Publikationer pr. år
Publikationer pr. år
Publikationer pr. år
Gerdes Research Group
Ambitious, potential PhD-students and Post Docs are encouraged to send their CV to Kenn Gerdes
Current Collaborators
INTRODUCTION TO CURRENT RESEARCH
The overarching research themes in the Gerdes group are Bacterial Stress Responses and Antibiotic Multidrug Tolerance (Persistence). Research within these fields facilitated the establishment of a Research Centre of Excellence funded by the Danish National Research Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The Centre is called Bacterial Stress Responses and Persistence (BASP). Most bacteria live in constantly changing environments and have evolved highly efficient resistance mechanisms that allow them to withstand stressful conditions. For their survival in the environment or during infections, almost all bacteria depend on the ubiquitous regulatory molecules tetra and penta-guanosine phosphate, collectively called (p)ppGpp or Magic Spots. Thus, the (p)ppGpp-dependent stress response is required for almost all pathogenic bacteria to be virulent. Our basic research aims to unravel bacterial survival and virulence mechanisms and how these mechanisms contribute to antibiotic persistence.
Magic Spots were originally discovered during experiments with the model organism E. coli undergoing amino acid starvation. These analyses led to the early definition of the “stringent response” during which (p)ppGpp rapidly increases to high levels and reprograms cellular metabolism from rapid to slow growth or dormancy. Magic spots profoundly influence gene expression allowing the bacteria to survive during limited nutrient supply and under many other adverse conditions. Importantly, rRNA synthesis is severely curtailed while transcription of amino acid biosynthetic operons is stimulated. Thus, a primary role of (p)ppGpp is to adjust cell growth to the available nutrient resources. However, (p)ppGpp affects many other cellular processes, such as replication, transcription and protein turnover, either directly or indirectly. Importantly, even though (p)ppGpp has been known for almost 50 years, it is not yet understood how its synthesis is controlled. In E. coli, Magic Spots are synthesized and hydrolyzed by the bifunctional Rel enzymes RelA and SpoT that are regulated by a number of factors including ribosome-bound tRNA and essential GTPases. However, at the molecular level, surprisingly little is known as to how Rel enzymes are regulated. As described further below, a long-term goal of our research is to understand how the enzymatic activities of RelA and SpoT are regulated and how (p)ppGpp contributes to bacterial virulence and persistence (multidrug tolerance). Research on the almost ubiquitous regulatory molecule (p)ppGpp has recently undergone a revival and the modern definition of the stringent response encompasses the cellular changes elicited by (p)ppGpp in all relevant bacteria, including major pathogens.
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
The Stringent Response and Other Survival Mechanisms (Yong Zhang, Anurag Sinha, Thomas Prossliner)
Transcriptional Control of spoT (Emilie Søndberg)
Bacterial Persistence (Cinzia Fino)
Toxin – Antitoxins (Stine Vang Nielsen)
Education
1983 - 1986: PhD (Lic. techn) in Molecular Genetics, Department of Microbiology, DTU
1980 - 1983: Master in Molecular Genetics, Department of Molecular Biology, SDU
Positions
2013 - present: Professor of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen
2006 - 2013: Professor of Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University
2006 : Visiting Professor, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University
2002 - 2006 : Professor in Molecular Microbiology, Department of Molecular Biology, SDU
1992 - 2002 : Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, SDU
Research Funding
2015 - 2021 : Danish National Research Foundation Centre BASP
2013 - 2019 : Novo Nordisk Foundation: Persistence of Pathogenic Bacteria
2012 - 2017 : ERC Advanced Grant: Bacterial Persistence
2010 - 2013 : Wellcome Trust: DNA segregation in procaryotes
2010 - 2013 : European Commission: Divinocell Consortium on Bacterial Cell Wall and Division
2005 -2012 : Danish National Research Foundation: Centre for mRNA Biogenesis and Metabolism
2005 -2007 : Danish Natural Research Council: Centre for Bacterial Genetics
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review
Gerdes, K. (Foredragsholder)
Aktivitet: Tale eller præsentation - typer › Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag
Gerdes, K. (Foredragsholder)
Aktivitet: Tale eller præsentation - typer › Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag
Gerdes, K. (Foredragsholder)
Aktivitet: Tale eller præsentation - typer › Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag
Gerdes, K. (Foredragsholder)
Aktivitet: Tale eller præsentation - typer › Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag
Gerdes, K. (Foredragsholder)
Aktivitet: Tale eller præsentation - typer › Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag
Gerdes, K. (Foredragsholder)
Aktivitet: Tale eller præsentation - typer › Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag
Gerdes, K. (Foredragsholder)
Aktivitet: Tale eller præsentation - typer › Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag
Gerdes, K. (Foredragsholder)
Aktivitet: Tale eller præsentation - typer › Foredrag og mundtlige bidrag