The Bacterial Genetics and Pathogenesis Group (BGP) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is an interdisciplinary group of faculty interested in basic biological processes such as DNA repair, recombination and transcription in Escherichia coli K-12 as well as the molecular basis of microbial pathogenesis. The pathogenic bacteria under investigation include enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) and enteropathogenic (EPEC) Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the plague bacillus Yersinia pestis, Haemophilus influenzae , Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the Borrelia species causing Lyme disease and Relapsing Fever.
Listeria monocytogenes infection
Jon D. Goguen PhD
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Phone: (508) 856-2490
E-mail: jon.goguen@umassmed.edu
Function and regulation of virulence genes in the plague bacillus, Yersinia pestis
John M. Leong MD PhD
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Phone: (508) 856-4059
E-mail: john.leong@umassmed.edu
Interactions of bacterial pathogens with mammalian cells
Beth McCormick PhD
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email: Beth.McCormick@umassmed.edu
Phone: 508-856-6048
Molecular mechanisms by which bacterial pathogens induce mucosal inflammation
Martin G. Marinus PhD
Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Phone: (508) 856-3330
E-mail: martin.marinus@umassmed.edu
DNA mismatch repair and mutagenesis mechanisms
Kenan C. Murphy PhD
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Phone: (508) 856-6042
E-mail: kenan.murphy@umassmed.edu
Structure-function studies on host and phage recombination proteins
Anthony R. Poteete PhD
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Phone: (508) 856-3708
E-mail: anthony.poteete@umassmed.edu
Homologous genetic recombination and protein structure
Christopher M. Sassetti PhD
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Phone: (508) 856-3678
E-mail: christopher.sassetti@umassmed.edu
Pathogenesis of tuberculosis
Michael R. Volkert PhD
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Phone: (508) 856-2314
E-mail: michael.volkert@umassmed.edu
Regulation and function of DNA repair genes
Research Areas
Recombination, DNA repair, DNA methylation, transcription, bacteria-mammalian cell interaction, secretion, cell signalling, pathogenic mechanisms and regulation of toxin production.
Recent Publications (one per laboratory)
Rosadini CV, Wong SM, Akerley BJ. 2008. The periplasmic disulfide oxidoreductase DsbA contributes to Haemophilus influenzae pathogenesis. Infect Immun.76, 1498-508.
Garifulin, O., Qi, Z., Shen H., Patnala, S., Green, M.R. and Boyartchuk, V. 2007. Irf3 polymorphism alters induction of interferon beta in response to Listeria monocytogenes infection. PLoS Genet., 3: e152.
Pan NJ, Brady MJ, Leong JM, Goguen JD. 2009. Targeting type III secretion in Yersinia pestis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 53,385-92.
Campellone KG, Cheng HC, Robbins D, Siripala AD, McGhie EJ, Hayward RD, Welch MD, Rosen MK, Koronakis V, Leong JM. 2008. Repetitive N-WASP-binding elements of the enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli effector EspF(U) synergistically activate actin assembly. PLoS Pathog. 4, e1000191.
Pazos M, Siccardi D, Mumy KL, Bien JD, Louie S, Shi HN, Gronert K, Mrsny RJ, McCormick BA. 2008. Multidrug resistance-associated transporter 2 regulates mucosal inflammation by facilitating the synthesis of hepoxilin A3.J Immunol. 181, 8044-52.
Nowosielska A, Marinus MG. 2008. DNA mismatch repair-induced double-strand breaks. DNA Repair 7, 48-56.
Murphy KC. 2007. The lambda Gam protein inhibits RecBCD binding to dsDNA ends. J. Molecular Biology 371,19-24.
Poteete AR. 2009. Expansion of a chromosomal repeat in Escherichia coli: roles of replication, repair, and recombination functions. BMC Mol Biol. 10, 14.
Pandey AK, Sassetti CM. 2008. Mycobacterial persistence requires the utilization of host cholesterol. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 105, 4376-80.
Matijasevic Z, Volkert MR. 2007. Base excision repair sensitizes cells to sulfur mustard and chloroethyl ethyl sulfide. DNA Repair 6, 733-41.
Courses
Members of the BGP group teach in the following courses:
Medical Biochemistry
Medical Microbiology
BBS807, Prokaryotic Genetics, a weekly joint long distance learning journal club discussion course with UMass-Amherst
BBS611-613, Biomedical Sciences (the graduate student core course)
BBS763, DNA Repair and Genome Stability
BBS773, Molecular Genetics of Bacteria
MGM742, Biology of Infectious Disease
MGM815, Advanced Bacterial Pathogenesis
Postdoctoral Positions
Contact individual faculty for available postdoctoral fellow positions.
Laboratory Rotations for Graduate Students
Links