Frontiers in Genomics: Dianne Newman
Context matters: agathokakological roles for redox-active “antibiotics”

Abstract
My laboratory has long been fascinated by phenazines, a class of secreted redox-active metabolites produced by diverse soil bacteria, including the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Though phenazines were once thought to function primarily as antibiotics to kill competitors, we have found additional physiological functions for phenazines under anoxic conditions, including roles in signaling, energy conservation, and nutrient acquisition. In this talk, I will review our current understanding of how the cellular microenvironment and the genomic blueprint of bacteria can predict phenazines’ biological effects. One important context where phenazines are made is in biofilms: multicellular aggregates that are found in environments ranging from the surfaces of plant roots to within the tissues of chronic human infections. How phenazines sustain microbial populations in biofilms presents a fundamental question that is nuanced and multifaceted. I will discuss our emerging mechanistic insights into this process and briefly explain how these insights may be leveraged to control biofilm populations.

Dianne Newman. Biology and Biological Engineering. Caltech

https://dknweb.sites.caltech.edu/

https://www.bbe.caltech.edu/people/dianne-k-newman

Frontiers in Genomics