Presenter(s): Dan Tudorica—Biochemistry
Faculty Mentor(s): Arden Perkins
Session 3: The Substance of Us
Previous work presented at the undergraduate research symposium hypothesized that the chemoreceptor zinc-binding (CZB) domain acted to sense bleach in certain bacteria’s environment and correspondingly direct bacterial swimming patterns . This project presents an expanded view of the CZB domain as being responsible not just for informing bacterial swimming patterns in the presence of bleach, but also for regulating the formation and dispersal of bacterial biofilms . Through the use of genetically-modified bacteria and biofilm-quantification assays, we determined that bleach in the bacteria’s environment encourages the formation of biofilms . In addition, we find that modifying the active site of the CZB domain in such a way as to make the domain “always on” increases the amount of biofilm produced by the bacteria in a fashion largely insensitive to subsequent addition of bleach . This evidence suggests that the CZB domain, known to regulate bacterial swimming patterns, is also used by bacteria to modulate the amount of biofilm that they form . This work helps us understand the biochemistry of how bacteria, particularly gut-colonizing human pathogens, behave in order to survive and thrive in their environment, possibly setting the groundwork for future therapeutic interventions .