Microbiology & Immunology Seminar Series: “Integrating Metabolism and Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus”
Talk: “Integrating Metabolism and Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus”
Speaker:
Shaun Brinsmade, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Georgetown University
Location:
Med-Dent NE301 and via Zoom
Abstract:
Metabolism fuels infection, and virulence can be thought of as a mechanism to maintain homeostasis. In my talk, I’ll discuss our current work to understand the linkages between bacterial physiology and the production of virulence factors in the model Gram-positive human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Specifically, I will focus on our discovery of a novel pathway for synthesizing fatty acids for membrane phospholipid synthesis. Because the membrane of S. aureus is among the main targets for antibiotic therapy, determining the mechanisms involved in BCFAs synthesis is critical to manage S. aureus infections.