# Understanding the role of CsrA in Acinetobacter baumannii survival and infection

> **NIH NIH R21** · EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $226,500

## Abstract

Abstract
 Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen that causes serious infections
which are very difficult to treat due to multidrug resistance. The majority of these infections
occur in hospitalized, critically ill individuals, and spread through the hospital environment is a
major concern for this pathogen. We developed a screen to identify genes that support the
survival of A. baumannii on dry surfaces, since this ability likely facilitates A. baumannii’s
spread. One of the genes we identified encodes the regulatory protein CsrA. This regulator is
important for controlling metabolism and virulence in other bacterial species, and as we began
to study the function of CsrA in A. baumannii, we found that it also appeared to be critical for
host-associated growth. This has provided a great opportunity to discover novel genes and
determinants involved in A. baumannii virulence and spread by further investigating the
regulatory function of CsrA in this organism. The goals of this proposal are: 1) To determine
the specific functions needed for host-associated growth by examining role of CsrA in controlling
A. baumannii metabolism; and 2) To identify direct regulatory targets of CsrA in order to
understand how it influences A. baumannii growth and environmental survival. The long-term
objectives of this research are to identify potential targets for the development of new
treatments for A. baumannii infections, and to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms
through which A. baumannii persists in the nosocomial environment with the goal of developing
new interventions to curb its spread in hospitals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10188912
- **Project number:** 1R21AI159072-01
- **Recipient organization:** EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** EVERETT C PESCI
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $226,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-03-22 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10188912

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10188912, Understanding the role of CsrA in Acinetobacter baumannii survival and infection (1R21AI159072-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10188912. Licensed CC0.

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