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A Spatiotemporal‐Controlled Targeting Tool for Understanding the Roles of Redox Signals on Bacterial Growth
Author(s) -
Pham Vanha Nhat
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.1088.2
Subject(s) - redox , organism , microbiology and biotechnology , intracellular , biology , computational biology , chemistry , biophysics , nanotechnology , biochemistry , genetics , materials science , organic chemistry
Redox‐mediated modifications are becoming increasingly appreciated as finely‐tuned signaling events that affect organism fitness. Greater understanding of these redox signals and cellular communication is imperative to being able to influence specific cellular functions and growth. However, precise spatiotemporal control to investigate these redox‐mediated inter‐ and intracellular communications has thus far been impossible. A recently developed method, targetable reactive electrophiles and oxidants (T‐REX), has achieved the precision necessary to explore the impacts of discrete redox signals in live mammalian cells. T‐REX employs an inert photo‐caged precursor of a bioactive redox signal and is targeted to a protein of interest (POI) through a HaloTag. Upon UV light, the redox signal is released onto the POI. This project adapts the T‐REX approach to bacteria to better resolve the roles of redox signals in bacteria stress responses and growth pathways. We have shown that T‐REX in bacteria—using E. coli as the model organism—yields comparable specificity as in mammalian cells, highlighting the generality of the methodology. Using this platform, we also demonstrate the capability of delivering redox signals to specific subpopulations of cells expressing different fluorescent proteins. With this approach, we are making headway toward identification of novel bacterial stress response pathways. This project highlights a novel chemical biology tool used to address the longstanding challenges in precise targeting of small‐molecule redox signals to specific protein targets in living cells. Support or Funding Information We acknowledge Frank L. and Lynnet Douglas Fellowship for Undergraduate Summer Research for Vanha N. Pham and NIH Director's New Innovator Award (1DP2GM114850‐01) for Yimon Aye.