Morona, Renato - University of Adelaide - School of Biological Sciences

研究领域

Bacterial pathogens are the cause of significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Efforts to develop new and novel therapies focus on identification of new drug targets, and understanding the mechanisms and molecules that lead to pathogenesis and disease. The pathogen that is the focus of my research is Shigella flexneri, the causative agent of bacillary dysentery. Bacterial cell surface molecules are important mediators of interaction between bacteria and hosts, and their structure, function and biogenesis are of particular interest. Research is focused on several specific areas: Structure and function of the S. flexneri IcsA protein. S. flexneri actin based motility and cell to cell spread. Biosynthesis of S. flexneri lipopolysaccharide O antigens. Structure and function of Polysaccharide Co-polymerase proteins Novel anti-virulence drugs to prevent bacterial diseases Related collaborative research interests: Biosynthesis and regulation Streptococcus pneumoniae capsule biosynthesis Receptor mimic technology Development of Biotin Protein Ligase inhibitors.

近期论文

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Tocilj, A., Munger, C., Proteau, A., Morona, R., Purins, L., Ajamina, E., Wagner, J., Papadopoulos, M., Van Den Bosch, L., Rubinstein, J.L., Féthière, J., Matte, A., and Cygler, M. (2008) Bacterial polysaccharide co-polymerases share a common framework for control of polymer length. Nature Struct. Mol. Biol. 15:130-138. Purins, L., Van Den Bosch, L., and Richardson, V., and Morona, R., (2008) Coiled-coil regions play a role in the function of the Shigella flexneri O-antigen chain length regulator WzzpHS2. Microbiology 154:1104-1116. May, K.M. and Morona, R. (2008) Mutagenesis of the Shigella flexneri autotransporter IcsA reveals novel functional regions involved in IcsA biogenesis and recruitment of host neural Wiscott-Aldrich syndrome protein. J Bacteriol. 190:4666-4676. Attridge, S.R, Wallerstr?m G, Li, B.L., Morona, R., and Holmgren J. (2009) Differential immunogenicity of Vibrio cholerae O139 variants expressing different combinations of naturally occurring and atypical forms of the serogroup polysaccharide. Vaccine 27:1055-1061. Morona, R., Purins, L., Tocilj, A., Matte, A., and Cygler M. (2009) Sequence-structure relationships in polysaccharide co-polymerase (PCP) proteins. Trends Biochem Sci. 34:78-84.