Determination of the distribution pattern of the GapR protein along the nucleoid of Bartonella henselae

• Grant number: 25/06126-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Support Program for Fixating Young Doctors
• Start date: October 01, 2024
• End date: March 10, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Rogério Ferreira Lourenço
• Grantee: Taila dos Santos Alves
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/01591-4 - Determination of the distribution pattern of the GapR protein along the nucleoid of Bartonella henselae, AP.R

Abstract

Bacterial DNA is organized into a compact structure, the nucleoid. Several proteins associate with the nucleoid and cause changes in its structure and gene expression. These proteins have been mainly studied in bacteria with genomes of low A+T content, and several of them preferentially bind to regions where the A+T content is higher than the mean value of the genome. This research proposal aims to identify the binding sites of the GapR protein, known for its ability to preferentially associate with sites rich in A+T, in the genome with a high A+T content of the bacterium Bartonella henselae, which is the Bartonella species that most causes clinical manifestations in humans. Nucleoid-associated proteins represent therapeutic targets; in the case of this research proposal, the interest would be for the specific control of infections caused by this bacterium with a genome of high A+T content.