Study of the role of CspD in Caulobacter crescentus stationary phase

• Grant number: 15/10919-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: November 01, 2015
• End date: January 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Marilis Do Valle Marques
• Grantee: Julia Albano de Barros
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/04046-8 - Regulatory networks of bacterial stress response, AP.TEM

Abstract

Caulobacter crescentus is a alpha-proteobacteria that lives in aquatic environments and is a key organism for the study of the cell cycle in prokaryotes, since its cell cycle is asymmetric and results in two distinct daughter cells. When under cold shock, bacteria express cold shock proteins (CSP's) that work as chaperones, preventing the formation of RNA structures that can cause damage to the cell. The first CSP to be described was CspA from Escherichia coli, and eight more paralogs have already been described in this bacterium. In C. crescentus, four CSPs are known; CspC and CspD aren't induced in cold shock but in stationary phase. In E. coli, CspD works as a DNA replication inhibitor acting during stationary phase allowing the cell to adapt to the new conditions of the environment. In C. crescentus it is known that the cspD transcription is regulated by the SpdS/SpdR two-component system possibly responding to nutrient starvation, but the signal that controls its regulation and its role in cell physiology is not yet completely elucidated. Therefore, this project proposes to elucidate these aspects towards cspD in C. crescentus. For such, we intend to perform various analyses in relation to the phenotype presented by the cspD absence or superexpression, such as morphological and cell viability, replication during the cell cycle and nucleic acid binding assays. The stability of CspD will be evaluated in strains that lack different proteases and also it will be determined the protein expression profile in both conditions of cspD expression. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

BARROS, Julia Albano de. Study of the role of CspD in Caulobacter crescentus stationary phase.. 2017. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB/SDI) São Paulo.