Grant: Operating Grant

Seemingly small and vulnerable, bacteria possess an extraordinarily complicated set of stress response mechanisms that give them the ability and resilience to survive, or even thrive, in harsh conditions. Acid resistance in pathogenic bacteria is one important example of such an adaptation. These bacteria can colonize the intestines of their host organism, including humans, and cause infection. In the process, they inevitably have to pass through the gastric acid in the stomach, which serves as a natural antibiotic barrier. Bacteria that colonize the urinary tract also face acid stress where the pH ranges from 4.5 to 8. Yet, these organisms have systems that allow them to survive in these hostile acidic conditions. Therefore, understanding the complex regulatory mechanisms and pathways of the bacterial acid stress response is crucial to developing strategies for controlling bacterial infection. Our studies will concentrate on Escherichia coli, which is one of the most frequent causes of many common bacterial infections. Specifically, we aim to characterize the role of enzymes that are used by Escherichia coli to combat acid stress. These studies should help us better devise strategies to treat microbial infections by targeting the acid stress response pathway in these bacteria.