Description:

Microbiology-Immunology Seminar Series

"Bacteria have evolved diverse mechanisms of sensing stimuli within their environment and integrating those stimuli into changes in gene expression. When inhaled, the plague pathogen Yersinia pestis causes a rapidly progressing pneumonia that is known to shift the lung environment from a quiescent state to highly pro-inflammatory one through the manipulation of the host fibrinolytic pathway. However, it is unknown how the bacteria themselves respond to nutrient limitation and defenses imparted by the host over the course of the disease. In this seminar I will discuss how changes in the host environment influence the expression of the gene encoding the Y. pestis catabolite repressor protein Crp and how Crp integrates different stimuli within the lungs promote infection, ultimately resulting in death of the individual."

Jeremy Ritzert

Driskill Graduate Program in the Life Sciences (DGP)

Advisor: Dr. Wyndham Lathem