Dominique (Nicki) Limoli: Faculty: About: Department of Biology: Indiana University Bloomington

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Dominique (Nicki) Limoli

Dominique (Nicki) Limoli

Associate Professor, Biology

(she/her/hers)

dlimoli@iu.edu
812-856-7377
Myers Hall 216B
Office Hours
M-F
By Appointment Only

Education

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, O’Toole Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, 2016-2018
Emory + Children’s Cystic Fibrosis Scholar, Goldberg Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 2014-2016
Ph.D., Biomedical Research with Emphasis in Microbial Pathogenesis, Advisor Daniel J. Wozniak, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2008-2014
B.S., Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 2001-2005

About Nicki Limoli

Lab

Myers Hall 230
Limoli Lab website

Awards

University of Iowa International Programs Travel Award, 2022
University of Iowa Early Career Scholar of the Year Nominee, 2020 & 2022
NIH Loan Repayment Program Award, 2017-2020
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2015-2018
Emory CF-TR Director’s Award Fellowship, 2015
Emory + Children’s CF Scholars Program, 2014 & 2016

Research

Interactions between microbial species have a profound influence on health and disease. Our group seeks to understand the cellular mechanisms driving these interactions to modulate polymicrobial community behavior and improve patient outcomes.

To survive, bacterial cells must sense and integrate signals from their surrounding environment. While the most ubiquitous extracellular signals faced by microbes are often from other microbes, how interspecies signals are sensed, the nature of these signals, and how signaling contributes to community behaviors necessary for human infection, comprise a critical yet understudied arm of bacterial physiology. To tackle this, we take a multitiered approach; at once grounded in addressing timely clinical problems and uncovering basic molecular and ecological insight into microbial community behaviors.

To accomplish this, we acquire a holistic view of pathogenic interspecies community behaviors by identifying harmful interactions occurring in disease, through analysis of clinical data and patient samples. We then visualize these microbial communities in situ, track bacterial movement in response to neighboring species in real-time, and determine the genetic and molecular pathways driving them. Our primary focus is on respiratory disease in people with cystic fibrosis, which has emerged as a paradigm system for studying polymicrobial interactions that are important drivers of human disease.

We have also pioneered advanced bacterial imaging platforms to visualize multispecies interactions along a range of scales in both space and time. This platform includes a series of tools to image and track interspecies interactions and gene expression at the population and single-cell level in vitro, as well as in situ imaging of bacterial communities in patient respiratory samples and tissue explants.

Through these platforms, we have discovered novel interspecies signaling mechanisms that Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses to sense the presence of other microbial species and modulate the direction of motility to form mixed communities or outcompete neighboring species.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells labeled magenta are capable of sensing and attacking Staphylococcus aureus, labeled yellow, while P. aeruginosa cells in cyan have been genetically modified to be blind to interspecies signals. — *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* cells labeled magenta are capable of sensing and attacking *Staphylococcus aureus*, labeled yellow, while *P. aeruginosa* cells in cyan have been genetically modified to be blind to interspecies signals. Image courtesy of D. Limoli

Research areas

Microbial Cell Biology and Environmental Responses
Microbial Interactions and Pathogenesis

Publications

Wang GZ, Warren EA, Welp AL, Kiedrowski MR, Bomberger JM*, Tirrell DA, DH Limoli. Staphylococcal secreted cytotoxins are competition signals for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. BioRxiv: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.29.526047.

Yarrington KD, Wang GZ, Tirrell DA, Shendruk TN, DH Limoli. Twitching cells use a designated chemoreceptor to detect bacterial competitors. BioRxiv: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.11.28.518211.

Fischer AJ, Singh SB, LaMarche MM, Maakestad LJ, Kienenberger ZE, Peña TA, Stoltz DA, Limoli DH. Sustained coinfections with Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis. Am J Resp Crit Care Med. 2020;203(3):328-338.

Limoli DH, Warren EA, Yarrington KD, Donegan NP, Cheung AL, O’Toole GA. Interspecies interactions induce exploratory motility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. eLife 2019;8:e47365

Limoli DH, Whitfield GB, Kitao T, Ivey ML, Davis MR, Grahl N, et al. Pseudomonas aeruginosa alginate overproduction promotes coexistence with Staphylococcus aureus in a model of cystic fibrosis respiratory infection. mBio 2017;8: 00186-17

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