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Bacterial Interactions
Intercellular communication facilitates the coordination of cellular functions, which is vital for the development and adaptation of multicellular organisms. Microbes, too, lead complex social lives, enabling them to communicate and engage in sophisticated social activities. These interactions encompass both contact-independent and contact-dependent modes. The ability to perceive neighboring cells and the surrounding ecosystem often manifests in the genetic makeup of bacterial species. These bacteria express various extracellular organelles, including flagella, pili, secretion systems, and nanotubes. These structures fulfill crucial roles in cellular motility, transfer of antibiotic resistance, virulence, delivery of toxins, and trafficking of intracellular components.
Nanotubes have been identified as conduits for the intercellular exchange of metabolites, antibiotic resistance spread, toxin molecules, cytoplasmic proteins, and even plasmids, indicating their potential significance in shaping natural bacterial communities. Remarkably, these macromolecular nanomachines facilitate the trafficking of nutrients among various species, including both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and even extend to trans-kingdom interactions between bacterial pathogens and mammalian host cells.
In our laboratory using Bacillus subtilis (Gram positive model organism) and Helicobacter pylori (Gram negative human pathogen), our objective is to elucidate the effectors responsible for regulating and forming nanotubes, understand the mechanisms governing human host-associated nanotubes, and identify genes involved in inter-species competition and antibiotic resistance spread in bacteria-bacteria as well as bacteria-host associated manner. We utilize advanced microscopy techniques such as live-cell fluorescence microscopy to investigate sub-cellular protein localization, and ultra-high resolution scanning electron microscopy (UHR-SEM) to visualize nanotubes within bacterial populations. We employ molecular biology, biochemical, biophysical and structural techniques to study protein-protein and DNA-protein interaction dynamics implicated in bacterial crosstalk.
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