Collaborative RUI: Regulation of Flagellar Biogenesis in H. pylori

智力优点细菌鞭毛是一种复杂的纳米机器，负责许多物种的运动。组装需要协调控制数十个基因，并涉及自然界中发现的一些最复杂的调节机制。虽然在大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌的研究中已经从鞭毛基因调控的范例中学到了很多，但在其他细菌如何调控生物发生的知识方面存在重大差距，包括ε-变形菌门，其成员具有深刻的农业和环境意义。该合作项目旨在更好地了解幽门螺杆菌和其他epsilon-Proteobacteria通过与参与鞭毛组分出口的蛋白质相互作用来协调鞭毛基因表达的机制。两个研究小组将参加：一个在肯尼索州立大学，另一个在格鲁吉亚大学。这项研究将提供有关H。pylori协调鞭毛基因的表达。结果也将告知如何鞭毛和相关的致病性结构组装发生在其他物种。从更广泛的意义上说，这些研究结果将为H. pylori其他epsilon-Proteobacteria和扩大原核基因组序列的价值，通过表征基因调控机制的背景下，大规模的大分子结构的组装。更广泛的影响肯纳索州立大学是一个大型和快速发展的大学，正在迅速成为一个目的地的选择感兴趣的本科生科学，技术，工程，从基础研究到高中科学教学的数学（STEM）职业。它的研究人员正在对包括微生物学和生物化学在内的许多领域作出宝贵的贡献。其中更广泛的影响是通过与格鲁吉亚大学的合作，扩大肯尼索州立大学研究人员的专业知识和知识，以及学生和教师的方法，否则他们不会体验的曝光在研究环境的增强。肯尼索州立大学和格鲁吉亚大学的学生，特别是代表性不足的少数民族学生的广泛参与，将有助于培养下一代科学家。研究环境和基础设施的不断成熟将有助于其他研究人员解决他们的问题，并为未来的研究生课程奠定基础。将通过利用拟议工作产生的方法和实验发展教学实验室，以及通过让在职教师和科学教育学生参与改进科学教育的外联工作，实现研究与教学的一体化。外联工作将有助于通过与肯尼索州立大学Noyce II硕士教学研究员和艺术硕士教学方案的合作，缓解格鲁吉亚中学科学教师的严重短缺，这将增加教师的招聘和保留。

Intellectual MeritThe bacterial flagellum is a complex nanomachine responsible for motility in many species. Assembly requires coordinated control of dozens of genes and involves some of the most sophisticated regulatory mechanisms found in nature. While much has been learned from the paradigm for flagellar gene regulation in studies with Escherichia coli and Salmonella, significant gaps exist in knowledge of how other bacteria regulate biogenesis, including the epsilon-Proteobacteria, members of which have profound agricultural and environmental significance. This collaborative project seeks to better understand the mechanisms Helicobacter pylori and other epsilon-Proteobacteria use to coordinate flagellar gene expression via interactions with proteins involved in export of flagellar components. Two research groups will participate: one at Kennesaw State University and the other at the University of Georgia. The research will provide critical information about how H. pylori coordinates expression of flagellar genes. Results will also inform as to how flagellar and related pathogenic structural assembly occurs in other species. In a broader sense, the results of these studies will provide a valuable framework for gene regulation in H. pylori other epsilon-Proteobacteria and expand the value of prokaryotic genome sequences by characterizing mechanisms of gene regulation in the context of assembly of large scale macromolecular structures.Broader ImpactsKennesaw State University is a large and rapidly growing university that is fast becoming a destination of choice for undergraduates interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers from basic research to high school science teaching. Its researchers are making valuable contributions to a number of fields including microbiology and biochemistry. Among the broader impacts are enhancements in the research environment through collaboration with University of Georgia, broadening of the Kennesaw State University investigator's expertise and knowledge, and exposure of students and faculty to methods they would not otherwise experience. Extensive participation of Kennesaw State University and University of Georgia students, particularly underrepresented minorities, will help train the next generation of scientists. Continued maturation of the research environment and infrastructure will help other researchers address their questions and lay the foundation for future graduate programs. Integration of research into teaching will be accomplished by development of instructional laboratories using methods and experiments arising from the proposed work as well as outreach efforts to improve science education by involving in-service teachers and science education students. Outreach efforts will help to alleviate the critical shortage of secondary science teachers in Georgia through collaboration with Kennesaw State University's Noyce II Master Teaching Fellows and Master of Arts in Teaching programs which will increase teacher recruitment and retention.