With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes program is supporting the research of Professor Herman O. Sintim of the University of Maryland at College Park. Professor Sintim will develop new tools to study the molecular mechanisms that govern biofilm formation and development in bacteria. Dinucleotides act as second messengers in bacteria to regulate bacterial biofilm and virulence factors production but many receptors that are involved in dinucleotide signaling are yet to be identified or fully characterized. This proposal aims to develop probes for the identification and characterization of new nucleotide receptors in bacteria. Efforts will also be directed towards the development of synthetic molecules that strongly associate with second messenger nucleotides to disrupt the biological activities of the signaling nucleotides. These molecules could be used to modulate the transition between the biofilm and planktonic states.
Microbial biofilms are sometimes responsible for the clogging of pipes at homes or industrial settings. Additionally, biofilms that form in humans or livestock contribute to the persistence of microbial infections. Currently there are only a handful of non-toxic compounds that can effectively disperse microbial biofilms. Therefore studies that shed more insights into biofilm formation by microbes could lead to the identification of new strategies to eradicate biofilms. The broader Impacts of this project include increasing our understanding of how bacteria form biofilms, which could be useful for the development of strategies to curb bacterial biofilm formation. With regards to STEM education, high school students and teachers, undergraduate and graduate student researchers who work on this project will develop diverse skill sets, including chemistry, molecular biology and microbiology. This multi-disciplinary experience will prepare such students for diverse careers.
This award is co-funded by the Systems and Synthetic Biology Cluster in the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) Division of the Biological Sciences (BIO) Directorate.
