Probing Virulence Regulation and Oxidation Sensing in Pathogenic Bacteria
Dr. Xin Deng, Ph.D
University of Chicago
Introduction
I will introduce my research in three parts. 1) During my Ph.D. study, I studied on the gene regulation of type III secretion system (T3SS) in the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. I have identified and characterized several novel virulence factors tuning T3SS. 2) During my post-doctoral training, I worked on human pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, which use cysteine oxidation to respond to the host-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) that dramatically attenuate bacterial virulence. I globally quantify hydrogen peroxide reactivity with cysteines across bacterial proteomes, and demonstrated that bacteria exhibit multi-layered responses to ROS that includes the rapid adaption of metabolic pathways. 3) The third part is the gene regulation of P. aeruginosa quorum-sensing (QS) systems that contribute to pathogenicity. I have elucidated the molecular regulatory mechanisms of several key QS regulators, which provides important insights in the complicated networks connecting QS systems, T3SS, and antibiotic resistance.
About the speaker
Dr. Deng received his B.S. (2001) and M.S. (2004) in Microbiology from China Agricultural University before obtained Ph.D. in Genetics at Kansas State University (2009). He obtained postdoctoral training at University of Chicago. Dr. Deng examines the mechanisms whereby pathogenic bacteria cause diseases. He has produced 22 publications.
时间: 2014年6月24日 上午10:30-12:00
地点: 实验楼P203（化学与化工学院学术会议厅）
All are welcome
