Research Description

Bacteria are ubiquitous microorganisms that impact human health in myriad ways, including as pathogens and as commensal members of the microbiota. A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of bacterial growth and adaptation is key to controlling their replication and survival. Our overarching research goal is to discover how bacteria grow, divide, and survive in diverse and potentially stressful environments. This is a particularly important goal as we confront the growing crisis in antimicrobial resistance.

Our laboratory takes a multi-faceted approach to study bacterial growth, incorporating cell biology, biochemistry, and genetic and genomic toolkits. We leverage two Gram-negative alphaproteobacteria: the free-living model Caulobacter crescentus and the obligate intracellular, tick-borne human pathogen Rickettsia parkeri. We take a comparative cell biology perspective to ask how growth, division, and adaptation of these two related bacteria has evolved to support survival in distinct growth environments.

NIH Bibliography page: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/erin.goley.1/bibliography/50199813/public/

Current Lab Members

Publications

McQuillen R, Perez AJ, Yang X, Bohrer CH, Smith EL, Chareyre S, Tsu H-CT, Bruce KE, Hla YM, McCausland JW, Winkler ME, Goley ED, Ramamurthi KS, Xiao J. (2024) Light-dependent modulation of protein localization and function in living bacteria cells. Nat Commun. 15:10746.

Payne IP, Aubry B, Barrows JM, Brown PJB, and Goley ED. (2024) The cell division protein FzlA performs a conserved function in diverse alphaproteobacteria. J Bacteriol. e0022524.

Daitch AK, Smith EL, and Goley ED. (2024). OpgH is an essential regulator of Caulobacter morphology. mBio e0144324.

Barrows JM, Talavera-Figueroa BK, Payne IP, Smith EL, and Goley ED. (2024). GTPase activity regulates FtsZ ring positioning in Caulobacter crescentus. Mol Biol Cell. 17:mbcE23090365.

Smith EL and Goley ED. (2024). House of CarDs: Functional insights into the transcriptional regulator CdnL. Mol Microbiol. 122(5):789-796.

Smith EL, Panis G, Woldemeskel SA, Viollier PH, Chien P, and Goley ED. (2024). Regulation of the transcription factor CdnL promotes adaptation to nutrient stress in Caulobacter. PNAS Nexus. 3:pgae154.

Mahone CR, Payne IP, Lyu Z, McCausland JW, Barrows JM, Xiao J, Yang X, Goley ED. (2024). Integration of cell wall synthesis activation and chromosome segregation during cell division in Caulobacter. J Cell Biol. 223:e202211026.

Figueroa-Cuilan WM, Irazoki O, Feeley M, Smith E, Nguyen T, Cava F, Goley ED. (2023) Quantitative analysis of morphogenesis and growth dynamics in an obligate intracellular bacterium. MBoC. 34(7):ar69.

Barrows JM and Goley ED. (2023) Synchronized swarmers and sticky stalks: Caulobacter crescentus as a model for bacterial cell biology. J Bacteriology. e0038422.

Daitch AK, Orsburn BC, Chen Z, Alvarez L, Eberhard CD, Sundararajan K, Zeinert R, Kreitler DF, Jakoncic J, Chien P, Cava F, Gabelli SB, Goley ED. (2023) EstG is a novel esterase required for cell envelope integrity in Caulobacter. Current Biology. 33: 228-240. (2023)

Mahone CR, Yang X, McCausland JW, Payne IP, Xiao J, Goley ED. (2022) Integration of cell wall synthesis activation and chromosome segregation during cell division in Caulobacter. [pre-print] bioRxiv

Barrows JM and Goley ED. (2021) FtsZ dynamics in bacterial division: What, how, and why? Curr Opin Cell Biol. 68:163-172

Daitch AK and Goley ED. (2020) Uncovering unappreciated activities and niche functions of bacterial cell wall enzymes. Curr Biol. 30:R1170-R1175

Mahone CR and Goley ED. (2020) Bacterial Cell Division at a Glance. J Cell Science. 133: jcs237057 (2020)

