Functional impact of lipid logistics on mycobacterial infection in Dictyostelium (P25)

• Subject Area: Metabolism, Biochemistry and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Term: from 2020 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 180879236

Tuberculosis (Tb) is a wide-spread infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). A main characteristic of Tb is the formation of lipid-loaded, foamy macrophages during chronic infection, and Mtb mobilizes in this process lipid droplets (LDs) from their host via a novel membrane contact site. In this project, we will unravel the molecular mechanisms by which mycobacteria acquire and exploit host lipids using the Dictyostelium/Mycobacterium marinum infection model. For this, we will (i) unravel the metabolic lipid flows between mycobacteria and their host at the subcellular and ultrastructural level, and (ii) analyze the formation of pathogen-induced membrane contact sites (MCSs) as microcompartments specialized in interorganellar lipid transport to determine the role of host-to-pathogen lipid flow in mycobacterial infection. Our work will thus uncover a novel pathway by which intracellular mycobacteria exploit host lipids during infection.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 944: Physiology and Dynamics of Cellular Microcompartments
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Applicant Institution: Universität Osnabrück
• Project Head: Dr. Caroline Barisch