Research OverviewHost Responses to Food-Borne Pathogenic Bacteria Although people often think of food-borne illness as food poisoning, in many cases the problems are caused by infections with pathogenic bacteria that are consumed with the food, rather than toxins. This means that the ways in which the host and the bacteria interact is of critical importance in fighting the infection. Virulence Factors in Bacteria The factors are the specific molecules produced by pathogenic bacteria that make the host susceptible to infection. The severity of an infection, the likelihood that infection will occur, and the contagiousness can all depend on virulence factors...
Complete Information... | Research DescriptionDr. Mukhopadhyay's research interests are to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating host responses to food-borne pathogenic bacteria and the virulence factors of these bacteria that allow the organism to survive within the host. His research integrates the tools of genomics and bioinformatics with those of conventional molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics and immunology, to study host-pathogen interaction. Currently the laboratory uses differential display techniques such as DNA microarrays, RNA fingerprinting and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to better understand: 1) The molecular mechanisms of various environmental adaptation and "stress response survival" in food borne-bacterial pathogens (Escherichia coli, Salmonella & Enterococcus). 2) The interactions between pathogenic bacteria and host cells (human epithelial and phagocytic) at the molecular level. Another interest of the laboratory is to screen for novel natural and/or synthetic compounds that prevents pathogenic adaptation within the host. The laboratory, in collaboration with National Cancer Institute, NIH, is currently screening a library of putative drug molecules to identify novel inhibitors of bacterial stress adaptation pathway. |
Representative PublicationsMukhopadhyay, S., and H. E. Schellhorn. 1994. Induction of the Escherichia coli HPI hydroperoxidase by acetate and other weak acids. J. Bacteriol. 176:2300?2307. Roy, R. N., S. Mukhopadhyay, L. I.C. Wei and H. E. Schellhorn. 1995. Isolation and sequencing of gene fusions carried by placMu specialised transducing phage. Nucleic Acids Res. 23:3076?3078. Mukhopadhyay, S. and H. E. Schellhorn. 1997. Identification of genetic loci that confer hydrogen peroxide sensitive phenotype in Escherichia coli: members of OxyR activated genes. J. Bacteriol. 179: 21812188.
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