Quorum Sensing in B. japonicum
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
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.
Comments
Joint Project with Samantha Huckuntod and Victoria Grill