| Affiliations: | Genetics & Genomics Research Leadership |
| Project Leader: | Carlos Ramírez
carlos.a.ramirez@tamu.edu Biochemistry and Biophysics |
| Faculty Mentor: | Beiyan Nan, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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TBA |
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Team Size:
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4
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| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Students in our lab will learn molecular cloning, microbiology and microscope techniques. They will have the opportunity to become a full member of my research group.
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Team Needs:
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Punctual, organized, hard-working, curious |
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Description:
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Myxococcus xanthus can form spores under starvation conditions as well as under chemical induction by chemicals like glycerol. Under glycerol induction, rod-shaped vegetative cells of M. xanthus can thoroughly degrade their peptidoglycan (PG) and form spherical spores (Bui et al., 2009). Lytic transglycosylases (LTGs) are hydrolases able to cut the PG glycan strand. Since these PG hydrolases break the glycan backbone, I hypothesize that LTGs are essential for sporulation, and the deletion of at least one of them will cause a detectable change in the sporulation phenotype. We have identified two LTGs that are required for sporulation. In the absence of these hydrolases, M. xanthus is not able to thoroughly degrade its PG to form spores. I want to study how these LTGs are regulated inside the cells by measuring their activity related to the peptidoglycan during sporulation. For that purpose, I will use single-particle tracking photoactivatable localization microscopy (sptPALM) to quantify the localization and dynamics of single enzyme particles in vivo. This will help us understand how the deletion or inhibition of one enzyme is affecting another enzyme during sporulation. |