Research directions
Temporal and Spatial Regulation of the Bacterial Cell Cycle
The goal of our research is to achieve a detailed understanding of the complex regulatory network that governs the bacterial cell cycle, by focusing on how bacteria monitor chromosome replication and coordinate it with cell division and cell differentiation. Caulobacter crescentus provides an ideal model system for these studies. This aquatic alpha-proteobacterium divides asymmetrically, giving rise to a motile swarmer cell and a sessile stalked cell. We use a combination of live-cell imaging, genetic, and biochemical experimental approaches to investigate the mechanisms regulating the spatial and the temporal regulation of the C. crescentus cell cycle.
