Abstract

The presentation will discuss the discovery of a new family of serine-rich glycoproteins and a genomic island responsible for biosynthesis of the glycosylated serine-rich proteins highly conserved in many Gram-positive bacteria. I will present the data that uncover how a series of glycosyltransferases sequentially add glycan moieties to the serine-rich protein, and how an accessory secretion machinery consisting of a 3-complex operates to process the sugarcoated precursor  that is exported to the bacterial cell surface.  I will also briefly introduce other ongoing studies in the lab in the areas of polymicrobial interactions, and small molecule inhibitors of pathogenic biofilms.