Coordinating Developmental Gene Expression in Myxococcus xanthus

凯瑟琳·E路易斯协调黄色粘球菌中的发育基因表达（IOS-1354779）细菌发育产生了一系列复杂的多细胞形式。 可以说，细菌多细胞性最有趣和最重要的形式之一是生物膜。 成熟的生物膜是复杂的，通常包含结构特征，如细胞塔。 在这种成熟状态下，生物膜对有毒化学物质（如家用清洁剂中发现的化学物质）、氯（通常用于处理水）和许多常用于治疗人类感染的抗生素具有高度抗性。 微生物学的一个基本目标是确定控制抗应激细菌生物膜形成的遗传因子。 该项目的重点是一种调节蛋白，这是至关重要的细菌Mxyococcus xanthus生物膜的形成。 饿了，M。黄原胶形成生物膜，该生物膜包含细胞的薄垫和包含高抗性细胞类型的多细胞结构。 增强子结合蛋白（EBP）ActB是一种转录激活因子，是成熟M.苍耳生物膜和用于产生高抗性细胞。 该项目的主要目标是通过识别和表征其靶基因来了解ActB如何调节成熟生物膜的形成。 特别是，该项目将确定由ActB直接调控的生物膜基因，阐明ActB如何调控这些基因，并确定靶基因是否对成熟生物膜的形成很重要。该项目将支持对研究生、本科生和高中生的培训，包括理科学生人数不足的群体成员和以本科为主的学院的学生，并将成为向当地高中推广的基础。

Katharine E. LewisCoordinating Developmental Gene Expression in Myxococcus xanthus (IOS-1354779)Bacterial development yields a remarkable array of complex multicellular forms. Arguably, one of the most interesting and important forms of bacterial multicellularity is the biofilm. Mature biofilms are complex and often contain structural features such as towers of cells. In this mature state, biofilms are highly resistant to toxic chemicals such as those found in household cleaners, to chlorine, which is often used to treat water, and to many of the antibiotics commonly used to treat human infections. A fundamental goal in microbiology is to identify the genetic elements that control the formation of stress-resistant bacterial biofilms. This project focuses on a regulatory protein that is crucial for biofilm formation in the bacterium Mxyococcus xanthus. When starving, M. xanthus forms a biofilm containing a thin mat of cells and multicellular structures containing a highly resistant cell type. The enhancer binding protein (EBP) ActB, which is a transcriptional activator, is required for the formation of a mature M. xanthus biofilm and for production of highly resistant cells. The primary goal of this project is to understand how ActB regulates the formation of a mature biofilm by identifying and characterizing its target genes. In particular, this project will identify biofilm genes that are directly regulated by ActB, elucidate how ActB regulates these genes, and determine whether the target genes are important for the formation of a mature biofilm. The project will support training of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students including members of groups that are under-represented in sciences and students from a predominately undergraduate college, and will be the basis of outreach to local high schools.