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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White
@rhystwhite.bsky.social
3.4K followers 1.3K following 150 posts
Scientist | Turning #Genomics into intel | Tracking pathogen evolution, diversity, & spread | Welsh expat in New Zealand | Formerly The University of Queensland
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Nov 27
Kia ora koutou! 👋

I’ve put together a starter pack of amazing people working in #Genomics across Aotearoa New Zealand.

If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!

go.bsky.app/KhMbQxK
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · 9d
Where else is ST1 hiding?

We need to start thinking about environmental & farm worker sampling to map the spread & persistence of ST1

#AMR #Genomics #OneHealth #Staphylococcus #Biosecurity #NZ

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#AcademicSky
#MicroSky
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · 9d
Timeline analyses show ST1 evolving differently in people & cows

To stay ahead of emerging lineages & resistance, we need a #OneHealth lens linking human, animal, & environmental data 🌍

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#AcademicSky
#MicroSky
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · 9d
We expected human & bovine derived ST1 to be genomically ‘similar’

Instead we found:

🔹 Human derived ST1 = more antibiotic resistance genes #AMR

🔹 Bovine derived ST1 = a unique host-specific prophage (φSabovST1) carrying bovine leukocidins

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#AcademicSky
#MicroSky
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · 9d
Globally, bovine S. aureus usually belong to ST97/ST151

But in NZ 🇳🇿, ST1 dominates in humans & cattle

This unusual overlap raises big questions about possible cross-species #transmission & #evolution

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#AcademicSky
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · 9d
🚨New paper out!

Why does Staphylococcus aureus ST1 dominate in BOTH people🧑‍⚕️ & cows🐄 in New Zealand… but rarely elsewhere?

Our latest comparative genomics study unpacks this mystery👇

📄 doi.org/10.1128/msph...

@asm.org

#AMR #Genomics #OneHealth

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Comparative genomics of endemic Staphylococcus aureus ST1 in New Zealand | mSphere
This study presents a comprehensive genomic analysis of S. aureus ST1, a lineage that is unusually dominant in both bovine and human populations in New Zealand. Leveraging New Zealand’s geographical i...
doi.org
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · 27d
🚨Call for abstracts

#OneHealth Aotearoa Symposium 2025

📍Wellington + online
🗓️2–3 Dec 2025

Submit an abstract by 30 Sept

Themes: #AMR, #Zoonoses, #HealthEquity, #TeAoMāori, #ClimateHealth & more

More info👉 onehealth.org.nz/one-health-a...

📩[email protected]

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One Health Aotearoa Symposium 2025 - One Health Aotearoa
Our 11th annual symposium will be held on 2-3 December 2025 at the University of Otago, Wellington campus and online. Registrations will open soon! Venue Information Nordmeyer Lecture Theatre – Univer...
onehealth.org.nz
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Sep 4
Honoured to present this at #MicroSeq2025💙

This work reflects contributions from MANY colleagues across institutions & I'm grateful for the opportunity to share it

Published in @microbiologysociety.org:
doi.org/10.1099/mgen...

Also in @aunz.theconversation.com:
theconversation.com/antibiotic-u...
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Aug 18
New Zealand’s prescribing habits likely helped create a homegrown #MRSA 🇳🇿🧬💊

Now ‘AK3’ has been detected overseas

Our recent study shows how it evolved & how #Genomics can help reduce the impact of the next ‘superbug’

#AMR is an issue for everyone
#SciComm

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aunz.theconversation.com
The Conversation AUNZ @aunz.theconversation.com · Aug 18
Over-subscription of a topical antibiotic likely led to the emergence of a superbug which is now the leading cause of resistant infections.
Antibiotic use likely fuelled the rise of a ‘superbug’ in NZ – genomics offers a defence against the next threat
theconversation.com
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Aug 12
💥How New Zealand's previous 'go-to' #Antibiotic fuelled the rise of a home-grown #MRSA superbug

By the 2010s, AK3 took the lead as NZ’s top #MRSA strain, fuelled by years of high fusidic acid use
#AntibioticResistance #PublicHealth

doi.org/10.1099/mgen...

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20 years later: unravelling the genomic success of New Zealand’s home-grown AK3 community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) represents a significant public health challenge. In New Zealand, the community-associated MRSA sequence type (ST)5, carrying the staphylococcal cass...
doi.org
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Aug 7
Peer-reviewed evidence that @nanoporetech.com & #DoradoCorrect (HERRO) can resolve a NICU #MRSA outbreak to SNV precision - no short reads needed (so long as adequate n50 read lengths are met)

Fast, decentralised, clinically useful

🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.jh...

