Bacterial cells, despite their relatively small genomes and non-compartmentalized cytoplasm, perform a variety of complex cellular tasks that are regulated both at the molecular level through canonical biochemical interactions and at the subcellular level through the spatial organization of molecules. My laboratory is broadly interested in understanding how the molecular constituents of bacterial cellular processes are spatially organized and what essential functions such an organization conveys. Our current research focuses on bacterial cell division, transcription and phage-host interactions using E. coli as a model organism. Specifically, we will (1) determine the spatial coordination and regulation of the septal cell wall synthase complex FtsWI by FtsZ's treadmilling dynamics; (2) investigate the spatial organizations of RNA polymerase, essential transcription factors and chromosomal DNAs and their associated functions; and (3) probe the localization, dynamics and interactions of phage lysis proteins in cell's envelop. We are uniquely positioned to take on these tasks because of our extensive expertise in quantitative single molecule imaging and bacterial cell biology. We expect our work to provide new molecular insight that could be used to develop new strategies to treat bacterial infection.
The goal of this study is to provide knowledge for bacterial cellular processes including cell division, transcription and phage lysis using E. coli as a model system. As these processes are essential for survival and conserved across the bacterial kingdom, a better understanding will promote more effective development of new antibiotics targeting this process to combat infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria.
