# Elucidating the Sensing Abilities of Virulence Regulatory Systems

> **NIH NIH R56** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $539,911

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Bacterial pathogens exert tight control over their proteomes. This proposal examines
how Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium exerts this control. It makes direct use of
novel methods and conceptual breakthroughs developed during the last grant period.
First, we will identify genes that govern global DNA supercoiling using Fluorescence
Evaluation of DNA Supercoiling, a novel high throughput method that examines DNA
supercoiling in living cells. We will then investigate how the identified genes control
this essential process. Second, we will explore the mechanism by which the master
virulence regulator PhoP promotes transcription of an open reading frame when
binding to that very same open reading frame. These unusually located PhoP binding
sites were uncovered with Identification of Transcription Factor Sites, a novel algorithm
that captures transcription factor binding sites genome wide and overcomes the
limitations of SELEX and ChIP-seq. And third, we will determine the post-
transcriptional mechanisms by which the RNA chaperone CspC and the novel small
protein UgtS control the abundance and activity of the virulence protein UgtL. The
proposed research will provide a molecular understanding of cellular physiology and
likely be broadly applicable because all bacteria supercoil their DNA, activate gene
transcription, and exert post-transcriptional control of their genes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10452800
- **Project number:** 2R56AI120558-05A1
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Eduardo Groisman
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $539,911
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2021-08-05 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10452800

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10452800, Elucidating the Sensing Abilities of Virulence Regulatory Systems (2R56AI120558-05A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10452800. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*