Research Initiation Award: RNA-Seq Based Analysis of the Streptococcus parauberis transcriptome

Norfolk State University, Norfolk VA

Investigators

Abstract

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Research Initiation Awards (RIAs) provide support to STEM junior faculty at HBCUs who are starting to build a research program, as well as for mid-career faculty who may have returned to the faculty ranks after holding an administrative post or who needs to redirect and rebuild a research program. Faculty members may pursue research at their home institution, at an NSF-funded Center, at a research intensive institution or at a national laboratory. The RIA projects are expected to help further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, to improve research and teaching at his or her home institution, and to involve undergraduate students in research experiences. With support from the National Science Foundation, Norfolk State University (NSU) will conduct research aimed at understanding how bacterial pathogens adapt to divergent hosts in a variety of environments. The project will help NSU build its research capacity and enhance the educational and research experiences of their undergraduate students. The project has the potential to be a model for increasing the number of minority students pursuing degree programs and careers in bioinformatics and computational biology. The research and educational efforts will contribute to the University's goal to establish itself as a regional and national leader in STEM research. This study proposes to use S. parauberis as a model for studying "environmental generalist" bacteria, as it can survive in soil, water and in warm-blooded (homeothermic) and cold-blooded (poikilothermic) hosts. The goal of this project is to define how host environment impacts global gene expression in a model species of Streptococcus: S. parauberis. This will be accomplished by: 1) establishing the set of genes that are differentially expressed during growth of S. parauberis at temperatures mimicking a mammalian (bovine) host and in a fish host; and 2) establishing the set of genes that are differentially expressed during growth of S. parauberis in serum from a mammalian (bovine) host and from a fish host. This project could help determine the mechanisms by which Streptococcal bacteria adapt to their host environment and will contribute to our knowledge base regarding the basic cellular processes that support microbial survival. This work will be applicable in controlling microbial growth as well as understanding the emergence of Streptococcal pathogens in new hosts.