Ramsey seminar photo
“Control of Virulence in the Bacterial Pathogen and Potential Bioweapon Francisella tularensis”
Dr. Kathryn Ramsey
Assistant Professor, University of Rhode Island
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Hosted by: Shell Lab
Tuesday, January 17th @ 12pm
Gateway 1002
Pizza will be served!
Abstract: In the human pathogen Francisella tularensis, we have determined that changes in ribosome protein composition govern virulence gene expression. Our results indicate that ribosome composition in F. tularensis, either directly or indirectly, posttranscriptionally modulates gene expression and virulence. We propose a model in which a particular ribosomal protein homologs functions as a posttranscriptional regulator, allowing preferential translation of specific subsets of mRNAs. This work suggests that ribosome heterogeneity may permit many bacteria to posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression.