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Pathogenic Microbiology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Pathogenic Microbiology

Studies On The P. Aeruginosa T3s Translocon Assembly: Interaction Of Popd With Membranes, Yuzhou Tang Jul 2018

Studies On The P. Aeruginosa T3s Translocon Assembly: Interaction Of Popd With Membranes, Yuzhou Tang

Doctoral Dissertations

Type III secretion (T3S) system is deployed by a wide range of pathogens to manipulate host cell response and establish infection. The T3S system is a syringe-like apparatus that spans across the double membrane of bacteria, protruding 50nm-80nm into the extracellular space and connecting with target cell membrane. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the proteins PopB and PopD are secreted and found associated with the target eukaryotic cell membrane. These two proteins are believed to form a transmembrane complex or translocon to allow effector protein translocation. Despite its key role in pathogenesis, the assembly mechanism and structure of this critical transmembrane …


The Characterization Of The Transcription Factor Msab And Its Role In Staphylococcal Virulence, Justin Batte May 2018

The Characterization Of The Transcription Factor Msab And Its Role In Staphylococcal Virulence, Justin Batte

Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is a common human pathogen that is responsible for a wide range of infections, ranging from relative minor skin infections to life-threatening disease such as bacteremia, septicemia, and endocarditis. S. aureus possesses many different virulent factors that aid in its ability to cause this wide array of infections. One major virulence factor includes the production of capsular polysaccharide (CP). The production of CP plays a major role in the virulence response during infection specifically by providing S. aureus an antiphagocytic mechanism that allows the pathogen to evade phagocytosis during an infection. S. aureus has developed complex genetic regulatory …


Functional Similarity Of Prd-Containing Virulence Regulators In Bacillus Anthracis, Malik Raynor May 2018

Functional Similarity Of Prd-Containing Virulence Regulators In Bacillus Anthracis, Malik Raynor

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Bacillus anthracis produces three regulators, AtxA, AcpA, and AcpB, that control virulence gene expression and are members of an emerging class of regulators termed “PCVRs” (Phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase regulation Domain-Containing Virulence Regulators). AtxA controls expression of the toxin genes; lef, cya, and pag, and is the master virulence regulator and archetype PCVR. AcpA and AcpB are less well studied. AcpA and AcpB independently positively control transcription of the capsule biosynthetic operon capBCADE, and culture conditions that enhance AtxA activity result in capBCADE transcription in strains lacking acpA and acpB. RNA-Seq was used to assess the regulons of the …


The Role Of The Metallochaperone Hypa In The Acid Survival And Activities Of Nickel Enzymes In Helicobacter Pylori, Heidi Hu Mar 2018

The Role Of The Metallochaperone Hypa In The Acid Survival And Activities Of Nickel Enzymes In Helicobacter Pylori, Heidi Hu

Doctoral Dissertations

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that has colonized the human gastric mucosa of over 50% of the world population. Persistent infection can cause gastritis, peptic ulcers, and cancers. The ability of H. pylori to colonize the acidic environment of the human stomach is dependent on the activity of the nickel containing enzymes, urease and NiFe-hydrogenase. The nickel metallochaperone, HypA, was previously shown to be required for the full activity of both enzymes. In addition to a Ni-binding site, HypA also contains a structural Zn site, which has been characterized to alter its averaged structure depending on pH and the presence …


Relationships Between Factors Influencing Biofilm Formation And Pathogen Retention In Complex Rhizosphere Microbial Communities, Aaron Coristine Jan 2018

Relationships Between Factors Influencing Biofilm Formation And Pathogen Retention In Complex Rhizosphere Microbial Communities, Aaron Coristine

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Riparian wetlands are unique habitats facilitating all forms of life. The riverbanks of these environments provide ideal conditions for bacteria, plants, and higher organisms. Of particular interest to this research was the variation in microbial community structure at high, intermediate and poor water quality impacted areas. Assessing the capabilities of plants to retain microbial pathogens was identified. Root systems and corresponding soil are ideal locations for bacterial deposition, resulting in attachment at these areas. Biofilm production in these regions is important for long-term establishment, leading to persistence and potential naturalization. Opportunistic pathogens originating from mammalian fecal matter are introduced into …


Size-Dependent Inhibitory Effects Of Antibiotic Drug Nanocarriers Against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Feng Ding, Preeyaporn Songkiatisak, Pavan Kumar Cherukuri, Tao Huang, Xiao-Hong Nancy Xu Jan 2018

Size-Dependent Inhibitory Effects Of Antibiotic Drug Nanocarriers Against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Feng Ding, Preeyaporn Songkiatisak, Pavan Kumar Cherukuri, Tao Huang, Xiao-Hong Nancy Xu

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Multidrug membrane transporters (efflux pumps) are responsible for multidrug resistance (MDR) and the low efficacy of therapeutic drugs. Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) possess a high surface-area-to-volume ratio and size-dependent plasmonic optical properties, enabling them to serve both as imaging probes to study sized-dependent MDR and as potential drug carriers to circumvent MDR and enhance therapeutic efficacy. To this end, in this study, we synthesized three different sizes of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), 2.4 ± 0.7, 13.0 ± 3.1, and 92.6 ± 4.4 nm, functionalized their surface with a monolayer of 11-amino-1-undecanethiol (AUT), and covalently conjugated them with antibiotics (ofloxacin, Oflx) …