Office phone: (859)323-5638
Fax: (859)257-8994
Lab phone: (859)323-1628
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics
Jacqueline Fetherston, Ph.D. |
Assistant Professor |
Doctoral studies: Washington University. Postdoctoral: Michigan State University, National Institute of Health and University of Kentucky.. |
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Office phone: (859)323-5638 |
Selected publications |
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| Research statement: Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of pneumonic and bubonic plague, is considered a potential bioterrorism agent. While much is known concerning the virulence determinants necessary for Y. pestis to cause disease by subcutaneous and intravenous routes of infection, essentially nothing is known about the virulence factors required for pneumonic plague. Such factors would be potential candidates for a subunit vaccine or targets for therapeutic agents designed to protect against pneumonic plague. The overall goal of my research is to identify determinants important for the virulence of Y. pestis in a mouse model of pneumonic plague. The pH6 antigen is a putative adhesin which is required for full virulence of Y. pestis by an intravenous route of infection while different iron transport systems are important in the pathogenesis of bubonic and septicemic plague in mice. Recently we have discovered that a heme transport system, Hmu, is necessary for the optimal growth of Y. pestis in a macrophage cell line. In my laboratory, Y. pestis strains carrying specific mutations in the pH6 antigen and select iron/heme transport systems are tested in a mouse model of pneumonic plague. In addition, signature-tagged mutagenesis is used to identify additional gene products required for the pathogenesis of pneumonic plague. | |
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