Marvin Whiteley
Title: |
Assistant Professor |
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Education: |
Post-Doc: 2002, Stanford University |
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Office: |
NMS 3.124 |
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Phone: |
(512) 471-5493 Fax: (512) 471-7088 |
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E-mail: |
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Postal Address: |
The University of Texas at Austin Molecular Genetics & Microbiology 1 University Station A5000 Austin TX 78712-0162 |
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Courses taught: |
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Bacteria exhibit many social activities and represent a model for dissecting social behavior at the genetic level (recently defined as sociomicrobiology). One example of social behavior in bacteria is the use of small molecules to communicate within a bacterial population, a process referred to as quorum sensing. Recent work has provided evidence that quorum sensing allows bacteria to amass a coordinated response in a density-dependent manner to accomplish tasks which would be difficult to achieve for a single bacterium. Although much is understood about the molecules used for communication, little is known about how these molecules are trafficked within a bacterial population or how these molecules are perceived by individual bacterial cells. My laboratory is interested in understanding the mechanism of signal trafficking between bacterial cells and how these signals are perceived by individual cells. We currently use two pathogenic bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and a plant commensal Sinorhizobium meliloti to study signal trafficking and perception between bacterial cells and between bacteria and eukaryotic cells. Recent evidence in our laboratory indicates that some bacteria package signals into membrane vesicles that facilitate delivery of these molecules to other cells within the population. This mechanism of signal trafficking is significantly impacted by the nutritional environment and studies are currently under way to understand how specific nutritional cues impact the ability of bacterial cells to produce and perceive signals. The overall goal of my lab is to understand signal trafficking and perception at the molecular level as well as provide an ecological role for these communication systems in the natural environment.
Selected Publications
Ramsey, M.R., and M. Whiteley. 2004. Pseudomonas aeruginosa attachment and
biofilm formation in dynamic environments. Mol. Microbiol. 53(4):1075-87.
Mashburn, L.M., A.M. Jett, D.R. Akins, and M. Whiteley. 2005. Staphylococcus
aureus serves as an iron source for Pseudomonas aeruginosa during in vivo
co-culture. J. Bacteriol. 187(2):554-566.
Palmer, K.P., L.M. Mashburn, P.K. Singh, and M. Whiteley. 2005. Cystic
fibrosis sputum supports growth and cues key aspects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
physiology. J. Bacteriol. 187 (15): 5267-5277.
Mashburn, L.M., and M. Whiteley. 2005. Membrane vesicles traffic signals and
facilitate group activities in a prokaryote. Nature 437: 422-425.
Huang, J., A. Petersen, M. Whiteley, and J.R. Leadbetter. 2005. Identification
of QuiP, the product of gene PA1032, as the second acyl-homoserine lactone
acylase encoded by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72:
1190-1197.
Aspedon, A, K.P. Palmer, and M. Whiteley. 2006. Microarray analysis of the
osmotic stress response in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J. Bacteriol. 188(7):2721-5.
Moreira CG, K.P. Palmer, M. Whiteley, MP Sircili, LR Trabulsi, AF Castro, V.
Sperandio. 2006. Bundle-Forming Pili and EspA Are Involved in Biofilm Formation
by Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 188(11):3952-61.
L.M. Mashburn and M. Whiteley. 2006. Special Delivery: vesicle trafficking in
prokaryotes. Mol. Microbiol. 61(4):839-46.
2006. The phenazine pyocyanin is a terminal signaling factor in the quorum
sensing network of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Mol. Microbiol. 61(5):1308-21.
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