Grant: Project Grant

One of the ways harmful bacteria make us sick is by secreting protein toxins that damage nearby cells. Many bacteria secrete these toxins using a needle-like nanomachine called a 'bacterial type VI secretion system'. Bacteria use this molecular needle to secrete toxins that not only damage human cells but also kill the good bacteria that reside in healthy individuals. The human disease-causing bacteria known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses the type VI secretion nanomachine to wipe out other bacteria, damage our healthy cells and establish life-threatening infections in susceptible individuals, such as people with cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The goal of the proposed research is to fully understand how the toxins secreted by this bacterial nanomachine function at a molecular level so that we can one day disable them, thereby giving our immune system and our beneficial microbes a much better chance of warding off the deadly Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.