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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Bacteria live in structured aggregates during chronic infections, where they evolve to adapt to the host environment in order to evade host immune responses and therapeutic interventions. Although we know how physical properties of the environment impact on aggregate formation, changes in bacterial surface properties on aggregate assembly have been overlooked. My research is focused on understanding the aggregate assembly of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an in vitro sputum model. My findings highlight that O-antigen dictates aggregate assembly type, and sheds new light on the benefits or loss of O-antigen in polymer rich environments such as CF lungs.
