Graduated in Biochemsitry and Chemistry (1985) and received his Masters in Biochemistry (1988) at the University of Toronto. He received his PhD in Biochemistry from Universidade de São Paulo (1994) where he is now a Full Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Vice-Director of the Unstitute of Chemistry. His research interests focus on understanding the structural basis of important biological and behavioral processes in bacteria using the phytopathogen Xanthomonas citri as a model. Specific systems under study are 1) signaling pathways involving the important second messenger cyclic diGMP that controls complex behaviours such as the production of virulence factors, motility and biofilm formation, 2) The structure and regulation of the type IV pilus, used by Xantthomonas to migrate across solid surfaces, to organize biofilm structures as well as to interact with bacteriophages. 3) The Xanthomonas Type IV secretion system that mediates the transfer of bacterial toxins to the cells of other bacterial species, 4) Quorum sensing, the means by which members of a bacterial population coordinate their behavior in a manner dependent on cell density. His studies combine a variety of approaches including protein crystallography, Cryo-EM and NMR, other spectroscopic techniques, enzymology, fluorescence microscopy, the production and characterization of Xanthomonas knock-out strains and the analysis of protein interaction networks. Dr. Farah is the Director of the Biology of Bacteria and Bacteriophages Research Center (CEPID B3), a research network with hubs based in São Paulo (IQ-USP, ICB-USP), Campinas (IB-UNICAMP, IAC), Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP-USP, FMRP-USP) and Rio Claro (UNESP) whose mission is to carry out cutting edge basic research into molecular mechanisms that are of prime importance to understand bacterial reproduction, multicellular behavior, competition, colonization and interactions with their eukaryotic hosts and their main predators, the bacteriophages. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)
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The CEPID B3 is a network with research hubs based in São Paulo (IQ-USP, ICB-USP), Campinas (IB-UNICAMP, IAC), Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP-USP, FMRP-USP) and Rio Claro (UNESP) that will collaborate to carry out cutting edge basic research into molecular mechanisms that are of prime importance to understand bacterial reproduction, multicellular behavior, competition, colonization and interaction…
Using the resources of the Technical Reserve for Institutional Infrastructure according to the rules specified by FAPESP. (AU)
Once installed, these accessories will enable us to analyze CryoEM samples at the Institute of Chemistry, USP. This set of accessories will be installed in JEOL transmission electron microscope model JEM-2100 (with high-resolution pole piece EM-20720) which is currently located at the Analytical Center of the Institute of Chemistry of USP. A) The cryoholder will allow the transfer of up t…
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The aim of the São Paulo Advanced Science School in CryoEM is to bring together young students and researchers from around the world to cover the basic principles involved in the determination of macromolecular structures by Cryo Electron Microscopy and Cryo Electron Tomography. Time will be divided between lectures covering theory, demonstrations and hands-on practical sessions on proces…
Xanthomonas citri subsp citri is a bacterial phytopathogen that causes citrus canker disease, one of significant economic importance around the world. X. citri spreads from affected plants to healthy plants mainly through rain and wind and has the ability to survive for long periods on different surfaces usually due to the formation of biofilms. The bacterial biofilm is a highly regulated…
Multiuser Equipment approved in grant 2011/07777-5: SEC-MALS (Three angle Laser Light scattering system) (AU)
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X. citri is only one of hundreds of species in the Xanthomonas genus and several times more species in the order Xanthomonadales that includes important environmental species from soil, water and plant environments. As more and more of the genomes of bacteria from these species are sequenced every year, we are slowly building a clearer picture regarding the extent to which homologs of the…
Cyanide is widely used in industries due to its high affinity for metals. This characteristic is at the same time responsible for the potent toxicity of this compound. Thus, industries have to reduce the cyanide concentration from wastewater before its final disposal. Physical, chemical and biological methods have been developed to achieve this goal, but knowledge about metabolic pathways…
The X. citri toxins (called XVIPs or X-Tfes) are highly diverse in size and architecture (fig. 9 of the main thematic project) but all have a conserved C-terminal domain, termed XVIPCD, which is necessary for their interaction with the VirD4 coupling protein (Alegria et al., 2005). Ten of the thirteen proteins shown in Figure 9 seem to be potentially bona-fide toxins, since, in addition t…
Type IV Secretion systems (T4SS) are macromolecular protein complexes in bacteria which, encompassing the membranes, mediate the exchange of DNA and protein effectors to target cells, playing a key role in conjugation, bacterial competition, eukaryotic cell invasion and immune system evasion in different species. In the last fifteen years, our group have been studying the role of bacteria…
The pili of T2SS, T3SS, T4SS and T4P mediate the attachment of bacteria to other structures which can be other cells, phages or inanimate surfaces. This attachment can often lead to the transfer of virulence factors, invasion by a phage or the formation of biofilms. Type IV pili are specialized versions type II secretion systems (T2SSs) that translocate folded proteins from the periplasm …
R-bodies are insoluble, proteinaceous bodies that form cylindrical bundles that can reversibly unwind and wind in response to specific conditions such as pH, ionic strength, the presence or absence of certain ions and temperature. This protein structure was initially observed in obligate endosymbiotic bacteria of the species Caedibacter taeniospiralis (called Kappa particles) in "killer" …
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Bacteria use different secretion systems for protein transportation into other bacteria, eukaryotic cells or for secretion to the extracellular medium. Among them, the type IV secretion system, T4SS, is perhaps the most versatile, being present in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, being also capable of transporting protein-DNA complexes, in this way mediating horizontal gene …
One of the main objectives of this postdoctoral project is to obtain structural information regarding the Xac Type IV Secretion System core complex, which forms the pore through both the inner and outer membrane layers of the bacterial envelope. This complex is made up of 14 copies each of VirB7, VirB9, and VirB10 subunits. Due to the core complex's large size (~1.2 MDa) and association w…
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| 3 / 3 | Ongoing scholarships in Brazil |
| 38 / 14 | Completed scholarships in Brazil |
| 2 / 2 | Completed scholarships abroad |
| 65 / 35 | All research grants and scholarships |
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