PGE2 Induction in Francisella Novicida Infected Marcophages (2009)

Undergraduates: Tiffany Buckley, none none none

Faculty Advisor: Matthew Woolard
Department: Chemistry

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Francisella tularensis is an infectious bacterial pathogen that is the causative agent of tularemia. Because of the organism’s low infectious dose, morbidity, and ability to persist in the environment, it has been classified as a Category A agent. We have previously shown that Francisella induces marcophages to produce PGE2, which is a powerful lipid immune modulator. Francisella induces PGE2 to escape and modify the host immune response. However, the Francisella effector molecule responsible for the induction PGE2 is unknown. To identify genes necessary for the induction of PGE2, we screened a transposon mutant library and identified an array of genes. However, second site mutations and polar effects can cause false positives. To further clarify which genes are necessary for PGE2 induction, we are trans complementing all transposon mutants identified in the screen. We will then examine trans complemented Francisella transposon mutants ability to induce PGE2 in bone marrow macrophages compared to mutant strains. _x000D_
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