Study of c-di-GMP signaling involving LIC_11920 in Leptospira interrogans

• Grant number: 21/05262-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: May 01, 2022
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Biochemistry of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Cristiane Rodrigues Guzzo Carvalho
• Grantee: Aline Biazola Visnardi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Bacteria from the Leptospira genus are responsible for leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease of public health importance. Due to challenges in its laboratory manipulation, many aspects of these bacteria remain underexplored. This includes intracellular signaling pathways, which will be studied in this project via heterologous expression of proteins of interest. The protein LIC_11920 from Leptospira interrogans presents a DUF1577 domain in its N-terminal region, while a truncated PilZ domain at its C-terminus was found by bioinformatics analyses to be interrupted by the insertion of a GAF sensor domain. This project aims to characterize by structural and functional approaches the distinct architecture of this protein and its interaction with signaling molecules such as c-di-GMP, which controls different processes such as biofilm formation, cell cycle, motility, chemotaxis, and virulence. To this end, we have cloned and expressed different constructions of LIC_11920, which are being studied by crystallography and circular dichroism to test their ability to interact with ligands. To expand the analyses, we pretend to also study paralogs of this protein containing the same domain architecture: LIC_10049, LIC_12546, LIC_12723, LIC_12994, and LIC_14002. At last, wealso pretend to test if the EAL domain of LIC_11921, already cloned, is capable of binding the PilZ domain of LIC_11920. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE ALMEIDA, MICHELLE TEIXEIRA; MERIGHI, DAVI GABRIEL SALUSTIANO; VISNARDI, ALINE BIAZOLA; GONCALVES, CAUE AUGUSTO BONETO; AMORIM, VITOR MARTINS DE FREITAS; FERRARI, ANIELLE SALVIANO DE ALMEIDA; DE SOUZA, ANACLETO SILVA; GUZZO, CRISTIANE RODRIGUES. Latin America's Dengue Outbreak Poses a Global Health Threat. Viruses-Basel, v. 17, n. 1, p. 32-pg., 2025-01-01. (23/13894-1, 21/05262-0, 21/10577-0, 23/18211-0, 22/08730-7, 23/07366-2)

VISNARDI, ALINE BIAZOLA; RIBEIRO, RODOLFO ALVARENGA; DE SOUZA, ANACLETO SILVA; VINCES, TANIA GERALDINE CHURASACARI; LLONTOP, EDGAR E.; FERRARI, ANIELLE SALVIANO DE ALMEIDA; HENRIQUE, PEDRO ANTONIO FRANCA; VALDIVIESO, DANIELA; SANCHEZ-LIMACHE, DANIEL ENRIQUE; SILVA, GABRIELA ROBERTO; et al. Insertion of a Divergent GAF-like Domain Defines a Novel Family of YcgR Homologues That Bind c-di-GMP in Leptospirales. ACS OMEGA, v. 10, n. 4, p. 19-pg., 2025-01-21. (20/04680-0, 19/00195-2, 21/05262-0, 21/00070-5, 21/10577-0, 17/17303-7, 23/10432-7, 17/06394-1, 16/09047-8, 23/18211-0, 22/08730-7)

VINCES, TANIA CHURASACARI; DE SOUZA, ANACLETO SILVA; CARVALHO, CECILIA F.; VISNARDI, ALINE BIAZOLA; TEIXEIRA, RAPHAEL D.; LLONTOP, EDGAR E.; BISMARA, BEATRIZ APARECIDA PASSOS; VICENTE, ELISABETE J.; PEREIRA, JOSE O.; DE SOUZA, ROBSON FRANCISCO; et al. Monomeric Esterase: Insights into Cooperative Behavior, Hysteresis/Allokairy. BIOCHEMISTRY, v. 63, n. 9, p. 16-pg., 2024-04-26. (21/10577-0, 19/12234-2, 22/08730-7, 21/05262-0, 19/00195-2, 17/17303-7, 20/04680-0)