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KENNETH W. BAYLES, PhD EDUCATION |
RESEARCH INTEREST
My research has focused on the characterization of a novel regulatory system that controls the peptidoglycan hydrolase activity produced by bacteria. Using Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus anthracis as model systems, we have identified two sets of genes that impact these processes. The first set (the cid and lrg genes) encode membrane-associated proteins that are proposed to function by controlling the access of the peptidoglycan hydrolases to their substrate (peptidoglycan) within the bacterial cell wall. The second set (lytSR and cidR) encodes regulatory proteins that modulate cid and lrg expression in response to physiological signals. Recent studies indicate that these signals include changes in proton motive force and the energy status of the cell. Research on this system has led to the proposal that it comprises the molecular components of bacterial programmed cell death (PCD) and that the cid and lrg gene products may be functionally homologous to the Bax/Bcl family of proteins that control apoptosis in eukaryotic cells.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS
- Lehman MK, Bose JL, Sharma-Kuinkel BK, Moormeier DE, Endres JL, Sadykov MR, Biswas I, Bayles KW. 2015. Identification of the amino acids essential for LytSR-mediated signal transduction in Staphylococcus aureus and their roles in biofilm-specific gene expression. Mol Microbiol. Epub ahead of print. PMCID: PMC4347461
- Bayles, K.W. 2014. Bacterial programmed cell death: making sense of a paradox. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 12:63-9. PMCID: PMC4422510
- Moormeier DE, Bose JL, Horswill AR, Bayles KW. 2014. Temporal and stochastic control of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm development. MBio. 14;5(5):e01341-14. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01341-14. PMCID: PMC4205790
- Moormeier, D.E., Endres, J.L., Mann, E.E., Sadykov, M.R., Horswill, A.R., Rice, K.C., Fey, P.D., Bayles, K.W. 2013. The use of microfluidics technology to analyze gene expression during Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation reveals distinct physiological niches. Applied Environ. Microbiol. 79(11):3413-24. PMCID: PMC3648040
- Bose, J.L., Fey, P.D., and Bayles, K.W. 2013. Genetic tools to enhance the study of gene function and regulation in Staphylococcus aureus. Applied Environ. Microbiol. 79(7):2218-2224. PMCID: PMC3623228
- Fey, P.D., Endres, J.L., Yajjala, V.K., Widhelm, T.J., Boissy, R.J., Bose, J.L., and Bayles, K.W. 2012. A Genetic Resource for Rapid and Comprehensive Phenotype Screening of Non-essential Staphylococcus aureus Genes. mBio. 4(1):e00537-12. doi:10.1128/mBio.00537-12. PMCID: PMC3573662
- Wang, J. and Bayles, K.W. 2012. Programmed cell death in plants: lessons from bacteria? Trends Plant Sci. S1360-1385(12)00211-7. PMCID: PMC3556228
- Sadykov, M. and Bayles, K.W. 2012. The control of death and lysis in staphylococcal biofilms: a coordination of physiological signals. Current Opinion in Microbiology. 5:211-5. PMCID: PMC3320683
- Rice, K.C. and K.W. Bayles. 2008. Molecular control of bacterial death and lysis. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 72:85-109. PMCID: PMC3320683
- Bayles, K.W. The biological role of cell death and lysis in biofilm development. 2007. Nature Rev. Microbiol. 5:721-726. PMID: 17694072