Description:

The Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics presents:

Blanca Barquera, PhD
Professor of Biological Sciences and Chemistry and Chemical Biology,
Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

Presentation:

"Bacteroides fitness in the human gut: an energy metabolism perspective”

Abstract:

In this seminar, I will present our current work on the key role of respiration in the fitness of Bacteroides in the environment of the human gut.

Bacteroides is one of the most abundant and stable genera of Gram-negative bacteria in the human colon, colonizing their human host over its lifetime. These bacteria offer numerous health benefits, which include the production of immunomodulatory molecules, digestion of plant polysaccharides, immune system maturation, neurological development, and maturation of the intestine, to name only a few. It is becoming increasingly important that we understand the fundamental properties of energy metabolism in these bacteria that allow them to thrive in the human gut. This seminar will focus on three critical ways that respiration connects to fitness in Bacteroides: 1. The generation and use of the proton gradient as the driving force for carbohydrate import. We are studying a not well characterized “NADH dehydrogenase” that does not use NADH as a substrate. 2. The ability to use and remodel vitamin K. 3. The ability to tolerate and use nitric oxide. Results from these studies will give important insights into how Bacteroides thrive and interact with the host in the mammalian gut in states of health and disease.

Host: Dr. Arthur Prindle, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics