J, Noster J, et al. Emergence of Tn 1999.7, a New Transposon in blaOXA-48 -Harboring Plasmids Associated with Increased Plasmid Stability. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2022 Nov 15;66(11):e00787-22.

Sommer J, Gerbracht KM, Krause FF, Wild F, Tietgen M, Riedel-Christ S, et al. OXA-484, an OXA-48-Type Carbapenem-Hydrolyzing Class D β-Lactamase From Escherichia coli. Frontiers in Microbiology. 2021 May 12;12(May):1–9.

Göttig S, Walker SV, Saleh A, Koroska F, Sommer J, Stelzer Y, et al. Comparison of nine different selective agars for the detection of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE). European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2020 May 1;39(5):923–7.

Hamprecht A, Sommer J, Willmann M, Brender C, Stelzer Y, Krause FF, et al. Pathogenicity of Clinical OXA-48 Isolates and Impact of the OXA-48 IncL Plasmid on Virulence and Bacterial Fitness. Frontiers in Microbiology. 2019 Nov 1;10:2509.

Koroska F, Göttig S, Kaase M, Steinmann J, Gatermann S, Sommer J, et al. Comparison of phenotypic tests and an immunochromatographic assay and development of a new algorithm for detection of OXA-48-like carbapenemases. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 2017;55(3):877–83.

Funding

Zurück zur Startseite der Krankenhaushygiene

Mehr