In a paper published online on Feb 29, 2016 in Nature Microbiology, the Moraes lab investigated the transport of surface lipoproteins (SLPs) in Neisseria and discovered a key component of the transport process called SLAM.
Bacterial pathogens that cause gonorrhea and meningitis have developed a number of virulence factors to survive inside our body. One of […]
Trevor Moraes and Reinhart Reithmeier discuss SLC26 transporters in a News & Views article published in the October 6, 2015 issue of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology entitled “ Solute Carriers Keep on Rockin’ ”. The 400 members of the human solute carriers (SLC) remain among the most poorly characterized of human gene families, although they are essential for nutrient uptake, waste removal and ion transport. Furthermore, mutations in the genes […]
In this PLoS Pathogens article (Sit et al.), undergraduate student Brandon Sit together with other members of the Moraes Lab used X-ray crystallography and additional biochemical and functional approaches to illustrate that AfuABC binds and transports sugar-phosphates such as glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) across the Gram negative bacterial membrane. In collaboration with the Vallance lab (at UBC) they went on to show that AfuABC is required by enteric pathogens to effectively transmit […]
The conserved outer-membrane zinc transporter ZnuD is utilized by bacteria to overcome nutritional restriction imposed by the host organism during infection. In this Nature Communications paper (Calmettes et al.), Post doctoral fellow Dr. Charles Calmettes and other members of the Moraes Lab, Pomès Lab and Gray-Owen lab demonstrate that ZnuD is required for efficient systemic infections by the causative agent of bacterial meningitis, Neisseria meningitidis. They combined X-ray crystallography […]
We were delighted to learn that Drs. Alex Palazzo and Trevor Moraes have been promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure in recognition of their “outstanding contributions to the Department and the University and of their promise for future scientific leadership.” The Department extends its warmest congratulations on their achievement!