Regulation of drug resistance and virulence in Yersinia pestis
Yersinia pestis is the bacterium behind plague, now classed as a re-emerging disease with a rise in the number of cases in recent years. It is also of concern as a bioterrorism agent particularly with the identification of drug resistant strains. MarA in E. coli is involved in drug resistance and also has recently been shown to be involved in virulence in a mouse model. My work involves the study of the E. coli MarA homologues of Y. pestis in drug resistance and virulence.