# Elucidating the Orchestrated Bacterial Response to Copper Toxicity

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2022 · $376,062

## Abstract

Project Summary
Metal dysbiosis is detrimental to bacterial survival as approximately 40% of proteins use metals as a cofactor
or structural component, yet metals are often overlooked external stimuli. Due to metal binding being
promiscuous and proteins having specific metallo-requirements, bacteria have evolved import and export
systems to maintain the homeostasis of biologically relevant metals, with zinc and especially copper tending to
be more toxic in moderate concentrations. As metal import and export are dynamic processes with
fundamental gaps in knowledge, a multi-omics approach will investigate the pathways for bacterial metal
homeostasis for copper and zinc at varying concentrations. The research objectives are to 1) determine how
metal influx, efflux, and internal concentrations (the “metallome”) respective to copper and zinc affect the
transcriptome and metabolome; 2) build a web-based platform to sort through this data efficiently, and 3) use
the data to support and form new hypotheses that examine the interplay of copper and zinc within bacterial
systems. These data will also underpin foundational projects for undergraduates in the National Summer
Undergraduate Research Project (NSURP), a virtual summer research program for underrepresented
minorities that the PI established in 2020. This supplement will also be used to support a program director for
NSURP to solidify the foundation further and expand upon its goals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10603391
- **Project number:** 3R35GM128653-05S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael David Leslie Johnson
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $376,062
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10603391

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10603391, Elucidating the Orchestrated Bacterial Response to Copper Toxicity (3R35GM128653-05S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10603391. Licensed CC0.

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