Autotransporter folding: insights advancing recombinant protein production. Imagine a world in which any protein could be produced using a single production platform. This project aims to make this a reality by reengineering autotransporters, a large family of bacterial virulence factors with a modular structure that makes them amenable to rational design. The project plans to examine the structures and folding behaviour of autotransporters and reengineered derivatives fused to target heterologo ....Autotransporter folding: insights advancing recombinant protein production. Imagine a world in which any protein could be produced using a single production platform. This project aims to make this a reality by reengineering autotransporters, a large family of bacterial virulence factors with a modular structure that makes them amenable to rational design. The project plans to examine the structures and folding behaviour of autotransporters and reengineered derivatives fused to target heterologous proteins using biochemical, biophysical, and structural methods. It is expected that this project will provide fundamental insights into factors that dictate autotransporter folding and stability, which may enhance recombinant protein production and drive discovery of strategies to prevent autotransporter-mediated infection.Read moreRead less
Creation of a super-resolution map of the bacterial cytokinesis machinery . Cell division is a fundamental process essential for life. Yet our understanding of this process on a molecular level is limited, mostly hampered by the inability to visualize the different components of the division machinery inside these tiny cells with adequate resolution. To overcome this barrier, capitalizing on recent advancements in imaging and molecular technologies combined with innovative engineering, this proj ....Creation of a super-resolution map of the bacterial cytokinesis machinery . Cell division is a fundamental process essential for life. Yet our understanding of this process on a molecular level is limited, mostly hampered by the inability to visualize the different components of the division machinery inside these tiny cells with adequate resolution. To overcome this barrier, capitalizing on recent advancements in imaging and molecular technologies combined with innovative engineering, this project aims to create a spatial and temporal map of the division machinery inside bacterial cells at unprecedented resolution. The expected outcomes are new knowledge on the mechanism of bacterial division and technological advances in biological imaging, informing applications in a wide variety of sectors.Read moreRead less
Autotransporter assembly: new insights and biotechnological potential. The objective of this project is to improve our understanding of a fundamental biological problem: how autotransporters are assembled into cellular membranes. Autotransporters are a large family of bacterial proteins that play key roles in the pathogenesis of several infectious diseases. Currently, the precise mechanism by which disease-causing molecules are assembled into the outer membranes of bacteria and mitochondria is p ....Autotransporter assembly: new insights and biotechnological potential. The objective of this project is to improve our understanding of a fundamental biological problem: how autotransporters are assembled into cellular membranes. Autotransporters are a large family of bacterial proteins that play key roles in the pathogenesis of several infectious diseases. Currently, the precise mechanism by which disease-causing molecules are assembled into the outer membranes of bacteria and mitochondria is poorly understood. The knowledge that the project develops may inform future strategies aimed at the rational treatment of bacterial and mitochondrial diseases.Read moreRead less