Alaleh Ghasemimianaei, PhD Candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences’ Yang Lab at UW-Milwaukee, will present a talk about her research entitled, “A novel transcription factor CdeR regulates type III secretion system in a c-di-GMP dependent manner.”

The enterobacterium Dickeya dadnatii is a Gram-negative opportunistic plant pathogen known to cause disease on a wide range of plants. The type III secretion system (T3SS) translocates a set of bacterial effectors into host cells to promote pathogenicity and suppress host defenses. Bis-(3′-5′)-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) is a ubiquitous bacterial second messenger, regulating T3SS expression through several c-di-GMP associated components in D. dadantii. The intracellular levels of c-di-GMP molecules are controlled through the opposing activities of diguanylate cyclases (DGCs) and the phosphodiesterases (PDEs), responsible for the synthesis and breakdown of c-di-GMP respectively. In this study, we identify a novel transcriptional regulator, CdeR (c-di-GMP dependent regulator), that regulates T3SS in a c-di-GMP dependent manner. The CdeR consists of a helix-turn-helix DNA binding domain and controls T3SS via c-di-GMP. The relationship between CdeR and DGCs was examined.

The presentation will begin at 4:00 PM via Microsoft Teams, preceded by an informal Q&A from 3:45 – 4:00 PM. Click here to join the presentation.