# Molecular mechanisms controlling stress responses and cell adhesion in bacteria

> **NIH NIH R35** · MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $32,219

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
My group seeks to understand molecular mechanisms that underlie the ability of bacterial cells
to survive in complex, dynamic environments, including mammalian hosts. In the context of this
project, we will specifically focus on defining mechanisms by which bacteria (i) regulate their
physiology to survive environmental stress, and (ii) regulate and modify their envelope to control
adhesion to surfaces and to other cells. We will utilize an interdisciplinary set of genetic,
biochemical, biophysical, and computational approaches to address these questions on multiple
scales, from the cellular/systems level to the level of molecular structure. The data that emerge
from our studies will enhance understanding of processes that allow bacteria to grow and
survive in complex environments, and will inform new concepts in gene regulation and cell
envelope biology. More specifically, this project will provide the scientific community with an
integrative understanding of sensory transduction mechanisms, from signal detection to cellular
response. In addition, our investigations of bacterial cell adhesion and envelope polysaccharide
biosynthesis will lead to improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which
bacteria build the highly complex structure known as the envelope, which separates the tightly
controlled activities in the cytoplasm from the outside world. Importantly, both environmental
regulatory proteins and components of the bacterial cell envelope are well-defined virulence
determinants in many bacterial pathogens. Thus our work has the potential to inform new
therapeutic routes to control certain bacterial infections.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10380281
- **Project number:** 3R35GM131762-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sean Crosson
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $32,219
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10380281

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10380281, Molecular mechanisms controlling stress responses and cell adhesion in bacteria (3R35GM131762-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10380281. Licensed CC0.

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