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Exploiting Flavin Mononucleotide’s Functionalities for Sensing in Cells.

Semester: Summer 2023


Presentation description

Cyclic-di-GMP (ci-di-GMP) regulates physiological processes in bacteria related to antimicrobial resistance: Biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, motility, etc. The co-factor Flavin Mononucleotide (FMN) has certain functionalities that allow us to study these processes within a biosensor context to better understand biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance. ||FMN is a photosensitizer that can affect the outcome of photochemical reactions. It can produce Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) by reacting with oxygen and producing oxygen containing radical species. FMN can go through different pathways after being excited by light, such as a fluorescence pathway, or it can react with oxygen to produce singlet oxygen that reacts with dopamine, which in turn produces polydopamine that can be visualized in electron microscopy (EM). ||The split miniSOG sensor utilizes both functionalities of FMN by giving a dual output of fluorescence and singlet oxygen production. Once ci-di-GMP binds, it can go through a conformational change that allows FMN to bind to the protein complex. This binding allows for both real time information of ci-di-GMP in bacterial cells through the fluorescent readout, as well as high spatial resolution of fine structures in bacteria related to antimicrobial resistance (biofilms, efflux pumps, etc.)

Presenter Name: Olga Merino-Chavez
Presentation Type: Poster
Presentation Format: In Person
Presentation #94
College: Science
School / Department: Chemistry
Research Mentor: Nathan Ricks
Date | Time: Thursday, Aug 3rd | 9:00 AM