Activation of Stress-Responsive Transcription Factors

The Ryno lab has cloned transcription factors, master regulators of signaling pathways that have the capability of dramatically changing the composition of the intra- and extracellular environment, and successfully overexpressed them in a strain of E. coli known for its facile study in the biofilm state.

We hypothesize that disrupting the homeostasis of bacteria in a controlled way, through the overexpression of these transcription factors, will change the ability of bacteria to form biofilm and/or the heartiness of any biofilm formed. This may lead us to identify targets within these signaling pathways that could be exploited for antibiotic development.