GENETIC APPROACH TO MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIA VIRULENCE

无细胞壁细菌Mollicuts的成员属于 人类已知的最小和最简单的原核生物。他们拥有的东西很少 基因组(500-1000兆吨)和有限的生物合成能力 因此，要么选择共生生活，要么选择寄生生活。物种 肺炎支原体是人类呼吸道的病原体， 年龄较大的儿童和年轻人肺炎的主要原因。作为一名 研究生，我被这种微生物迷住了，把我的注意力 对其发病机制的研究。我通过我的 博士后培训以熟悉分子的工具 生物学家，期待将分子克隆应用于生物多样性的研究 发病机制。我熟悉从M中提取基因的技术。 肺炎杆菌在大肠杆菌中的研究，并使用这种方法 研究支原体与宿主细胞黏附的时相变化。然而， 将加强从这些研究中获得信息的收获 如果克隆与毒力有关的支原体基因， (特别是细胞吸附和氧自由基的产生)可以突变并 以现在常见的方式返回到支原体染色体 有许多细菌病原体。我的目标是利用这个RCDA来 扩展我在基因工程方面的技能，开发一种转基因技术 肺炎支原体的盒式诱变系统。这一奖项将使 让我专注于实验问题，并花时间进行互动 在这个营地和附近的埃默里大学有微生物遗传学家 我可能会充分利用同源重组策略。这 司法部传统上在分子方法方面有很强的基础 微生物生理学和遗传学，所描述的研究将允许 扩大该基础以包括微生物的致病作用。

Members of the class of cell wall-less bacteria Mollicutes are among the smallest and simplest prokaryotes known to man. They possess very small genomes (500-1000 megadaltons) and limited biosynthetic capabilities and hence resort to either a commensal or parasitic lifestyle. The species Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a pathogen of the human respiratory tract and the leading cause of pneumonia among older children and young adults. As a graduate student I became fascinated by this microbe and focused my research on the mechanisms of pathogenesis. I sought through my post-doctoral training to become acquainted with the tools of the molecular biologist, anticipating applying molecular cloning to the study of pathogenesis. I am familiar with techniques for taking genes out of M. pneumoniae for study in Escherichia coli and am using this approach to study phase variation in mycoplasma adherence to host cells. However, the harvest of information to be gained from those studies would be enhanced immensely if cloned mycoplasma genes associated with virulence (specifically cytadsorption and oxyradical generation) could be mutated and returned to the mycoplasma chromosome in the same manner as is now common with many enbacterial pathogens. It is my goal to utilize this RCDA to expand my repertoire in genetic engineering in developing a transforation and cassette mutagenesis system for M. pneumoniae. This award would enable me to focus on the experiment problem and to spend the time interacting with microbial geneticists on this camp and nearby at Emory University so that I might make the most of homologous recombination strategies. This department has traditionally had a strong base in molecular approaches to microbial physiology and genetics, and the studies described would allow expansion of that base to include microbial pathogenesis.