# Engineered promoters for finely tuned gene expression in Chlamydia

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2020 · $76,500

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Chlamydia trachomatis represents a significant health concern world-wide. A substantial
burden exists due to the prevalence and the combined health and socioeconomic impact of
acute and chronic disease. Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular parasites that undergo a
complex developmental cycle, and this biology has historically impeded rapid progress in
understanding pathogenesis. Recently, the ability to transform Chlamydia with exogenous DNA
has greatly facilitated advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning the
success of chlamydial infection. For example, ectopic expression of chlamydial genes has
provided insight into intracellular localization and function. As studies become more
sophisticated, however, current promoter systems are often proving inadequate to address
physiologically relevant biology. Progress is particularly hindered by limited choices in tightly-
regulated, inducible promoters. We propose to address deficiencies by developing reagents for
more finely tuned gene expression in Chlamydia. We will exploit advances in synthetic biology
and rational design to engineer a suite of tightly regulated and tunable promoters. Preliminary
data showing the efficacy of the approach are presented herein. We propose to validate and
further develop these technologies. At the end of these studies, we will have established new
approaches that will benefit the entire Chlamydia research community and advance the utility of
ectopic gene expression to study chlamydial infection biology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9954362
- **Project number:** 1R03AI151621-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **Principal Investigator:** KENNETH A FIELDS
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $76,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9954362

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9954362, Engineered promoters for finely tuned gene expression in Chlamydia (1R03AI151621-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9954362. Licensed CC0.

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