John Cox, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, has received a $3.68 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to better understand how the bacterium that causes chlamydia reproduces. The research could lead to better ways to treat this common infection.
Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading bacterial cause of sexually transmitted infections worldwide. Even though it is a very common infection, scientists still don’t fully understand how the bacterium reproduces, as it divides in a different way compared to most bacteria.
“To reproduce, most bacteria grow symmetrically and divide in the middle to produce two daughter cells,” Dr. Cox explained. “But Chlamydia trachomatis doesn’t divide in this way. Instead, it reproduces by asymmetric growth from one pole of the cell leading to the formation of a bud, which enlarges and eventually gives rise to a daughter cell, and we want to understand how this polarized budding process is controlled.”
Dr. Cox and his team are focused on determining which proteins are involved in polarized budding and how these proteins work together to enable the bacteria to grow and divide. Early findings suggest a protein called FtsK might help guide where new buds form, acting like a blueprint for future growth. Other proteins, which are normally involved in maintaining bacterial cell shape, seem to work with FtsK in this process.
This research will use a combination of advanced imaging, biochemical, and genetic approaches to explore how the interactions between these proteins lead to polarized budding. Learning more about this unusual mode of cell division may lead to the development of new strategies to prevent chlamydial growth, which could be especially valuable as antibiotic resistance becomes a growing concern.
“This research opens up entirely new ways of thinking about how to specifically target Chlamydia and potentially prevent its growth,” Dr. Cox said. “We’re excited to see where this work takes us.”
The multi-year project is funded through a grant from the National Institutes of Health and will provide valuable training opportunities for postdoctoral researchers. Scot Ouellette, PhD, professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, is co-investigator on the project.