Signal transduction in bacteria: virulence, antibiotic resistance and adaptation

Abstract

Every living organism coordenates its functions by receiving information from the environment and using them to adjust the mechanisms that allow its survival and adaptation. As in all cells, bacterial signaling and response systems must be finely regulated to guarantee their success in specific situations. Whereas some bacteria have limited niches, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the hallmark of an oportunistic organism. It inhabits diverse settigs, use several carbon and energy sources and is capable to synthezize compounds that provide advantages in competition with other microrganisms. P. aeruginosa presents intrincate cell-cell signaling systems, intrinsic antibiotic resistance mechanisms and can live in communities refferred to as biofilms. It is often associated to nosocomial infections and causes both acute and chronic pneumonia in cystic fibrosis patients. With roughly 20% of its large genome dedicated to regulation of gene expression, P. aeruginosa has been extensively studied regarding many facets of its phisiology, but much of its signal transduction pathways is still uncharacterized. Our group aims to contribute to enhance the knowledge on those pathways, that may be targets to efficiently prevent and treat infections by P. aeruginosa. Among the signaling systems, the focus of this project is on two-component systems, nucleotide-mediated pathways and the regulation of antibiotic resistance by environmental stresses. (AU)