Coordinate regulation of symbiotic-colonization traits

共生定殖性状的协调调控。新罕布什尔州惠斯勒大学历史上，对动物相关微生物的研究主要集中在那些导致疾病的罕见例子上。 然而，近几十年来，科学家和公众已经认识到正常微生物区系对我们健康和发育的重要性。 例如，非致病性细菌有助于健康免疫系统的发育，而密切相关的肠道菌群有助于营养素的适当吸收。 尽管这样的相互作用是普遍存在的，但人们对正常细菌如何建立与宿主相关的种群并允许其继续相关而不被识别和预防细菌感染的正常免疫机制所清除知甚少。 正常的细菌相互作用的研究也是复杂的，因为许多细菌种群是由复杂的细菌群落组成的，其中一些是未经培养的。 这项研究的目的是阐明正常细菌如何定植和维持宿主相关的人口。 本研究的重点是有益的宿主微生物之间的相互作用，作为一个模型的共生生物发光细菌弧菌fischeri和轻器官的动物宿主的鱿鱼Euprymna cautiopes。 这种共生关系是理解正常的动物-微生物相互作用的简化但自然的模型，这种相互作用无处不在，但在研究中代表性不足。 只有V. fischeri可以成功地导航宿主防御，以殖民其新生的光器官。 这种结合需要双方的改变和适应。 在定殖过程中，细菌使用双组分调节系统GacS/GacA来全局控制性状的表达，使其能够从自由生活适应宿主相关的生活方式。 由于这种调节器协调定植过程，因此它的研究将提供有关成功启动良性感染所需性状的有价值信息。 这项研究将包括一个基因组方法的微阵列分析，允许同时研究数百个基因的影响，这种调节。 该研究还将包括传统的诱变，以剖析宿主关联的关键方面。 最终，这些研究将阐明有益的细菌-宿主关联的机制，为利用这些关系增强健康提供新的机会。

Coordinate regulation of symbiotic-colonization traitsCheryl A. WhistlerUniversity of New HampshireHistorically, the study of animal associated microbes has focused on those rare examples that lead to disease. However, in recent decades, scientist and the public have come to recognize the importance of normal microflora to our health and development. For example, non-pathogenic bacteria aid in the development of a healthy immune system, and intimately associated gut commensals contribute to proper adsorption of nutrients. Despite the fact that such interactions are ubiquitous, little is known about how normal bacteria establish populations in association with hosts and are allowed to continue in association, without removal by the normal immune mechanisms that recognize and prevent bacterial infections. The study of normal bacterial interactions is also complicated by the fact that many commensal populations are comprised of complex communities of bacteria, some of which are uncultured. The goal of this research is to elucidate how normal bacteria colonize and maintain a host-associated population. This research focuses on beneficial host-microbe interactions using as a model the symbiosis between the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri and the light organ of its animal host the squid Euprymna scolopes. This symbiosis serves as a simplified but natural model for understanding normal animal-microbe interactions, which are ubiquitous and yet underrepresented in research. Only V. fischeri can successfully navigate host defenses to colonize its nascent light organ. This association requires changes in and accommodation by both partners. During the process of colonization, the bacterium uses a two-component regulatory system, GacS/GacA, to globally control the expression of traits that allow it to adapt from a free-living to a host-associated lifestyle. Because this regulator coordinates the colonization process, its study will provide valuable information about the traits required to successfully initiate a benign infection. The study will include a genomic approach of microarray analysis, allowing the simultaneous study of hundreds of genes influenced by this regulator. The study will also include traditional mutagenesis to dissect key aspects of host association. Ultimately, these studies will elucidate mechanisms of beneficial bacterial-host association, providing new opportunities to exploit these relationships for enhanced health.