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Talk by Andreas Diepold

Title: "The bacterial type III secretion system: A dynamic and adaptive nanomachine at the host-pathogen interface"
Occasion: SFB Seminar
Start: 13.06.2024 4.30 pm
Location: CellNanOs, 38/201

About the speaker: Dr. Andreas Diepold conducts research at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Department of Ecophysiology, in Marburg

Abstract of the talk: Important bacterial pathogens manipulate eukaryotic target cells by injecting effector proteins through type III secretion systems (T3SS). Recent in situ observations revealed that these large molecular machines, also called injectisomes, are remarkably dynamic and adaptive. This adaptive behavior occurs at both the molecular and population scales and is essential for bacterial pathogenicity.
Investigating the T3SS in situ, in live bacteria, we recently discovered that the cytosolic components of the T3SS form a mobile network that shuttles effector proteins from the cytosol to the export machinery and can modify T3SS function in response to changing environmental conditions. Bacteria also manage the assembly of the T3SS on a population basis. While some species display a bimodal expression of the T3SS – enabling T3SS-negative bacteria to benefit from their T3SS-positive siblings – we found that Yersinia regulates T3SS activity, cell division, and host attachment in response to bacterial density, which facilitates bacterial dissemination.
In my presentation, I will share our latest findings on the dynamics and adaptivity of the T3SS from the mechanistic to the cellular level, highlighting its role in bacterial infections.