Microbial H2S Producers, Characterizing and Inhibiting "Bad Actor" Proteins (2015)

Undergraduates: Sarah McShane, Kunal Patel Kristen Biernat

Faculty Advisor: Matthew Redinbo
Department: Biology

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Geneticists and doctors have long looked to link chronic diseases to gene mutations and familial history or lifestyle behaviors. In recent years, the microbiota has emerged as a new factor in chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, asthma, cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). With these findings and the increase in DNA technologies, there is potential for new approaches to understanding and mediating disease. My project focuses on the role of microbially produced H2S in intestinal disorders and cancers. Increased levels of H2S in the GI are associated with increased inflammation, the exacerbation of colorectal cancer, development of irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and ulcerative colitis and reduced expression of the host H2S detoxification response. Of the set of microbial proteins that produce H2S, I have identified three potential ¿¿¿bad actors¿¿¿ based on the prevalence of their host genome in the disease states. This year, I have cloned, overexpressed, purified, and crystallized Taurine:pyruvate aminotransferase from Bilophila wadsworthia. Through structural and enzymatic characterization, I hope to elucidate its potential function in these diseases.