Coordinating Developmental Gene Expression in Myxococcus xanthus

协调黄色粘球菌的发育基因表达

• 批准号: 1354779
• 负责人: Roy Welch
• 金额: $ 31.95万
• 依托单位: Syracuse University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-06-01 至 2018-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1354779&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Coordinating; Developmental; Gene; Expression; Myxococcus

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.

Katharine E. Lewis 协调黄色粘球菌的发育基因表达 (IOS-1354779) 细菌发育产生一系列显着的复杂多细胞形式。 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。 成熟的生物膜很复杂，通常包含细胞塔等结构特征。 在这种成熟状态下，生物膜对有毒化学物质（例如家用清洁剂中的化学物质）、常用于水处理的氯以及许多常用于治疗人类感染的抗生素具有高度抵抗力。 微生物学的一个基本目标是识别控制抗应激细菌生物膜形成的遗传元件。 该项目重点研究一种调节蛋白，该蛋白对于黄色球菌中生物膜的形成至关重要。 当饥饿时，M. xanthus 会形成含有薄薄的细胞垫和含有高度抵抗细胞类型的多细胞结构的生物膜。 增强子结合蛋白 (EBP) ActB 是一种转录激活剂，是成熟 M. xanthus 生物膜的形成和高抗性细胞的产生所必需的。 该项目的主要目标是了解 ActB 如何通过识别和表征其靶基因来调节成熟生物膜的形成。 特别是，该项目将鉴定ActB直接调控的生物膜基因，阐明ActB如何调控这些基因，并确定靶基因对于成熟生物膜的形成是否重要。该项目将支持研究生、本科生和高中生的培训，包括科学领域代表性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。