Cell biology and Biotechnology
Regulation of the bacterial lifestyle switch
Dr Fernando Govantes
Principal Investigator Summary
Five relevant publications
Lab members & Collaborators
Summary
Research in our laboratory is focused on the study of the bacterial lifestyle switch. We are interested in the regulatory phenomena involved in the transitions between the planktonic and biofilm lifestyles and vice versa and in the process that shape both lifestyles. More information in our web page
1. REGULATION OF BACTERIAL BIOFILM DEVELOPMENTIn this line we investigate the mechanisms of physiological and genetic regulation of biofilm development in the plant growth-promoting bacterium Pseudomonas putida and the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Our work has made a decisive contribution to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in biofilm formation and dispersal in response to nutritional stress in P. putida and has allowed us to identify some factors necessary for biofilm formation in P. syringae.
1. REGULATION OF BACTERIAL BIOFILM DEVELOPMENTIn this line we investigate the mechanisms of physiological and genetic regulation of biofilm development in the plant growth-promoting bacterium Pseudomonas putida and the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Our work has made a decisive contribution to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in biofilm formation and dispersal in response to nutritional stress in P. putida and has allowed us to identify some factors necessary for biofilm formation in P. syringae.
2. REGULATION AND ASSEMBLY OF THE FLAGELLAR SYSTEM AND BACTERIAL POLARITYIn this line we investigate the mechanisms of regulation of the synthesis of flagellar components, as well as the temporal, spatial and numerical regulation of flagella and other polarly localized components in bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas. Our work has allowed us to fully elucidate the transcriptional cascade responsible for the expression of flagellar and chemotaxis genes in Pseudomonas putida and many of the elements responsible for the polar localization of the flagellar and chemotaxis systems.
3. MODELING AND COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATION OF BIOFILM DEVELOPMENTIn this line we established a close collaboration with the group of Alejandro Cuetos (Universidad Pablo de Olavide) to establish computational models of various aspects of bacterial biofilm development. Our work has allowed us to establish the parameters that govern the internal organization of surface-associated colonies and the role of parameters such as diffusion and growth rates and local nutrient concentrations in these processes.
