June 25, 2015
We have two new papers posted to PubMed today.
The first is a review of c-di-GMP regulation of biofilm formation and dispersion in P. aeruginosa published in ASM's Microbiology Spectrum. This review grew out of the thesis of my former graduate student, Dae Gon Ha (pictured).
The second report is a
paper published in the Journal of Bacteriology, and led by the
Sondermann group at Cornell. In this work we have identified a new mechanism by which c-di-GMP regulates biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A previous
paper by Matt Parsek and colleagues identified the cell surface protein CdrA, which contributes to biofilm maturation by being expressed when c-di-GMP levels are high and binding to the EPS produced by this microbe, thus stabilizing biofilm structure. CdrA is part of a two-partner secretion system with CdrB; CdrB anchors CdrA to the cell surface (see figure taken from the publication). Parsek et al. noted that CdrA could be proteolyzed and released, but the identity of the protease was unknown. In our report we show that the LapG protease, which controls biofilm formation in P. fluorescens, also cleaves CdrA, removing the cysteine hook retention domain, and thus releases CdrA from the cell surface. As part of this study, Rick Cooley, a postdoc in the Sondermann group, did a beautiful series of experiments showing that CdrA cleavage by LapG, and the known regulation of LapG by the c-di-GMP receptor protein LapD, could be completely reconstituted in E. coli!
June 23, 2015
David Giacalone is an undergraduate from New England College spending the summer with us. He is working with Jarrod Smith, a PhD student working on biofilm formation in the soil microbe Pseudomonas fluorescens.
June 19, 2015
A couple members of the lab attended the 21st annual Boston Bacterial Meeting. Kurt Dahlstrom (pictured), a PhD student in the lab gave a talk on his work investigating c-di-GMP signaling in Pseudomonas fluorescens. Amy Baker, another PhD student, presented her studies of motility control by c-di-GMP in P. aeruginosa as a poster. I served as co-organizer of the 2nd-5th BBM with Steve Finkel (now at USC) when we were postdocs with Roberto Kolter!
June 13, 2015
Wajiha Khan, a former visiting scientist in the lab, was recently appointed as an Assistant Professor at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology in Pakistan. While in the lab, she reported on the role of the Pel exopolysaccharide on aminogycoside resistance. She also contributed to a study assessing the impact of amino acids on biofilm formation.
June 10, 2015
We just returned from the 15th annual lab retreat. We went to York, Maine
as we have done for the past few years. Every member of the lab presents for ~2 hrs,
covering what they have done over the past year and what they plan for the year. The weather
was great so we had a bunch of sessions outside.
There is also time for fun. The first night of the retreat we
had dinner and a chance to hang out.
On the second night, we went to a classic lobster pound in
Maine for fresh lobsters!
June 01, 2015
Jessie Scott joined us today as a new PhD student. Jessie did her undergraduate work at UCONN before coming to Dartmouth. Welcome!
The first is a review of c-di-GMP regulation of biofilm formation and dispersion in P. aeruginosa published in ASM's Microbiology Spectrum. This review grew out of the thesis of my former graduate student, Dae Gon Ha (pictured).
A couple members of the lab attended the 21st annual Boston Bacterial Meeting. Kurt Dahlstrom (pictured), a PhD student in the lab gave a talk on his work investigating c-di-GMP signaling in Pseudomonas fluorescens. Amy Baker, another PhD student, presented her studies of motility control by c-di-GMP in P. aeruginosa as a poster. I served as co-organizer of the 2nd-5th BBM with Steve Finkel (now at USC) when we were postdocs with Roberto Kolter!
