The Complete Vibrio harveyi Genome Sequence

在过去十年里，人们普遍认为细菌是原始的非社会性生物体，这一观点在过去十年里发生了巨大变化，因为人们发现，细菌通过一种名为群体感应的过程，使用各种分泌的化学信号进行交流。群体感应使细菌能够在全种群范围内同步基因表达，从而同步行为，从而使它们能够呈现出曾经被认为仅限于高等生物体的特征。哈维氏弧菌是一种自由生活的生物发光海洋细菌，它一直处于这一范式转变的前沿，因为它是第一个被证明能与多种化学信号通信并能够跨越物种边界进行通信的细菌。这项研究将确定哈维氏弧菌的完整基因组序列。基因组序列将使人们能够理解物种内和物种间的细胞-细胞交流，以及细菌如何整合、处理、保存和对多种感觉输入做出反应。将哈维氏弧菌的基因组序列与其他已测序的弧菌物种(霍乱弧菌、副溶血性弧菌、创伤弧菌和费氏弧菌)进行比较，将有助于加深对这组具有临床和经济重要性的水生病原体独特的生物学、生态学和疾病决定因素的了解。这项工作的更广泛影响是，群体感应研究提供了对细胞层面的信息处理、多细胞生物体的进化以及种群层面的合作的洞察。PI教授本科生和研究生课程，她是研究生学习主任。她是许多委员会和小组的成员，履行编辑职责，运营几个科学外展项目，是一名积极的研究导师。

The widespread view of bacteria as primitive asocial organisms has been drastically altered in the past decade by the finding that, using a process called quorum sensing, bacteria communicate using mixtures of secreted chemical signals. Quorum sensing allows bacteria to synchronize gene expression, and therefore behavior, on a population-wide scale, and thus allows them to take on characteristics once assumed to be restricted to higher organisms. Vibrio harveyi, a free-living bioluminescent marine bacterium, has been at the forefront of this paradigm shift, because it was the first bacterium shown to communicate with multiple chemical signals and to be able to communicate across species boundaries. This research will determine the complete V. harveyi genome sequence. The genome sequence will enable an understanding of intra- and inter-species cell-cell communication and how bacteria integrate, process, preserve, and react to multiple sensory inputs. Comparing the V. harveyi genome sequence to other sequenced Vibrio species (Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio fischeri) should enhance understanding of the unique biology, ecology, and disease determinants of this clinically and economically important group of aquatic pathogens. The broader impacts of this work are that quorum sensing studies are providing insight into information processing at the cellular level, the evolution of multi-cellular organisms, and population-level cooperation. The PI teaches undergraduate and graduate courses and she is the Director of Graduate Studies. She sits on many committees and panels, performs editorial duties, runs several science outreach programs, and is an active research mentor.