Bacillus subtilis as a Tool in Basic Science and Applied Research
Event details
| Date | 21.02.2012 |
| Hour | 16:15 |
| Speaker | Imrich Barack, Slovak Academy of Science, Institute of Molecular Biology , SL |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Bacillus subtilis is an internationally-recognised model microorganism, whose physiology, biochemistry and genetics has been studied for decades. Our research is oriented toward studying the proteins involved in basic processes in B. subtilis as cell division, sporulation and programmed cell death. The lecture will cover broad range of results explaining the mechanism of the basic cell processes in B. subtilis and its potential in biotechnological exploitation. It will concentrate on basic science questions as i) How the cell knows with high precision to find its centre? ii) How the cell knows when to start to sporulate? iii) How the asymmetry in gene expression is programmed? iv) Why the unicellular organism is programmed for self destruction? The main focus of the lecture will be on the lipid and protein structures what control cell division and sporulation. The domains of different lipid composition are present in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell membranes. Using membrane binding fluorescent dyes, we demonstrated previously, the presence of lipid spirals extending along the long-axis of cells of the rod-shaped bacterium B. subtilis. These data indicate a higher level of membrane lipid organization than previously observed. Little is known however of the origin of these helical structures. Principally, there are at least three main specifically localized molecular structures in the membrane or close proximity to it – peptidoglycan layer, membrane proteins and cytoskeleton structures and all of them can help to form or influence the formation of lipid helixes. The role of the lipid domains in regulation of cell division through the Min system will be discussed in details.
Links
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Contact
- Prof. Rizlan Bernier-Latmani, EML