Lipoteichoic Acid (LTA)
Why do Gram+ cells have LTA?
LTA is an important polymer localized on the surface of Gram+ bacteria. Discovered approximately 60 years ago, LTA comprises as much as 15% of the Gram+ cell envelop dry weight, and LTA-defective strains are often non-viable or display severe growth defects, suggesting that LTA plays an important role in bacterial physiology. In spite of LTA’s importance in cell viability and how long we have known of its existence, our understanding of LTA’s role in bacterial physiology and how it contributes to survival remains obscure. The overarching goal of this project is to fill this knowledge gap.
Protein Acetylation
The effect of protein acetylation S. gordonii biofilm development
Bacterial protein acetylation is a common posttranslational modification that influences many key physiological processes. While significant progress has been made towards the understanding of the impact of protein acetylation on bacterial physiology, much is yet to be discovered. The oral commensal Streptococcus gordonii, thought to play an important role in dental plaque development, is predicted to encode twenty-two protein acetyltransferases. Yet, no information exists on the role of protein acetylation in S. gordonii physiology. The overarching goal of this project is to investigate the role protein acetylation on S. gordonii biofilm formation and its impact in dental plaque formation.
Recent Publications
For a complete list, please visit Dr. Lima's Google Scholar page.
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
1. Park KH, Ordinola-Zapata R, Noblett WC, Lima BP and Staley C. The effect of ultrasonic and multisonic irrigation on root canal microbial communities: An ex vivo study. Int Endod J (2023) Doi: 10.1111/ iej.13996
2. Bedree JK, Kerns K, Chen T, Lima BP, Liu G, Ha P, Shi J, Pan CH, Kim KJ, Tran L, Minot S, Hendricksen EL, Lamont EI, Hardt M, Stephens D, Patel M, Kokaras A, Stodieck L, Shirazi-Fard Y, Wu B, Kwak JH, Ting K, Soo C, McLean JS, He X, Shi W. Specific Host Metabolite and Gut Microbiome Alterations are Associated with Bone-loss During Spaceflight. Cell Reports (2023) Doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112299
3. Ordinola-Zapata R, Costalonga M, Dietz M, Lima BP, Staley C. The Root Canal Microbiome Diversity and Function. A Whole-Metagenome Shotgun analysis. Int Endod J (2023) doi: 10.1111/iej.13911
4. Ordinola-Zapata R, Costalonga M, Nixdorf D, Dietz M, Schuweiller D, Lima BP, Stayle C. Taxonomic Abundance in Primary and Secondary Root Canal Infections. Int Endod J (2022) doi: 10.1111/iej.13864
5. Lima BP, Davies JR, Wickström C, Johnstone KF, Hall JW, Svensater G, Herzberg MC. Streptococcus gordonii Poised for Glycan Feeding through a MUC5B-discriminating Lipoteichoic Acid-Mediated Outside-in Signaling Circuit. J Bacteriol. (2022) doi:10.1128/jb.00118-22
6. Saavedra FM, Pelepenko LE, Boyle WS, Zhang A, Staley C, Zaia AA, Herzberg MC, Marciano MA*, Lima BP*. In vitro physicochemical characterization of five root canal sealers and their influence on an ex vivo oral multi-species biofilm community. Int Endod J (2022), doi:10.1111/iej.13742 *co-corresponding authors
7. Duong E, Truong J, Rojas Mp, Lima BP, Xu P, Shokeen B, Lux R. Streptococcus sanguinis Proteins Involved in Interspecies Binding to Fusobacterium nucleatum. JCDA (2020) doi: 10.1080/19424396.2020.12222647
8. Nairn BL, Lee G, Chumber A, Steck P, Mire M, Lima BP, Herzberg MC. Uncovering roles of Streptococcus gordonii SrtA-processed proteins in the biofilm lifestyle. J Bacteriol (2020), 203:e00544-20. doi:10 .1128/JB.00544-20.
9. Lima BP, Kho K, Nairn BL, Davies J, Svensater G, Chen R, Steffes A, Vreeman GW, Meredith TC, Herzberg MC. Streptococcus gordonii Type I Lipoteichoic Acid (LTA) Contributes to Surface Protein Biogenesis. mSphere (2019). 4:e00814-19. doi:10.1128/mSphere.00814-19.
10. Hall JW, Lima BP, Herbomel GG, Gopinath T, McDonald L, Shyne MT, Lee JK, Kreth J, Ross KF, Veglia G, Herzberg MC. An intramembrane sensory circuit monitors sortase A-mediated processing of streptococcal adhesins. Sci Signal. (2019) May 7;12(580). doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aas9941.
BOOKS AND BOOK CHAPTERS
1. Hall JW, Lima BP, Johnstone KF, Herzberg MC (2024). Localization of the Remnant of a Cell Wall Sorting Signal and Its Interaction with a Sensor Kinase. In: Ton-That, H. (eds) The Bacterial Cell Wall. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2727. Humana, New York, NY. Doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3491-2_13