Department of Biology

Lab

Simon Hall 410
Schrader Lab website

Research

Sub-cellular organization of mRNA decay in bacteria
In eukaryotic cells, membrane-bound organelles organize many essential biochemical pathways.  However, bacteria generally lack membrane-bound organelles, leaving the general mechanisms of subcellular organization in question.  Recent breakthroughs regarding biomolecular condensates, non-membrane-bound organelles such as the nucleolus, P-bodies, and stress granules, have revealed that these ubiquitous structures in eukaryotic cells are typically organized by phase separation.  We found that bacteria can also make similar biomolecular condensates that we termed bacterial ribonucleoprotein bodies (BR-bodies).  BR-bodies were discovered in Caulobacter crescentus and are composed of Ribonuclease E, protein components of the RNA degradosome, and RNA. These BR-bodies are important for mRNA degradation and are assembled by phase separation from the cytoplasm, forming a compartment with high concentrations of the RNA degradosome and RNA.  We are currently utilizing high-throughput mRNA decay assays, biochemical reconstitution, and cell biology experiments to probe the roles and mechanisms of these granules in organizing mRNA decay.  We are exploring the phylogenetic range of BR-bodies; bioinformatic predictions suggest that RNA degradosome features that drive BR-body phase separation are present in a majority of bacterial species.  Therefore, we believe that biomolecular condensates such as BR-bodies provide a general mechanism used by bacteria to organize their biochemical pathways.

Role of BR-bodies in host colonization
BR-bodies promote rapid mRNA decay which allows bacteria to quickly adapt their transcriptomes to their changing environments.  We are investigating how BR-bodies impact host colonization, as Tn-insertion mutants in various species that would abolish BR-body formation have shown a reduction in bacterial cell fitness during host colonization.  We are currently characterizing which species BR-bodies play a role in host colonization, and also by which molecular mechanisms they use to promote host colonization.

Awards

Wayne State University Career Development Chair Award, 2023
Wayne State University Academy of Scholars Junior Faculty Award, 2018

Publications

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