Karatan Lab
Marcus McGinnis
Ece Karatan
karatane@appstate.edu
Appalachian State University
Department of Biology
Rankin Science North
319 (Office), 303 (Lab)
828-262-6742
Role of polyamine synthesis and transport on biofilm formation
My project is to determine the role of polyamine biosynthesis and transport in Vibrio cholerae biofilm formation. Polyamines, including putrescine, spermidine, and norspermidine are organic cations pervasive in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Their involvement in numerous cellular processes such as growth, DNA synthesis and biofilm formation has been demonstrated. Cellular polyamine levels are highly regulated through a cycle of biosynthesis, degradation and environmental uptake. Several different polyamine transport systems have been identified in Escherichia coli. One of these systems involves the periplasmic spermidine binding protein, PotD, which has been implicated in E.coli and Streptococcus pneumoniae polyamine transport as well as the pathogenesis of the latter. Although polyamine biosynthesis and transport have not been well studied in V. cholerae, two putative genes for PotD have been identified. Additionally, norspermidine, the dominant polyamine of V. cholerae, has been shown to enhance biofilm formation in this organism. Therefore, my project specifically aims to elucidate the function of the seemingly redundant PotD proteins within V. cholerae and to determine the effects of inhibiting norspermidine biosynthesis and/or transport on biofilm formation.
