Regulation and binding specificities of novel fimbriae of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

• Applicant: Dr. Torsten Sterzenbach
• Subject Area: Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens
• Term: from 2009 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 134040718

Adhesion to host tissue plays a pivotal role for bacteria for efficient colonization of their host. The genome of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium codes for a large repertoire of adhesins including 13 different fimbriae and 3 adhesins of the autotransporter family. Most adhesins of S. Typhimurium are not expressed in vitro while expression can be detected in vivo. Furthermore, mutants of several adhesins showed reduced colonization in different animal models. By a random mutagenesis approach using transposons, regulatory elements controlling the expression of different fimbriae shall be determined to decipher the regulatory network of fimbriae in S. Typhimurium. This approach will also permit to isolate bacteria, which constitutively express the respective fimbrial structure. Only for few adhesins of S. Typhimurium the binding partners on the host site are known yet. Therefore the binding site and binding partners of additional fimbriae will be determined in the second part of this project. The binding site will be determined by immunofluorescence microscopy. The exact binding partners of different adhesins will be deciphered by different methods including the use of glycan arrays. This project will offer new insights into the role of novel adhesins in S. Typhimurium and the interplay between different adhesins for successful colonization and tissue tropism.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Andreas Bäumler