# overview
My lab is focused on the mechanisms of spore germination and bile acid resistance in Clostridium difficile.  C. difficile is a Gram-positive, spore forming, anaerobe that causes infections in people who have undergone antibiotic regimens.  Previously, we had shown that certain bile acids promote C. difficile spore germination while others inhibit germination.  Bile acids are small molecules made by the liver that help the absorption of fat and cholesterol in the GI tract while also serving as a protective barrier against invading pathogens.  Because C. difficile spores use the ratios of bile acids as cues for germination, the actively growing bacteria must have adapted means to avoid their toxic properties.  We are currently focused on identifying these factors and the mechanisms by which C. difficile spores germinate.

# keywords[]
2.2 Factors Relating To The Physical Environment

# keywords[]
2.2 Factors Relating To The Physical Environment

# keywords[]
2.2 Factors Relating To The Physical Environment

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Tufts University - (Medford, Massachusetts, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
University of Chicago - (Chicago, Illinois, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Purdue University - (West Lafayette, Indiana, United States)

# awardsAndHonors[].label
Enhancing Development and Generating Excellence in Scholarship (EDGES) Fellow

# awardsAndHonors[].label
Montague Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) Scholar

# publications[].label
Effect of tcdR Mutation on Sporulation in the Epidemic Clostridium difficile Strain R20291

# publications[].label
Correction to: Protease-stable DARPins as promising oral therapeutics.

# publications[].label
Yersinia enterocolitica type III secretion of YopR requires a structure in its mRNA.

# publications[].label
The selenophosphate synthetase, selD, is important for Clostridioides difficile physiology

# publications[].label
Conservation of the "Outside-in" Germination Pathway in Paraclostridium bifermentans.

# publications[].label
Bile acid recognition by the Clostridium difficile germinant receptor, CspC, is important for establishing infection.

# publications[].label
Spore Cortex Hydrolysis Precedes Dipicolinic Acid Release during Clostridium difficile Spore Germination.

# publications[].label
Gut associated metabolites and their roles in Clostridioides difficile pathogenesis.

# publications[].label
Rejection of impassable substrates by Yersinia type III secretion machines.

# publications[].label
The small acid-soluble proteins of Clostridioides difficile are important for UV resistance and serve as a check point for sporulation.

# publications[].label
The requirement for co-germinants during Clostridium difficile spore germination is influenced by mutations in yabG and cspA.

# publications[].label
Factors and Conditions That Impact Electroporation of Clostridioides difficile Strains.

# publications[].label
Editorial: Alternative Therapeutic Approaches For Multidrug Resistant Clostridium difficile.

# publications[].label
Impassable YscP substrates and their impact on the Yersinia enterocolitica type III secretion pathway.

# publications[].label
Reexamining the Germination Phenotypes of Several Clostridium difficile Strains Suggests Another Role for the CspC Germinant Receptor.

# publications[].label
Secretion signal recognition by YscN, the Yersinia type III secretion ATPase.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
A Clostridium difficile alanine racemase affects spore germination and accommodates serine as a substrate.

# publications[].label
Regulatory transcription factors of Clostridioides difficile pathogenesis with a focus on toxin regulation.

# publications[].label
Chenodeoxycholate is an inhibitor of Clostridium difficile spore germination.

# publications[].label
Muricholic acids inhibit Clostridium difficile spore germination and growth.

# publications[].label
Effects of surotomycin on Clostridium difficile viability and toxin production in vitro.

# publications[].label
Hierarchical recognition of amino acid co-germinants during Clostridioides difficile spore germination.

# publications[].label
Protease-stable DARPins as promising oral therapeutics.

# publications[].label
Bile salts and glycine as cogerminants for Clostridium difficile spores.

# publications[].label
Clostridioides difficile SpoVAD and SpoVAE Interact and Are Required for Dipicolinic Acid Uptake into Spores.

# publications[].label
CRISPR Genome Editing Systems in the Genus Clostridium: a Timely Advancement.

# publications[].label
Clostridioides difficile Biology: Sporulation, Germination, and Corresponding Therapies for C. difficile Infection.

