Our main topics:

Chromosome structure

Similar to eukaryotic chromatin, bacterial chromosomes are highly organized and form ordered, hierarchical structures. We study how the chromosome is organized (locally and globally) in mycobateria. The main aim of our team is to elucidate the role of nucleoid- associated proteins (NAPs) in shaping chromosome structure during different growth phases and under unfavorable conditions.

Chromosome replication

Replication is an essential process for every living cell. It is strictly regulated, mostly at the stage of replication initiation. Our team investigates mechanisms responsible for regulation of bacterial chromosome replication and analyzes real-time dynamics of this process at the single-cell level in various growth conditions. Currently, we focus on two bacterial models, Mycobacterium and Bdellovibrio - the former genus includes symbionts and human-pathogenic species, the latter are intriguing obligate predatory bacteria.

Genes expression in secondary metabolite gene clusters

Actinomycetes are producers of many secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical importance, e.g. antibiotics, antifungals and anticancer drugs. However, gene clusters involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis usually remain silent under laboratory conditions. We study gene expression regulatory networks within those gene clusters. The main goal of our research is activation of those biosynthetic clusters leading to production of novel secondary metabolites. To reach the goal we apply two-step strategy which include genome mining followed by and molecular biology tools.

... and the team