BRIGE: Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Adhesion through Surface Biopolymers

Washington State University, Pullman WA

Investigators

Abstract

EEC-0823901 Abu-lail BRIGE awards maintain global competitiveness by increasing the diversity of ENG researchers, who are initiating research programs early in their careers. BRIGE awards further the broaden participation of engineering researchers by increasing the number of engineering graduates, by improving the representation of women and minorities in engineering, and by understanding how to improve recruitment and retention of engineering students. Initial attachment of pathogenic bacteria to a surface is considered a key preliminary step in biofilm formation and subsequent infections. For many years, research to understand the attachment mechanisms focused on macroscale exploration of the effect of factors such as roughness and motility on the attachment. While such macroscale investigations can be very interesting, molecular-scale studies of bacterial interactions with surfaces can detail the molecular mechanisms of attachment. Despite the importance of such molecular-scale measurements, a clear relationship between the molecular properties of bacterial surface biopolymers and the adhesion of pathogenic microbes to surfaces does not exist. Motivated by the lack of such studies, this research aims to provide a preliminary understanding of the molecular effects of bacterial surface biopolymers on the initial attachment of Listeria monocytogenes to a model surface. The central hypothesis of this application is that surface biopolymers of L. monocytogenes are essential molecular components that strongly affect the bacterial surface charge, wettability, and elasticity and thus initial attachment of this microbe to surfaces. The PI will research the molecular effects of the surface biopolymers of L. monocytogenes on their initial attachment to surfaces using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM is unique among adhesion measurement techniques in its ability to quantify the interaction forces between bacteria and surfaces at a molecular level in liquid media that mimics that in which interactions occur. The results of this application will be instrumental to researchers designing new effective preventive and treatment strategies to bacterial infections. The PI will intertwine the research with educational activities integrating mathematics and bioengineering with the training of graduate and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds. The education plan will: 1) provide mentored teaching and research experiences to a team of students consisting of a graduate student, two upper-level women engineering students, and two freshman disabled undergraduate students; 2) develop a teaching module that can be incorporated into upper-level bioengineering courses to enhance effective student learning of mathematical modeling and curve fitting; and 3) collaborate with an existing NSF GK-12 grant to incorporate hands-on experiments in the mathematics curricula of middle and high school students. The educational activities are geared to enhance the learning and scholarship of the participating students, especially those underrepresented in engineering, and to nurture their self-growth to be more independent and lifelong learners and researchers. The participating students in these educational activities are expected to gain an appreciation for the excitement of scientific research, learn to read and interpret scientific literature, design, perform, and analyze experiments, communicate their findings in both oral and written format, and work well within a team. Finally, the outreach hands-on experiments are expected to strengthen the middle and high school students' performance in mathematics and stimulate their interests in engineering. The results of the research will be disseminated to the scientific community through seminars, technical journal papers, and professional conference presentations and to the general public through news releases. This BRIGE grant will broaden the participation of and increase opportunities for all engineers including those from groups underrepresented in the engineering disciplines. This BRIGE grant will also encourage the PI to become actively and competitively engaged in research as an independent investigator.