# publications[].label
Role of the global regulator Rex in control of NAD+ -regeneration in Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile.

# publications[].label
Clostridioides difficile spore germination: initiation to DPA release.

# publications[].label
Laboratory maintenance of Clostridium difficile.

# publications[].label
Using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing to generate C. difficile mutants defective in selenoproteins synthesis.

# publications[].label
Detecting Cortex Fragments During Bacterial Spore Germination.

# publications[].label
Inhibiting the initiation of Clostridium difficile spore germination using analogs of chenodeoxycholic acid, a bile acid.

# publications[].label
Role of Bile in Infectious Disease: the Gall of 7-Dehydroxylating Gut Bacteria.

# publications[].label
Identification of a Novel Lipoprotein Regulator of Clostridium difficile Spore Germination.

# publications[].label
Clostridium difficile spore biology: sporulation, germination, and spore structural proteins.

# publications[].label
Both fidaxomicin and vancomycin inhibit outgrowth of Clostridium difficile spores.

# publications[].label
Site-directed mutations in the lanthipeptide mutacin 1140.

# publications[].label
The requirement for the amino acid co-germinant during C. difficile spore germination is influenced by mutations in yabG and cspA

# publications[].label
Genetic manipulation of Clostridium difficile.

# publications[].label
Clostridioides difficile SpoVAD and SpoVAE interact and are required for DPA packaging into spores

# publications[].label
The small acid-soluble proteins of Clostridioides difficile regulate sporulation in a SpoIVB2-dependent manner.

# publications[].label
Imaging Clostridioides difficile Spore Germination and Germination Proteins.

# publications[].label
Clostridioides difficile bile salt hydrolase activity has substrate specificity and affects biofilm formation.

# publications[].label
Effect of tcdR Mutation on Sporulation in the Epidemic Clostridium difficile Strain R20291.

# publications[].label
Germinants and Their Receptors in Clostridia.

# publications[].label
Binding of SycH chaperone to YscM1 and YscM2 activates effector yop expression in Yersinia enterocolitica.

# publications[].label
Dipicolinic Acid Release by Germinating Clostridium difficile Spores Occurs through a Mechanosensing Mechanism.

# publications[].label
The small acid-soluble proteins of Clostridioides difficile are important for UV resistance and serve as a check point for sporulation

# publications[].label
Reuterin disrupts Clostridioides difficile metabolism and pathogenicity through reactive oxygen species generation.

# publications[].label
The Selenophosphate Synthetase Gene, selD, Is Important for Clostridioides difficile Physiology.

# publications[].label
Plasmid Sequence and Availability for an Improved Clostridioides difficile CRISPR-Cas9 Mutagenesis System.

# publications[].label
Terbium chloride influences Clostridium difficile spore germination.

# publications[].label
The secretion signal of YopN, a regulatory protein of the Yersinia enterocolitica type III secretion pathway.

# publications[].label
Microbial bile acid metabolic clusters: the bouncers at the bar.

# publications[].label
Imaging Clostridioides difficile spore germination and germination proteins

# publications[].label
Small molecule inhibitor of lipoteichoic acid synthesis is an antibiotic for Gram-positive bacteria.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Clostridioides difficile bile salt hydrolase activity has substrate specificity and affects biofilm formation

# publications[].label
Substrate recognition of type III secretion machines--testing the RNA signal hypothesis.

# publications[].label
Metabolism of bile salts in mice influences spore germination in Clostridium difficile.

# researcherOn[].label
Mechanisms of Clostridium difficile spore germination

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
Role of circadian rhythms in the susceptibility to Clostridium difficile infection

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.preferredLabel
DHHS-NIH-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

# researcherOn[].label
Characterization of Clostridium Difficile Spore Germination

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.preferredLabel
DHHS-NIH-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

# streetAddress
Texas A&M University; Biology; 3258 TAMU

# inTheNews[].label
Texas A&M University Announces 2020 EDGES Fellows

# etdChairOf[].label
Francis, Michael (2017-05). Analyzing the Early Stages of Clostridium difficile Spore Germination. Doctoral Dissertation.