Shuba Varshini Alampalli     email
    Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research

    Supervisor:
    Jun. Prof. Dr. Lars Barquist (Würzburg)
    Promotion Committee:
    Jun. Prof. Dr. Lars Barquist (Würzburg)
    Jun. Prof. Dr.  Alexander Westermann (Würzburg)
    Prof. Dr. Thomas Dandekar (Würzburg)
    Dr. Sofia Forslund (Berlin)

    Multi-omic characterization of the Salmonella RNA-binding protein ProQ during infection of the murine typhoid model

    RNA-binding proteins are increasingly known to serve as global regulators in bacterial pathogens; however, in most cases their specific roles in infection remain unclear. One such example is the recently discovered RNA-binding protein ProQ in the Enterobacteriaceae, which has been shown to affect the expression of hundreds of transcripts and induce a virulence defect in animal models of infection. Initial experiments with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium revealed an unexpected dependence of the ProQ phenotype on the host microbiota in the well-studied murine typhoid model: a strong virulence defect was observed for the Salmonella proQ deletion in conventional mice, but was not observed in germ-free mice. My project takes a multi-omics approach to understand the role of ProQ in Salmonella infection. The technologies I am applying include RNA-seq, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics with both wild-type and proQ deletion strains of Salmonella, using both germ-free and conventional mice. I aim to investigate these infection models, illustrating the insights to be gained from the above mentioned approaches, and identify the regulatory mechanisms of ProQ that may impact Salmonella infection in the murine gut.