Research

 

Bacterial small regulatory non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) rapidly regulate target gene expression in response to changing environmental conditions. My lab studies the functions of sRNAs in the bacterium Shewanella oneidensis, a bacterium that can “breathe” metal during anaerobic growth.

 

We use genetic, molecular, and physiological approaches to identify sRNA genes and understand how sRNAs function to adapt cell physiology to shifting environmental conditions. Of particular interest is the role played by the RNA chaperone Hfq, which promotes sRNA function, in both cell growth and cell survival under stress conditions, including oxidative stress and iron starvation conditions.