CSUN Associate Professor of Biology Cristian Ruiz Rueda has received a $1-million, four-year NSF grant to study the molecular mechanisms of how bacteria coordinate efflux, metabolism and other physiological functions to cope with antibiotics and maintain homeostasis.
The award will fund research in the Ruiz Rueda lab and directly support 4 students per year in the lab.
The export and breakdown of molecules that are toxic, or disrupt metabolic balance, are important cellular processes. However, how export and metabolic balance are coordinated to protect bacteria and maintain metabolic function remains poorly understood. The Ruiz Rueda lab has recently found that the protein AcrR, which controls export genes, may play a central role in sensing and then coordinating both functions to allow bacteria to cope with toxic chemicals and maintain metabolic balance. However, the vast majority of metabolic genes directly regulated by AcrR and cellular metabolites that control its function remain unknown. This project is expected to close this knowledge gap by uncovering the network of metabolic pathways sensed and directly regulated by AcrR. These contributions are important because they will transform our knowledge of how bacteria maintain metabolic balance and adapt to hazards, metabolic stress, and environmental changes.
Additional activities include the integration of part of the proposed research into the Biol 417/L Microbial Physiology lecture and lab courses at CSUN. This award will thus significantly enhance the scientific education and expand the number of students from all backgrounds with direct access to hands-on research, which is critical to inspire them to pursue STEM careers.
Full details including both the full non-technical and technical abstracts can be found on the NSF website.
Image: The molecular structure of AcrR.