The Cotter Lab has a long-standing interest in understanding molecular mechanisms used by bacteria to cause disease. We are especially interested in 1) how and why bacteria differentially regulate the expression of virulence factor-encoding genes in response to the various environments they encounter throughout the infectious process, and 2) the secretion and function of proteins secreted by the Two Partner Secretion (TPS) pathway. We study members of the Gram-negative genus Bordetella (which includes B. pertussis, the causal agent of whooping cough) as models because they are relatively easy to grow, they are genetically tractable, and B. bronchiseptica (a close relative of B. pertussis) has a broad host range that includes many animals commonly studied in the laboratory, such as rabbits, rats and mice. Using B. bronchiseptica with its natural hosts ensures that the information we obtain from our experiments is biologically relevant.
