Uncovering the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of H-NS proteins in the bacterium Burkholderia cenocepacia

• Grant number: 24/14378-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Rogério Ferreira Lourenço
• Grantee: Ana Júlia Virgilio Tonhetta
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/09328-2 - Study of structural proteins of the bacterial DNA, AP.JP

Abstract

Histone-like nucleoid structuring proteins (H-NS) are DNA-binding proteins with critical roles in chromosome organization and global gene expression regulation in bacteria. Post-translational modifications (PTM) have been recently identified in H-NS proteins in Enterobacteriaceae and other gamma-proteobacteria, suggesting the involvement of PTM in the regulation of H-NS proteins. The beta-proteobacteria Burkholderia cenocepacia has an atypically high number of H-NS-encoding genes, which differ from each other regarding their roles in the bacterial physiology. In B. cenocepacia, the transcriptional regulation of an hns gene by another has been already identified as a mechanism involved in the control of H-NS proteins. Here, we intend to expand the study of the molecular mechanisms by which H-NS proteins are regulated in B. cenocepacia by identifying PTMs in these proteins, analyzing the effects of nutritional and environmental changes on the PTM profile and investigating the molecular basis by which one or more PTMs alter the capacity of H-NS to regulate gene expression.