# Molecular mechanisms of evolution at the host-microbe interface

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF OREGON · 2020 · $365,665

## Abstract

Project Summary
Microbes and their animal hosts encode numerous proteins to sense, manipulate, and
defend against each other. The outcome of these interactions can mean the difference
between a mutualistic exchange and a fatal infection. Epithelial surfaces provide the
point of first contact between hosts and diverse communities of commensal bacteria, in
addition to forming a critical barrier against bacterial pathogens. Although host and
microbial proteins at these interfaces can evolve rapidly between and within
populations, the impact of such diversity on immune defense is largely unknown. This
proposal will leverage host-microbe barrier interactions as models to investigate the
causes and consequences of adaptive protein evolution. We will first apply integrative
phylogenetic and experimental approaches to determine how diversification of epithelial
surface proteins mediates cell-cell adhesion and virulence of human-associated
bacterial pathogens. In a second line of study, we will identify how evolution of primate
secreted immunity proteins modulates bacterial destruction and defense functions.
These projects will also employ experimental evolution in the laboratory to trace
mechanisms of bacterial adaptation to antimicrobial enzymes in real time. This research
program will advance our fundamental understanding of evolving host-microbe systems
and accelerate strategies to diagnose and combat the growing threat of bacterial
infectious disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10006574
- **Project number:** 5R35GM133652-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
- **Principal Investigator:** Matthew Frederick Barber
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $365,665
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-02 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10006574

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10006574, Molecular mechanisms of evolution at the host-microbe interface (5R35GM133652-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10006574. Licensed CC0.

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