Seminar Details

Host: Dr. Jennifer Herman

Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm

Location: BICH 108

Seminar Abstract

The bacterial cell envelope is essential for viability and protects bacteria against antibiotics, immune systems, and environmental hazards. Bacterial glycans are foundational to envelope assembly and serve as virulence factors for pathogens and as antigens in vaccines. These key molecules are often linked to proteins and lipids, structures collectively known as glycoconjugates. The glycoconjugates found in the envelopes of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria display enormous structural diversity and include peptidoglycan (PG), capsules, exopolysaccharides, LPS O-antigens, teichoic acids, lipoglycans, and many others. The glycan portion of nearly all bacterial glycoconjugates is assembled on and transported by an essential lipid carrier known as undecaprenyl phosphate (Und-P). This pivotal biochemical role means that Und-P metabolism can be harnessed to decipher mechanisms of envelope assembly and to exploit their properties. This seminar will show how manipulating Und-P metabolism alters glycan pathway flux in the model bacterium Escherichia coli. Notably, results will show how sequestering Und-P in one pathway decreases flux in competing pathways, while increasing Und-P availability increases flux across all pathways. Because Und-P-dependent glycans form the protective basis for glycoconjugate vaccines, this seminar will also show how increasing Und-P availability enhances production of glycoconjugates used in vaccines. In sum, this work establishes Und-P as a consequential biological nexus with the potential to inform the way we treat and prevent bacterial infections.