CAREER:New chemical tools to study c-di-GMP signaling in bacteria

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

With this CAREER Award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry program and the Cellular Systems Cluster program are supporting the research of Professor Herman O. Sintim of the University of Maryland, College Park. Professor Sintim will develop new chemical tools to study 3'-5'-cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) signaling in bacteria. C-di-GMP, a common chemical messenger present uniquely in bacteria, plays a central role in bacterial biofilm formation and regulation of virulence-related factors in diverse bacteria. Several questions remain unanswered in c-di-GMP signaling in bacteria. For example, the environmental cues that modulate c-di-GMP signaling in bacteria and the identities of the adaptor proteins that respond to fluctuations in intracellular concentration of c-di-GMP remain largely uncharacterized. The first objective is to develop a fluorescent sensor for c-di-GMP. Such a sensor will be useful for establishing a link between different environmental cues and the intracellular concentrations of c-di-GMP. Secondly, a new solid-phase methodology will be used to prepare photo-affinity c-di-GMP analogs for the identification of c-di-GMP adaptor proteins. The identification of c-di-GMP binding proteins should help unravel the complex signaling network that c-di-GMP apparently regulates. Professor Sintim will also establish four Percy Julian undergraduate research fellowships at the University of Maryland. This research fellowship will be open to underrepresented minorities in the sciences. Percy Julian fellows will be supported to conduct research in the laboratory of an established investigator at the University of Maryland. This fellowship provides the opportunity to nurture minority students at an early stage of their careers and encourage such students to consider a career in the sciences.