Document Type

Restricted

Advisor

Tanya Schneider

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

The treatment of bacterial infections by antimicrobials in the clinic creates selective pressure that allows for the acceleration of the development of antimicrobial resistance. New treatments to avoid this problem should avoid such strong selective pressures and instead aim to prevent growth, such as through dampening the communication systems between bacteria termed quorum sensing (QS). Infections by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa make up a large portion of disease burden both in nosocomial infections and in opportunistic infections. LasR is a prominent transcription factor in P. aeruginosa QS and has many DNA targets and downstream effects. The ability of this transcription factor to bind many varied sequences and whether it binds using the monomer pathway or the dimer pathway is of interest in this present study. Here, we provide kinetic measurements of LasR binding to the sequences lasB, vqsR, rhlR, and rsaL, which differ both in sequence characteristics and in protein product function, yet are all directly regulated by LasR.

Download

Share

COinS
 

The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.