home english project area B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
// Function and Regulation of Virulence Factors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
B1: Role of the stringent response in bacterial survival, antibiotic tolerance and cell deathThe stringent stress response is mediated by the messenger molecule (p)ppGpp. For Staphylococcus aureus, we recently showed that the (p)ppGpp synthase activity of the RSH (RelA-SpoT-homologue) enzyme is necessary for the intracellular expression of phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) and that these molecules are required to the escape from the phagolysome.
Two small (p)ppGpp synthases, RelP and RelQ are part of the cell-wall stimulon and mediate tolerance towards cell-wall active antibiotics. In the future, we will continue to decipher the influence of the stringent response in S. aureus on intracellular survival, persistence and antibiotic tolerance.
Contact Prof. Dr. Christiane Wolz Interfakultäres Institut für Mikrobiologie und Infektionsmedizin Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen Elfriede-Aulhorn-Straße 6 D-72076 Tübingen Phone +49 7071 2980187 Fax +49 7071 295165 E-Mail: christiane.wolz@med.uni-tuebingen.de
B4: Regulation of methionine metabolism in Staphylococci: Impact on fitness and virulenceIn this project we will analyze the regulatory factors, proteins and metabolites involved in S. aureus methionine biosynthesis control under varying physiological conditions
We will study the dynamics of met locus transcription as well as the stability of enzymes and metabolites of the methionine pathway, and investigate the impact of both the lack of methionine biosynthesis or its overproduction on the fitness, virulence and pathogenesis of S. aureus. Finally, we will unravel the structural prerequisites and biological significance of the met-T-box riboswitch interaction with initiator tRNAifMet.
Contact PD Dr. Wilma Ziebuhr Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie Julius-Maximilians-Universiät Würzburg Josef-Schneider-Str. 2 D-97080 Würzburg Phone +49 931 3182155 Fax +49 931 3182578 E-Mail: w.ziebuhr@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
B5: Wall teichoic acid structure variation in Staphylococcus-host interactionThe wall teichoic acid (WTA) polymers of S. aureus interact with several human binding partners and play crucial roles in colonization and infection. We found that WTA structure varies in different S. aureus clonal lineages with respect to backbone structure and glycosylation with α- or β-linked GlcNAc and that these variations affect interaction with host factors and transducing bacteriophages.
We propose to explore the structural variation of WTA in vivo and consequences for the ability of S. aureus to colonize, activate or evade immune recognition, or exchange mobile genetic elements.
Contact Prof. Dr. Andras Peschel Interfakultäres Institut für Mikrobiologie und Infektionsmedizin Zelluläre und Molekulare Mikrobiologie Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen Elfriede-Aulhorn-Str. 6 D-72076 Tübingen Phone +49 7071 2981515 Fax +49 7071 293435 E-Mail: andreas.peschel@uni-tuebingen.de
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