# Surface adaptation in bacterial cells

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2024 · $382,090

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Bacteria often grow in close association with solid surfaces. Tissues of the human body such as the oral cavity,
lungs, gut and skin serve as surfaces for colonization by pathogenic bacteria that cause a significant health
burden. Despite the importance of surface-associated bacteria to the development of infections, therapeutic
interventions that target attached cells remain scarce. My laboratory seeks to understand fundamental
mechanisms of how bacteria colonize surfaces. Bacterial cells growing on surfaces display a variety of distinct
physiological characteristics that we refer to collectively as the surface-adapted state. In recent years, the ability
of bacteria to recognize contact with solid substrates has emerged as a critical activator of the surface-adapted
state. A molecular machine called the flagellum participates in these surface sensing systems, but how the
flagellum allows bacteria to respond to physical contact has been difficult to characterize. We recently used a
genetic screen to identify dozens of genes that allow the model bacterium Caulobacter crescentus to respond to
surface contact. Preliminary data collected in my laboratory show that these novel surface sensing factors link
the flagellum to cellular process that are not encompassed by current models for surface colonization. The goal
of the work proposed here is to define how the flagellum coordinates diverse regulatory systems in the cell to
control surface adaptation. We will achieve this goal by (1) elucidating how chemotaxis and mechanosensing
intersect to promote surface responses and (2) determining how surface contact influences cell cycle
progression. The proposed studies leverage my group’s novel insights into the genetic basis for surface
adaptation to define how bacterial cells respond to physical contact. Successful completion of this work will
identify therapeutic targets for treating bacterial infections.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10909280
- **Project number:** 5R35GM150652-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** David M. Hershey
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $382,090
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10909280

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10909280, Surface adaptation in bacterial cells (5R35GM150652-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10909280. Licensed CC0.

---

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