Sara Agolli
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): J Fenno
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Biologic and Materials Sciences / Dentistry
Program:
Authors: Sara Agolli, M. Paula Goetting-Minesky, J. Christopher Fenno
Session: Session 4 1:40-3:30 p.m. Hussey Room
Poster:
Abstract
This project aims to develop a tetracycline inducible expression system for controlled gene expression studies in the oral pathogen Treponema denticola (TDE), which is implicated in periodontal disease. A shuttle plasmid construct containing the Pteti promoter upstream of genes of interest was created, which allows for tunable gene expression levels proportional to the amount of anhydrotetracycline inducer added. Initially targeting the cytotoxic msp gene was problematic due to leaky expression. The focus has shifted to using the fhbB gene mediating complement resistance, where successful anhydrotetracycline induction was demonstrated in E. coli. Going forward, the Pteti-fhbB construct will be transformed into TDE to characterize the role of calibrated FhbB expression in serum resistance and periodontal pathogenesis.
