Our joint work with Dr. Joe Harrison (UCalgary Biological Sciences) and many others was recently published in Nature Communications.
The Harrison Lab discovered a new temperature-dependent di-guanlyate cyclase enzyme that regulates biofilm formation in a variety of bacteria. This new enzyme is called TdcA. One of the remarkable things about TdcA is its extreme sensitivity to temperature. It changes in activity by more than 100-fold over a 10 degree change in temperature. A typical enzyme would change by 2- or 3-fold.
We’re really excited about our ongoing biophysical studies of this protein aimed at unravelling its novel mechanism. This will provide a better understanding of biofilm regulation, a potential new avenue for therapeutic development, and has potential applications in biotechnology.
