New Notre Dame research offers new insights into the nature of important human pathogen | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › New Notre Dame research offers new insights into the nature of important human pathogen New Notre Dame research offers new insights into the nature of important human pathogen Published: November 08, 2013 Author: William G. Gilroy Shahriar Mobashery New research from a team led by Shahriar Mobashery, Navari Family Chair in Life Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, offers an insight into cell wall recycling and virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an important human pathogen. The research provides a road map for how the post-genomic analyses of biochemical processes will take place to elucidate important metabolic processes. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the cause of the bacterial infections that are hard to treat clinically and is the infectious agent that ultimately kills cystic fibrosis patients by colonizing their lungs. This organism has developed an elaborate process that links recycling of its cell wall both to antibiotic resistance and to virulence. Mobashery and his team studied the functions of three homologous enzymes, AmpD, AmpDh2 and Amp3, that are present in the organism. The genomic analysis had revealed the existence of the three, but their roles were not known. The researchers’ biochemical analyses revealed that the enzyme AmpD is involved in the recycling processes, yet AmpDh2 and AmpHh3 degrade the cell wall in a manner that implicates them in virulence by the organism. Virulence is the basis for how an organism is a difficult pathogen. Mobashery points out that the first genomes of bacteria were completed in the mid-1990s, yet scientists are still clueless on the functions of many of the genes from the bacterial genome. He stresses that the available genetic information needs to be followed by biochemical studies, like that done by his team on the P. aeruginosa system in elucidation of the functions of complex systems in bacteria. The research appeared in a series of three papers published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 4950-4953; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 10318-10321; J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, 135, 12605-12607). Posted In: Research Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 05, 2022 Astrophysicists find evidence for the presence of the first stars October 04, 2022 NIH awards $4 million grant to psychologists researching suicide prevention September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 22, 2022 Climate-prepared countries are losing ground, latest ND-GAIN index shows For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn