Quorum Sensing in B. japonicum

Presenter Information

Elizabeth Thoenen

Department

Biological Sciences

Major

Biological Sciences

Research Advisor

Westenberg, David J.

Advisor's Department

Biological Sciences

Funding Source

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experiences (OURE)

Abstract

Quorum sensing is the ability of a cell to alter its gene expression in response to chemical stimuli produced by changes in population density. Homoserine lactones (HSLs) are the molecular stimuli responsible for quorum sensing in many nitrogen-fixing microbial species. This project aims to detect, identify, and characterize a novel HSL produced by Bradyrhizobium japonicum, a species thought to lack a detectable quorum sensing molecule. The B. japonicum quorum sensing gene promoter and regulatory element were inserted into a LacZ plasmid to create an HSL indicator E. coli strain. Simultaneously, the use of thin layer chromatography (TLC) was used to compare this novel HSL to known HSLs produced by other species. TLC was performed using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens indicator strain to observe the response to known B. japonicum HSLs. Understanding this quorum sensing provides practical applications specifically in the field of agriculture.

Biography

Elizabeth Thoenen is a senior in Biological Sciences. Currently, Elizabeth does microbiology research with Dr. David Westenberg. She plans to obtain a PhD in a biomedical science following graduation.

Research Category

Research Proposals

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Document Type

Poster

Location

Upper Atrium/Hallway

Presentation Date

11 Apr 2016, 9:00 am - 11:45 am

Comments

Joint Project with Samantha Huckuntod and Victoria Grill

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Apr 11th, 9:00 AM Apr 11th, 11:45 AM

Quorum Sensing in B. japonicum

Upper Atrium/Hallway

Quorum sensing is the ability of a cell to alter its gene expression in response to chemical stimuli produced by changes in population density. Homoserine lactones (HSLs) are the molecular stimuli responsible for quorum sensing in many nitrogen-fixing microbial species. This project aims to detect, identify, and characterize a novel HSL produced by Bradyrhizobium japonicum, a species thought to lack a detectable quorum sensing molecule. The B. japonicum quorum sensing gene promoter and regulatory element were inserted into a LacZ plasmid to create an HSL indicator E. coli strain. Simultaneously, the use of thin layer chromatography (TLC) was used to compare this novel HSL to known HSLs produced by other species. TLC was performed using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens indicator strain to observe the response to known B. japonicum HSLs. Understanding this quorum sensing provides practical applications specifically in the field of agriculture.