Undergrad Research

Michael Perlin, Professor
Ph.D., Chicago,1983.

mhperl01@gwise.louisville.edu

Molecular genetics; structure and function of the gene; molecular biology of drug action; gene mapping and splicing, fungal phytopathogens, host/pathogen interaction.

The research in my laboratory has three major focuses:

The first of these areas of research eventually may have applicability to the pharmaceutical industry. Aminoglycosides are a class of antibiotics used for the treatment of serious bacterial infections, often in patients whose immune system is nonfunctional. Development of bacterial resistance to these drugs compromises their effectiveness as therapeutic agents. As a means of anticipating development of new resistance and possibly as a strategy for pharmaceutical design, we are currently studying a gene responsible for bacterial aminoglycoside resistance and it's enzyme product. Experiments are being performed to analyze the active functional groups of the resistance enzyme; subsequently, by genetic engineering techniques, the gene for this enzyme will altered in specific ways so that such changes may be correlated with alterations in the enzyme's ability to confer resistance to specific aminoglycosides.

A second area of interest is in studying the evolution of antibiotic resistance in populations of bacteria. Specifically, we are interested in dynamics of plasmids and antibiotic-resistance genes when comparing populations where resistance is conferred only to the individual versus when the benefit is provided to the group as well. In conjunction with Drs. Ronald Atlas and Lee Dugatkin, we have begun to explore such dynamics in populations of bacterial cells.

The third major focus of our laboratory is on the design of approaches to examining the molecular bases for interaction between a fungal plant pathogen and the plant it infects.The fungus we are studying is the "smut" fungus that infects corn and a relative that infects flowering plants. We are studying these organisms to characterize those genes responsible for the ability of the fungus to infect its specific host plants.

We have already identified molecular markers that differentiate isolates from different host species. Our lab has also identified genes which are expressed during the hyphal stage, but not the yeast-like growth phase of the fungus. Since it is the hyphal stage which is infective to host plants, these findings should have important ramifications for our understanding of pathogenicity in this attractive model system.

Current Student Projects:

I currently have one student doing an Honors Project to examine the transcriptional controls on expression of an ammonium transporter that is involved in the switch for a yeast-like form of growth to a filamentous form of growth for baker's yeast. The student is using the promoter for the gene of interest, fused to a "reporter" gene, so as to measure expression under different growth conditions and in different mutant strains.

Undergraduate students are welcome to participate in any of the research areas outlined above.