#Genomics #PHFScience #InfectionControl
Redirecting
doi.org
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Reposted by Rhys White
ruamicro.bsky.social
James Connolly @ruamicro.bsky.social · Jul 30
Absolutely delighted to share the labs latest work. We identify and characterise two pathways for D-ribulose utilisation in pathogenic EHEC and Citrobacter.
Convergent evolution of distinct D-ribulose utilisation pathways in attaching and effacing pathogens - Nature Communications
Cottam et al. identify distinct pathways for D-ribulose utilisation in pathogenic Escherichia coli and Citrobacter rodentium, providing mechanistic details and suggesting convergent evolution towards ...
www.nature.com
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Jul 11
P.S.
ESR is now PHF Science
Same expertise, same commitment... new name

Our mission to protect #PublicHealth through genomics & science communication continues #SciComm
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Jul 11
Sequence read data has been submitted to the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) under BioProject numbers PRJNA1102395 & PRJNA1097666 (we welcome others to use them)

GenBank accessions CP175691–7

Finally, thanks to all our amazing collaborators! 👏

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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Jul 11
#PublicHealth action worked:
🧼Hygiene issues were fixed
✅No further cases linked to the site

Genomic sequencing helped:
✔️Trace the outbreak to a single introduction
✔️Understand how it spread

#CPE isn’t just a hospital problem - it’s a community threat, but solvable

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Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Jul 11
A common link kept coming up: a ready-to-eat food venue, Premises A

Environmental testing found OXA-48 #Ecoli from food handlers, some had no symptoms
One had travelled to SE Asia in 2017

The strain likely entered NZ once, then spread locally
#PublicHealth #Outbreak

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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Jul 11
🧵The team used #genomics to reveal community spread of #AntimicrobialResistant bacteria in New Zealand

A carbapenemase-producing E. coli was spreading
Not in hospitals, in the community

We used whole-genome sequencing to investigate & start to learn what happened

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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Jul 11
Out & #OpenAccess

📌Community outbreak of OXA-48–producing Escherichia coli linked to food premises, New Zealand, 2018-2022

doi.org/10.3201/eid3...

Thanks to folks across NZ who helped investigate & respond
#AMR #PublicHealth #Genomics #Epidemiology #Scicomm
🧵

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Community Outbreak of OXA-48–Producing <em>Escherichia coli</em> Linked to Food Premises, New Zealand, 2018–2022
Outbreak of OXA-48–Producing <em>E. coli</em>, New Zealand
doi.org
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · May 21
One patient, two samples

Weeks apart, E. faecium picked up vancomycin resistance

By sequencing vancomycin-susceptible strains on-site, we caught this early & avoided unnecessary, disruptive interventions #Genomics

Proud to share at #nanoporeconf!
@nanoporetech.com

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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · May 17
I was feeling more of a ‘Jedward VÆB’
rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Apr 13
Attending #ESCMIDGlobal & curious about community-associated CPE?
Craig Thornley is presenting today on a prolonged OXA-48-producing E. coli cluster in New Zealand, with genomic evidence supporting community & hospital transmission. See poster E0434 #ESCMIDGlobal2025

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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Mar 7
Thanks @antobeck.bsky.social!

Traditional methods (culture, MALDI-TOF) give species ID fast but lack strain-level resolution. The ‘go-to’ Illumina WGS requires sending samples to ESR, adding delays. On-site nanopore sequencing can allow for same-day, genomic surveillance for rapid outbreak response
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Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Mar 6
Huge thanks to the amazing team at Awanui Labs & ESR, especially Suzanne Manning (project lead) & colleagues! We need to keep pushing the boundaries of genomics in clinical settings💪 #Genomics #Microbiology #Nanopore
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Mar 6
But challenges remain—integrating new tech into routine lab workflows takes time & investment. We discuss key enablers & barriers from a social systems perspective
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rhystwhite.bsky.social
Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · Mar 6
Early successes include detecting an MRSA outbreak in a NICU before traditional methods would have flagged it. This real-time #genomic surveillance allowed for rapid interventions & better patient outcomes

doi.org/10.1099/mgen...
Rapid identification and subsequent contextualization of an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a neonatal intensive care unit using nanopore sequencing
Outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are well described in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting. Genomics has revolutionized the investigation of such outbreaks; ...
doi.org
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