Item Details

abstract

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes a myriad of infections to immunosuppressed patients, including endocarditis, microbial keratitis of the eye, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and chronic lung infection in patients with cystic fibrosis. The underlying cause of the severity of these infections is due in part to the arsenal of virulence factors P. aeruginosa has at its disposal, which include biofilm formation, lipopolysaccharide, quorum sensing, and exotoxin production, among others. AmrZ, a member of the ribbon-helix-helix family of DNA binding proteins, regulates several virulence factors, including alginate biosynthesis, flagellum expression, and type IV pili localization and twitching motility. AmrZ also acts as an autorepressor by binding two sites on its own promoter.

subject

Crystallography

Cystic Fibrosis

Protein - DNA interactions

Structural Biology

Transcriptional Regulation

Virulence

contributor

Pryor, Edward E. (author)

Hollis, Thomas (committee chair)

Wozniak, Daniel J. (committee member)

Lyles, Douglas S. (committee member)

Poole, Leslie B. (committee member)

Fetrow, Jacquelyn S. (committee member)

Lowther, W. Todd (committee member)

date

2011-07-14T20:35:36Z (accessioned)

2012-07-14T08:30:19Z (available)

2011 (issued)

degree

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (discipline)

embargo

2012-07-14 (terms)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/33457 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

title

Elucidating Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence gene regulation by the ribbon-helix-helix transcription factor AmrZ

type

Dissertation