Investigating the Role of Calcium in Bacterial Cellular and Metabolic Processes Using Vibrio parahaemolyticus as a Model System

Luther College, Decorah IA

Investigators

Abstract

Calcium plays a critical role in many metabolic processes in eukaryotic organisms, serving as a key intracellular signaling molecule that ultimately affects numerous cellular activities. However, a systematic analysis of the role of calcium function has not been performed in any prokaryote. The goal of this project is to investigate the involvement of calcium in bacterial cellular processes, metabolism, and regulation. The marine bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus will be used as a model system. This organism has a number of attributes that make it attractive for this study. V. parahaemolyticus undergoes significant phenotypic changes in response to altered calcium levels, including changes in colony morphology. In addition, data strongly suggest that calcium levels regulate gene expression in V. parahaemolyticus. Thus, calcium is likely to play a role in cellular processes in this organism. In this project, experiments will be performed to: (i) obtain biochemical support for an involvement of calcium in V. parahaemolyticus metabolism, (ii) identify and characterize cellular processes in V. parahaemolyticus that are affected by calcium levels, and (iii) identify genes involved in calcium metabolism or that are regulated by calcium. Many biological processes in numerous organisms, including plants and animals, require calcium ions. The project described above is important because, although calcium ions are likely to play important roles in bacterial processes, a thorough investigation of the involvement of calcium in these organisms has not been performed. The experiments described above are expected to significantly increase understanding of the role of calcium in bacteria at the biochemical, cellular, and molecular level.