Grant: Project Grant

In addition to their chromosomes, bacteria possess small pieces of DNA called plasmids. Plasmids play a vital role in human health and disease because they encode genes for antibiotic resistance, virulence machinery, pathways to digest unusual substances and synthesize toxins. Since plasmids are small, they often get transferred between bacterial cells and thus contribute to the ever-growing problems of antibiotic resistance, infection and disease, nutrient indigestion, and food poisoning. Since plasmids are advantageous in a bacterial population, bacteria have evolved systems to ensure their proper segregation into daughter cells. With this project we focus on plasmid segregation systems driven by bacterial actin, a distant relative of the cytoskeletal filament actin of eukaryotic cells. As in higher organisms, plasmid segregation in bacteria is highly orchestrated process. To understand the molecular mechanism that drives plasmid segregation, we will integrate cutting-edge structural and biochemical approaches aimed at bridging single molecules to macromolecular assemblies in the cell. Understanding how the machinery of plasmid segregation works at the molecular level and within the cell will provide opportunities to effectively disrupt the process in drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria.