The insect pathogen and nematode symbiont Photorhabdus luminescens exists in two phenotypically different forms designated as primary and secondary variants. These variants are genetically homogeneous but differ in various morphological and physiological traits. One of the most dominating differences between both variants is that secondary cells are deficient in nematode symbiosis. During growth within the insect, single cells undergo phenotypic switching and are then disabled in re-association with the nematodes. The social aspect of this phenomenon is not understood yet and will be investigated in the current project. Moreover, the regulator HexA is known to control the switching process. How HexA controls bistable gene expression and which signals are involved to induce phenotypic switching are central questions that we attempt to address in the current project.
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Contact details:
PD Dr. Ralf Heermann
LMU München
Biozentrum
Bereich Mikrobiologie
Großhaderner Str. 2-4
82152 Martinsried/München
Tel.: +49(0)-89-2180-74506
Fax: +49(0)-89/2180-74520
heermann(at)lmu.de
Homepage Link
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References:
Heermann
Glaeser, A. and Heermann, R. (2015) A novel tool for stable genomic reporter gene integration to analyze heterogeneity in Photorhabdus luminescens at the single-cell level. BioTechniques, 59, 74-81.
Brameyer, S., Kresovic, D., Bode, H. B. and Heermann, R. (2014) Dialkylresorcinols as bacterial signaling molecules. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Fritz, G., Megerle, J. A., Westermayer, S. A., Brick, D., Heermann, R., Jung, K., Rädler, J. O. and Gerland, U. (2014) Single cell kinetics of phenotypic switching in the arabinose utilization system of E. coli. PLoS ONE, 9, e89532.
Brachmann, A. O., Brameyer, S., Kresovic, D., Hitkova, I., Kopp, Y., Manske, C., Schubert, K., Bode, H. B. and Heermann, R. (2013) Pyrones as bacterial signaling molecules. Nat. Chem. Biol., 9, 573-578.
Heermann, R. and Fuchs, T. M. (2008) Comparative analysis of the Photorhabdus luminescens and the Yersinia enterocolitica genomes: uncovering candidate genes involved in insect pathogenicity. BMC Genomics, 9, 40.
Münch, A., Stingl, L., Jung, K. and Heermann, R. (2008) Photorhabdus luminescens genes induced upon insect infection. BMC Genomics, 9, 229.