Advances in Immunology and Microbiology Seminar Series: Dr. Preeti Singh
- Optional after-seminar social: Please feel welcome to join us for an informal social gathering following each seminar at Trailside Taproom, 505 SE Riverview, Pullman.
About the event
The Advances in Immunology & Microbiology seminar series is a weekly forum that brings together scientists from diverse fields and disciplines across the College of Veterinary Medicine to discuss research advances in the broad areas of immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases, and global health. Seminars feature student speakers from the Immunology & Infectious Disease (IID) doctoral program, IID-affiliated postdoctoral researchers and faculty, intramural speakers from across the university, and extramural speakers.
PRESENTER: Dr. Preeti Singh, postdoc (Dr. Troy Bankhead lab)
TITLE: Antigenic variation in Borrelia- another game of cat-and-mouse
ABSTRACT: Antigenic variation, one of the immune evasion mechanism adopted by Borrelia burgdorferi, causative agent of Lyme disease, plays a central role in the ability of the bacteria to successfully disseminate, colonize, and persist in the host. Though it was discovered more than two decades ago, the exact mechanism, genetic elements, and proteins involved in the recombination process are largely unknown. This is because genetic analysis of the vls locus has been quite challenging and time consuming. In the current study, we try to dissect the mechanistic details of the recombination process in B. burgdorferi. Herein, we describe for the first-time the development of a method for the successful genetic manipulation of the native vls locus, and identified some of the genetic determinants required for recombination. Though it is just a tip of the iceberg, it raises intriguing questions and answering them would help in gaining a better understanding of the intricate infection biology of Borrelia.