Research spearheaded by four biologists at Indiana University Bloomington has uncovered a new regulatory mechanism shared by many bacteria, which may have profound implications for anti-bacterial control measures in medical and agricultural settings.
The study is titled, “Control of biofilm formation by an Agrobacterium tumefaciens pterin-binding periplasmic protein conserved among diverse Proteobacteria,” and published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, USA. It examines “biofilms,” which are bacterial communities prevalent in nature that assemble on organic and inorganic surfaces. Notably, biofilms commonly cause persistent infections in humans, animals, and plants.
Jennifer Greenwich, a post-doctoral scientist in the Department of Biology within the College of Arts and Sciences is lead author of the study, and the research was performed in the laboratory of study co-author Clay Fuqua, the Clyde Culbertson Professor of Biology. Other co-authors include IU alumni Nathan Feirer, a 2017 Microbiology Ph.D. and a research scientist in the private sector, and Justin Eagan (Biology B.S. 2016), now at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Read the complete IU College of Arts + Sciences news release here.
The College of Arts