Microbial Physiology

E. coli induces repair enzymes to protect itself from low-grade hydrogen peroxide stress

2022-02-07

Green Florescent Protein (GFP) being expressed in a strain of E.coli in L.B. agar medium .The plate in the center is the control that is not expressing any GFP.

Building upon decades of research, scientists at the University of Illinois have determined Escherichia coli (E. coli) induces DNA repair enzymes to protect itself from low-grade hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) stress. Their collective findings, published recently in Molecular Microbiology, suggest the...

Synergistic Toxicity of Nitric Oxide and Hydrogen Peroxide Triggers Catastrophic Chromosomal Fragmentation

2021-06-24

Professor Andrei Kuzminov and PhD student Pooja Agashe from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently explored hydrogen peroxide’s synergistic effects with nitric oxide (NO).

Cronan lab uncovers mechanism for synthesis of pimelate moiety, the biotin precursor

2021-02-22

Professor John. E. Cronan, Microbiology Alumni Professor and professor of biochemistry at the University of Illinois, is a leading researcher and innovator in the field of lipid metabolism. His recent work focuses on the synthesis of biotin and its building blocks across different species of...

Welcome to Professor Joe Sanfilippo

2021-01-20

Professor Sanfilippo was one of ten new faculty hires made in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the last three years. Sanfilippo is an assistant professor of biochemistry.

New study explores complex phage-host interactions in human gut

2020-10-20

Chart depicting phage-bacteria-mammal relationships.

Danielle Campbell, a microbiology PhD graduate of the Whitaker Lab, recently studied the interaction of the active prophage, Bacteroides phage BV01, in its tractable host strain, B. vulgatus ATCC 8482. Bacteroides, known to degrade complex carbohydrates and interact with host immune cells, are one...

New work provides broader understanding of how bacteria obtain essential nutrients in soil and during infection

2020-10-19

In a recently published study from the University of Illinois, researchers have identified a new class of bacterial importers in over 250 species.

Precision pathogenesis: a novel approach for studying bacterial toxins in disease

2020-08-18

Illustration of a mouse, with the side view of the abdomen mapping out organs.

In a recent publication, the lab of Steven Blanke, Professor of Microbiology and Ralph S. Wolfe Professorial Scholar, has introduced a new approach for observing the effects of the microbe Helicobacter pylori’s single protein toxin, called the vacuolating cytotoxin, or VacA, in the absence of...

The Next Gold Rush: Mining Microbial Genomes

2018-12-31

Graphics depicting floating microbes in blue shades.

“Microbes are king of the world. If human beings ceased to exist, microbes wouldn’t even notice [except those in the human microbiome], but if microbes ceased to exist today, human beings would cease to exist tomorrow.”

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