The discovery of two novel species of bacteria has led to one of them being named after Menzies Associate Deputy Director, Indigenous Leadership and Engagement, Laboratory project manager and Senior Researcher Mark Mayo.
The two new species are part of the group of bacteria called the Burkholderia pseudomallei complex, which includes Burkholderia pseudomallei which causes the potentially fatal tropical disease melioidosis.
Burkholderia mayonis was discovered on Badu Island in the Torres Strait archipelago of Queensland and was named after Mark Mayo, an experienced and highly respected scientist who has worked on melioidosis at Menzies for 29 years.
Mark and his family have strong cultural links to Badu Island and he was present when the new strain was collected.
The naming of Burkholderia mayonis was proposed by his research colleagues in Queensland and the United States and was formally published on 11 January 2022 in the prestigious journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, from the American Society for Microbiology.
Mark started his career in science at Menzies in 1992 and first worked as a laboratory trainee while completing his university studies. He went on to optimise pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing of the melioidosis bacterium to study clusters of melioidosis cases.
He has subsequently spent the past twenty-one years as the Program Manager for the Darwin melioidosis team with Professor Bart Currie.
Mark said the naming of the bacterium is an honour and is a part of a larger body of work being conducted by melioidosis researchers worldwide.
“Menzies in Darwin has been a great place to work, study and conduct scientific research, I count myself lucky to be given the opportunity to do so. I have been able to work with staff and researchers at Menzies to conduct world leading research to find ways to improve the health outcomes of people in Australia and other countries. This has been done through team work, partnerships and collaborations to achieve positive health outcomes,” Mark said.
More information about the new species can be found in the Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal or PubMed.
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