Microbiology

New early career seminars launching Fall 2021

2021-06-16

Tight shot of gloved hand holding a Petri dish.

The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce two new seminars from the Departments of Microbiology and Cell & Developmental Biology. Both series are focused on bringing early career scientists to campus. Speakers from historically marginalized communities are encouraged...

Jana Radin named LAS Honors Faculty Mentor of the Year

2021-05-11

Congratulations to Jana Radin on being chosen as the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Honors Faculty Mentor of the Year!

Congratulations to the 2021 student award winners!

2021-05-06

Blue and orange confetti flies in the air.

The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce the winners of its 2020-2021 student awards, fellowships, and scholarships.These awards recognize academic achievement, research accomplishments, and excellence in teaching.We’re proud to have so many outstanding students....

Geographies of death: Study maps COVID-19 health disparities in Greater Santiago

2021-04-27

People up to age 40 living in economically depressed municipalities in the Greater Santiago, Chile, metropolitan area were three times more likely to die as a result of the infection than their counterparts in wealthier areas, researchers report in the journal Science. People ages 41-80 in low...

MCB students, faculty, and staff recognized for their extraordinary efforts during COVID-19

2021-04-20

LAS Impact Award: Recognizing inspiring efforts during COVID-19

We’re proud to share the news that many School of Molecular & Cellular Biology students, faculty, and staff members have received College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Impact Awards. The awards, announced this week, recognize inspiring efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. So many in our...

Researchers characterize the function of PaeA, a protein involved in Salmonella virulence

2021-03-26

Research image courtesy of Slauch lab: Certain stresses or conditions induce production or import of putrescine and/or cadaverine. Once stress is relieved, the polyamines need to be exported via PaeA. Failure to export leads to high polyamine concentrations that are lethal under certain conditions.

The regulation of polyamines is essential for the physiological function of organisms. Simplistically, polyamines are organic cations that interact with RNA, including ribosomes and translational machinery. Both the lack of and an excess of polyamines confer lethal phenotypes, though the molecular...

Researchers uncover new insights in mechanisms of thymineless death

2021-03-26

An inverted image of DAPI-stained thyA mutant E. coli with additional defects in the enterobacterial common antigen biosynthesis under thymine starvation started by removal of thymidine from their growth medium. Left column: cells still grown in the presence of thymidine. Central column: one hour without thymidine. Right column: three hours without thymidine. Cells in the bottom row undergo massive lysis.

Andrei Kuzminov, professor of microbiology at the University of Illinois, leads research into the mystery of thymineless death, where mutant cells that cannot synthesize the essential molecule thymine will die unless the growth environment has thymine readily available. With graduate student Pritha...

MCB statement on solidarity with Asian American communities

2021-03-22

The MCB community stands together in denouncing all acts of hate against Asians and Asian Americans, just as we denounce all acts of intolerance and hate within and outside our MCB community. We stand in solidarity with our Asian and Asian American colleagues against the forces of intolerance and...

Deciphering the impacts of small RNA interactions in individual bacterial cells

2021-03-10

Bacteria employ many different strategies to regulate gene expression in response to fluctuating, often stressful, conditions in their environments. One type of regulation involves non-coding RNA molecules called small RNAs (sRNAs), which are found in all domains of life. A new study by researchers...

New study identifies culprit behind onion rot: the chemical pantaphos, which is toxic to some brain cancer cells, could also have biomedical applications

2021-03-09

Since 1983, the bacteria Pantoea ananatis has been known to infect several important crops including onions, rice, and corn. It was unclear, however, what molecules were involved. A new study, published in mBio, has identified one of the culprits: pantaphos. Intriguingly, the researchers have...

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