Description
Bacteria cover our Earth in abundance, from any environmental niche right to our human body. Of particular importance are bacteria that can form either vegetative cells or hardy, dormant cyst cells depending upon environmental conditions. This study aims to elucidate more of the signal transduction pathway leading to motility in the bacterial species Rhodospirillum centenum to better understand the complicated genetic basis of encystment and motility. The current model pathway in R. centenum follows a histidine kinase and response regulator pattern, with the phosphorylation of the CtrA protein ultimately promoting motility genes. By studying a related bacterium, Caulobacter crescentus, additional homologous proteins involved in this signal transduction pathway can be identified. This study characterizes the homologous protein SciP through a series of gene knock-out and phenotype evaluation experiments. It is likely that SciP regulates the motility pathway, with further studies focusing on its potential interactions with CtrA and position in the signal transduction pathway.
A Signal Transduction Pathway to Motility in Rhodospirillum centenum
Bacteria cover our Earth in abundance, from any environmental niche right to our human body. Of particular importance are bacteria that can form either vegetative cells or hardy, dormant cyst cells depending upon environmental conditions. This study aims to elucidate more of the signal transduction pathway leading to motility in the bacterial species Rhodospirillum centenum to better understand the complicated genetic basis of encystment and motility. The current model pathway in R. centenum follows a histidine kinase and response regulator pattern, with the phosphorylation of the CtrA protein ultimately promoting motility genes. By studying a related bacterium, Caulobacter crescentus, additional homologous proteins involved in this signal transduction pathway can be identified. This study characterizes the homologous protein SciP through a series of gene knock-out and phenotype evaluation experiments. It is likely that SciP regulates the motility pathway, with further studies focusing on its potential interactions with CtrA and position in the signal transduction pathway.