Research:
Our laboratory studies development in the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus subtilis. B. subtilis undergoes an elaborate cycle of cellular differentiation that culminates in the formation of a dormant cell type, the spore. Spore formation involves the transformation of a vegetative cell into a two-compartment sporangium by asymmetric division. The compartments receive an identical chromosome yet have dissimilar developmental fates involving differential expression of distinct sets of genes. We seek to elucidate the entire regulatory circuit that governs entry into sporulation, cell-specific gene expression, and the linkage of gene expression to landmark events in morphogenesis. Other topics of interest are protein subcellular localization, chromosome segregation, intercellular signaling, and the formation of architecturally complex communities of cells.
Selected Publications: Chai Y, Chu, F., Kolter, R., Losick R. Bistability and biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis. Molecular Microbiol. 67:254-63 (2008). Vlamakis, H., Aguilar, C., Losick, R., Kolter, R. Control of cell fate by the formation of an architecturally complex bacterial community. Genes and Development 22:945-953 (2008). Losick, R. and Desplan, C. Stochasticity and Cell Fate. Science 320:65-68 (2008). Handler, A.A., Lim, J.E., and Losick, R. Peptide inhibitor of cytokinesis during sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. Molecular Microbiol. 68:588-599 (2008). Bosak, T. Losick, R., and Pearson, A. A polycyclic terpenoid that alleviates oxidative stress. PNAS 105:6725-6729 (2008). Chu, F., Kearns, D.B., McLoon, A., Chai, Y., Kolter, R., and Losick R. A novel regulatory protein governing biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis. Molecular Microbiol. 68:1117-1127 (2008). Camp, A.H., and Losick, R. A novel pathway of intercellular signalling in Bacillus subtilis involves a protein with similarity to a component of type III secretion channels. Molecular Microbiol. 69:402-417 (2008). Ramamurthi KS, Losick R. ATP-driven self-assembly of a morphogenetic protein in Bacillus subtilis. Molec. Cell. 31:406-14 (2008). Kontnik R., Bosak T., Butcher R.A., Brocks J.J., Losick R., Clardy J., Pearson A. Sporulenes, heptaprenyl metabolites from Bacillus subtilis spores. Org Lett. 10:3551-4 (2008). Kain J., He G.G., Losick R. Polar localization and compartmentalization of ClpP proteases during growth and sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 190:6749-57 (2008). Banse A.V., Chastanet A., Rahn-Lee L., Hobbs E.C., Losick R. Parallel pathways of repression and antirepression governing the transition to stationary phase in Bacillus subtilis. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci.105:15547-52 USA (2008). Lopez, D., Fischbach, M.A., Chu, F., Losick, R., and Kolter, R. Potassium Leakage Triggers Multiellularity in a Bacterium. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106:280-285 (2009). Ramamurthi, K. and Losick, R. Geometric Cue for Protein Localization in a Bacterium. Science, 323 (2009). Camp, A.H. and Losick, R. A Feeding Tube Model for Activation of a Cell-Specific Transcription Factor during Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. Genes & Development 23:1014-1024 (2009). |
