Capturing the dynamic response of microbes to their environment and their community
Abstract
The broad objective of this proposal is to determine the response of a bacterial cell within a microbial community to changes in its environment in real time and on the nanometer scale. Specifically, for the common human gut bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Bt), the objective here is to investigate how the assembly of the cell surface proteins involved in starch capture and degradation is affected by the presence and activity of another member its microbial community - namely, the species Ruminococcus bromii (Rb), which is capable of digesting resistant starch, a process that has been shown to support growth of Bt. Single-molecule imaging in living cells (including photoactivated localization microscopy super-resolution imaging, single molecule tracking in three dimensions, and time-lapse single molecule tracking) will be used to capture the dynamic response of the SusG metabolic protein in Bt to its surroundings. There are three specific aims and approaches: (1) To determine the conditions under which Bt and Rb can grow in a commensal fashion. (2) To compare the expression level of fluorescently labeled SusG protein in a Bt monoculture vs a Bt-Rb co-culture as a function of carbohydrate source. (3) To measure the similarities and difference between the diffusive properties of labeled SusG in Bt imaged in isolation and Bt cells imaged within mixed monolayers of Bt and Rb.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 27, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1610450
Entities
People
- Julie S. Biteen
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of Michigan