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Research in the Lowe laboratory combines computational and experimental approaches to investigate the biology and genetics of Archea. Archaea are microorganisms that live in some of the most extreme environments on Earth, including hot springs, thermal vents in the deep sea, and highly acidic or alkaline water. Lowe and his colleagues use high-throughput methods, such as DNA microarrays, to test and refine theoretical gene function predictions of these microorganisms and to understand how they are able to survive in such extreme conditions. Large scale collaborative approaches are used to generate leads that suggest new biology, which are then examined more closely using traditional molecular biology techniques. Current projects involve two of the most extreme hyperthermophilic Archaea sequenced to date - Pyrococcus spp. and Pyrobaculum aerophilum - both of which natively grow at boiling temperatures. [More]

Professor Karen Ottemann's laboratory investigates how bacteria translate chemical and physical cues in their host environment into adaptive responses. Mistakes in sensation and subsequent gene expression by bacteria may result in their elimination by the host immune response or peristaltic flow. Elucidation of such processes will hopefully lead to identification of anti-bacterial drug targets. Ottemann is particularly interested in the role of chemoreceptors and chemotaxis associated with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. This pathogen infects some 3 billion humans and can lead to serious disease, including ulcers and cancer. Ottemann and her colleagues have discovered two of the first chemoreceptors known to aid in the process of bacterial colonization. [More]

By converting the chemical form of arsenic found in the soil, naturally occurring microbes have been shown to exacerbate arsenic contamination of ground water, resulting in serious health crises in Asia and Latin America. Professor Chad Saltikov investigates the molecular biology of these microbial processes. Data from his laboratory will help devise strategies that can be used to ameliorate contamination of drinking water. [More]

Ex-vivo Survival Mechanisms used by Vibrio cholerae between Epidemics: Fitnat Yildiz's laboratory investigates signaling and regulatory networks of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the Asiatic cholera. She and her colleagues are particularly interested in those mechanisms that allow the pathogen to adapt to changes in its habitat. The bacteria's ability to survive in different growth modes in aquatic environments is closely linked to seasonal epidemics of cholera. Yildiz's laboratory is attempting to identify and characterize genes and processes associated with phase variations of the pathogen. Their results will be useful for prediction and control of epidemics of this devastating disease. [More]

For over a century, scientists have employed yeast as a model system to understand how basic biological systems operate. Most often, the information gained from the yeast system provides us with insights into how similar processes occur in humans. Grant Hartzog's laboratory uses biochemical and genetic techniques on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to examine the role chromatin, which consists of the DNA of our genomes and the proteins that associate with the DNA, plays in gene expression and the mechanisms by which chromatin structure is manipulated to regulate transcription. The group focuses on two proteins, Spt4 and Spt5, which form a complex and appear to modulate transcription by interacting with chromatin. [More]

Interactions between microbes and eukaryotic hosts have independently evolved numerous times during the history of life on our planet. The Sullivan lab is interested in Wolbachia, an obligate intracellular bacterial endosymbiont that is present in millions of insect species. The success of these bacteria is in large part due to their ability to manipulate their host's development and germ-line processes to efficiently reproduce and transmit themselves through the host female germ-line. This has resulted in the global spread of Wolbachia. The presence of Wolbachia often has important biological consequences for the host as well. [More]