MOLECULAR GENETICS OF BIOFILM FORMATION

描述：在大多数自然环境中，细菌主要存在于 生物膜。到目前为止的研究已经确定了构成这些生物的 生物膜，并开始阐明其物理/化学和结构 属性。相比之下，关于基因和分子方面的知识知之甚少 管理这些社区发展所需的机制。这个 下面提出的工作解决了我们对 微生物生物膜。将使用一种无偏见的遗传方法来分离 在生物膜形成方面有缺陷的突变株，以鉴定基因和 描述其产品的功能。这项建议有3个具体的 目的：1)分离和鉴定大肠杆菌突变株， 生物膜缺陷的荧光假单胞菌和铜绿假单胞菌 队形。2)对细胞表面进行显微分析，并 生物膜形成所需的细胞间相互作用。3)发起 信号转导通路的遗传和生理解剖 生物膜的形成。

DESCRIPTION: In most natural settings, bacteria are found predominantly in biofilms. Studies to date have identified the organisms which comprise biofilms and begun to elucidate their physical/chemical and structural properties. In contrast, little is known about the genetic and molecular mechanisms required to regulate the development of these communities. The work proposed below addresses this large gap in our understanding of microbial biofilms. A non-biased genetic approach will be used to isolate mutants defective in biofilm formation, to identify the genes and characterize the function of their products. This proposal has 3 Specific Aims: 1) To isolate and characterize mutants of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa defective in biofilm formation. 2) To perform a microscopic analysis of the cell surface and cell-to-cell interactions required for biofilm formation. 3) To initiate the genetic and physiological dissection of signaling pathways involved in biofilm formation.