Pathogenic microbes, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi, are expert cell biologists. During infection, they ‘hijack’ host cell processes for their own benefit: rewiring signaling and metabolic pathways, inducing dramatic cytoskeletal rearrangements, and suppressing cell death pathways, to name just a few examples. Cellular microbiology is the study of how microbes interact with and manipulate host cell biology at the molecular level. In this seminar we draw upon the primary literature to explore specific case studies in cellular microbiology, aiming not only to understand how these manipulations benefit microbial pathogens, but also to become more expert cell biologists ourselves.
- Teacher: Amy Camp