The impact of microbes on eukaryotic biology is
profound and ranges from antagonistic (e.g. host-pathogen) to cooperative (e.g.
symbiotic) relationships. Moreover, bacteria have been intimately linked to
animals throughout their evolutionary history. Signaling interactions between bacteria and the
unicellular progenitors of animals are hypothesized to have been involved in the
transition to multicellularity. The
challenge in addressing this hypothesis has been in accessing the underlying
mechanisms that govern eukaryotic-bacterial interactions in evolutionarily
relevant organisms. The
long-term goal of my research is to understand how bacteria have influenced the
evolution of animals.
As choanoflagellates are the closest living relatives of animals, their study has yielded insights into the cell biology of the last common ancestor of animals. I study a unique example of a eukaryotic-bacterial interaction in which diffusible signals from the prey bacterium Algoriphagus sp. regulate the transition from single cells to colony development in the choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta. I propose to study the nature and function of the microbial signals that elicit morphogenic responses in choanoflagellates and how these signals impact the cell biology of other members of the microbial community. Read about my graduate work HERE. CONTACT INFORMATION:Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
505 Life Sciences Addition, #3200
Berkeley, CA 94720
email: rosie [dot] alegado [at] berkeley [dot] edu
phone: (510) 643-9417
|
 |
RESEARCH INTERESTS |