Microbial Systems and Synthetic Biology at UMBC

Our lab is focused on understanding the metabolism and physiology of bacteria, specifically how they sense their environment and obtain energy. We use the saprophytic bacterium Cellvibrio japonicus to study how microbes detect, degrade, and consume recalcitrant polysaccharides, such as those found in plants, insects, crustaceans, and fungi. Our lab uses an interdisciplinary systems approach combining transcriptomics, proteomics, bacterial genetics, and biochemistry. We also design and fabricate novel 3D printed devices that enable growth experiments and enzyme assays that use insoluble substrates. By uncovering the mechanisms of polysaccharide utilization by bacteria we hope to: (1) Determine how bacteria are able to sense insoluble polysaccharides as nutrients, (2) Understand how the degradation of insoluble polysaccharides is regulated, (3) Elucidate unknown gene function in the context of insoluble polysaccharide degradation and transport, and (4) Engineer useful properties into bacteria that may have industrial or medical applications, specifically those relevant to the degradation and/or transport of sugar polymers.

Website last updated: March 2025