Barrows JM*, Sundararajan K*, Bhargava A, Goley ED. (2020) FtsA Regulates Z-ring Morphology and Cell Wall Metabolism in an FtsZ C-terminal Linker Dependent Manner in C. crescentus. J Bacteriol. 202: e00693-19

Woldemeskel SA, Daitch AK, Alvarez L, Gaël Panis, Zeinert R, Gonzalez D, Smith E, Collier J, Chien P, Cava F, Viollier PH, Goley ED. (2020) The conserved transcriptional regulator CdnL is required for metabolic homeostasis and morphogenesis in Caulobacter. PLOS Genetics. 16: e1008591

Lariviere PJ, Mahone CR, Santiago-Collazo G, Howell M, Daitch AK, Zeinert R, Chien P, Brown PJB, Goley ED. (2019) An essential regulator of bacterial division links FtsZ to cell wall synthase activation. Current Biology. 29:1460-70

Howell ML, Aliaskevich A, Sundararajan K, Daniel JJ, Lariviere PJ, Goley ED, Cava F, Brown PJB. (2019) Agrobacterium tumefaciens divisome proteins regulate the transition from polar growth to cell division. Mol Micro. 111:1074-92

Sundararajan K, Vecchiarelli AG, Mizuuchi K, Goley ED. (2018) Species- and C-terminal linker-dependent variations in the dynamic behavior of FtsZ on membranes in vitro. Mol Micro. 110: 47-63

Lambert A, Vanhecke A, Archetti A, Holden S, Schaber F, Pincus Z, Laub MT, Goley ED, and Manley S. (2018) Constriction rate modulation can drive cell size control and homeostasis in C. crescentus. iScience. 4: 180-189

Lariviere PJ, Szwedziak P, Mahone CR, Löwe J, and Goley ED. (2018) FzlA, an essential regulator of FtsZ protofilament curvature, controls constriction rate during Caulobacter division. Mol Micro. 107: 180-197.

Sundararajan K and Goley ED. (2017) The intrinsically disordered C-terminal linker of FtsZ regulates protofilament dynamics and superstructure in vitro. J Biol Chem. 292:20509-20527.

Meier EL, Yao Q, Daitch AK, Jensen GJ, and Goley ED. (2017) FtsEX-mediated regulation of the final stages of cell division reveals morphogenetic plasticity in Caulobacter crescentus. PLoS Genetics. 13:e1006999.

Woldemeskel SA, McQuillen R, Hessel AM, Xiao J, and Goley ED (2017) A conserved coiled-coil protein pair focuses the cytokinetic Z-ring in Caulobacter crescentus. Mol Micro. 105:721-740.

Woldemeskel SA and Goley ED (2017) Shapeshifting to survive: shape determination and regulation in Caulobacter crescentus. Trends Microbiol. 25:673-687.

Sundararajan K and Goley ED (2017) Cytoskeletal proteins in Caulobacter crescentus: spatial orchestrators of cell cycle progression, development, and cell shape. Subcell Biochem. 84:103-137.

Xiao J and Goley ED. (2016) Redefining the roles of the FtsZ-ring in bacterial cytokinesis. Curr Opin Microbiol. 34:90-96.

Meier EL, Ravazi S, Inoue T, and Goley ED. (2016) A novel membrane anchor for FtsZ is linked to cell wall hydrolysis in Caulobacter crescentus. Mol Microbiol. 101:265-280.

Sundararajan K, Miguel A, Desmarais SM, Meier EL, Huang KC, and Goley ED. (2015) The bacterial tubulin FtsZ requires its intrinsically disordered linker to direct robust cell wall construction. Nat Commun. 6:7281.

Meier EL and Goley ED. (2014) Form and function of the bacterial cytokinetic ring. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 26:19-27.

Goley ED. (2013) Tiny cells meet big questions: a closer look at bacterial cell biology. Mol Biol Cell. 24:1099-102.