E 5 - Anke Becker
E 5 - Anke Becker
Opposing regulation of exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and motility in symbiontic nitrogen fixing Sinorhizobium species
![]() | Name: Institution: Address: Phone: Mail: Homepage: | Prof. Dr. Anke Becker LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) Hans-Meerwein-Straße, 35043 Marburg +49 - 6421 - 2824451 |
Research summary:
Many bacteria use flagella for motility and are also often capable to produce exopolysaccharides. Motility allows bacteria to move towards nutrients or other attractants and to escape from stress factors. Exopolysaccharides contribute to cell protection, cell aggregation, surface attachment and biofilm formation. In symbiotic nitrogen-fixing Sinorhizobium species, exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and surface motility are connected. In S. meliloti, a regulatory network that couples both processes to global sensory and regulatory modules achieves this interconnection. In her project, A. Becker will investigate whether different Sinorhizobium species use conserved key regulatory networks to coordinate motility/chemotaxis and exopolysaccharide biosynthesis. The comparison of the network architecture and signaling routes in S. meliloti, S. fredii, and S. medicae will contribute to a better understanding of the adaptive evolution of this coordinated regulation, which is important for free-living planktonic and surface-associated survival as well as for the establishment of the root nodule symbiosis.
Publications:
- Lagares A (Jr.) Borella GC, Linne U, Becker A, Valverde C. 2017. Regulation of polyhydroxybutyrate accumulation in Sinorhizobium meliloti by the 1 trans/-encoded small RNA MmgR. J.Bacteriol. doi:10.1128/JB.00776-16
- Baumgardt K, Melior H, Madhugiri R, THalmann S, Schikora A, McIntosh M, Becker A, Evguenieva-Hackenberg E. 2017. RNase E and RNase J are needed for S-adenosylmethionine homeostasis in Sinorhizobium meliloti. Microbiology SGM: doi: 10.1099/mic.0.000442.
- Saramago M, Peregrina A, Robledo M, Matos RG, Hilker R, Serrania J, Becker A, Arraiano CM, Jiménez-Zurdo JI. 2016. Sinorhizobium meliloti YbeY is an endoribonuclease with unprecedented catalytic features, acting as silencing enzyme in riboregulation. Nucl Acids Res: pii:gkw1234 [epub ahead of print]
- Döhlemann J, Brennecke M, Becker A. 2016. Cloning-free genome engineering in Sinorhizobium meliloti advances applications of Cre/loxP site-specific recombination. J Biotechnol 233:160-170.
- Medeot DB, Rivero MR, Cendoya E, Contreras-Moreira B, Rossi FA, Fischer SE, Becker A, Jofré E. 2016. Sinorhizobium meliloti low molecular weight phosphotyrosine phosphatase SMc02309 modifies activity of the UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase ExoN involved in succinoglycan biosynthesis. Microbiology (Reading, Engl ). doi:10.1099/mic.0.000239.