Faculty Profile:

Patrik Bavoil, Ph.D.
Professor
Chair

Department of Microbial Pathogenesis
School of Denistry

410-706-6789

pbavoil@umaryland.edu

Research

The Bavoil laboratory studies the pathogenesis of the obligate intracellular pathogen, Chlamydia, and its bacteriophages. Specific research areas include: - Chlamydia type III secretion: Genomic analysis has revealed that type III secretion genes of Chlamydia are dispersed in several genomic clusters, a likely consequence of the unique evolutionary path of these organisms. We have hypothesized that through subversion of host signal transduction, type III secreted virulence effector proteins may be responsible for a range of phenotypes including intracellular survival, modulation of apoptosis, up-regulation of cellular transporters, acquisition of lipids from the Golgi and mitochondria, and signaling for late differentiation. Ongoing projects include the identification and functional characterization of type III secreted effector proteins and of the type III secretion 'injectisome' in Chlamydia. - Chlamydia bacteriophages: A major focus is the study of phiCPG1, a bacteriophage that infects a C. psittaci strain (GPIC) infectious to guinea pigs, and is distantly related to the coliphage phiX174. PhiCPG1 causes developmental arrest in replicating chlamydiae and induces their lysis and that of the chlamydial inclusion. A significant finding through genomic analysis of C. pneumoniae strain AR39 was the isolation of the genome of a bacteriophage closely related to phiCPG1 (phiAR39). Fragments of the phage genome are also found integrated in the genomes of C. psittaci GPIC and C. pneumoniae. These findings have brought renewed momentum to investigations of the impact of phage infection on chlamydial infection and disease, their role in horizontal gene transfer, and their possible exploitation as molecular and genetic tools. - Polymorphic membrane protein family: Genome sequencing has revealed pmp gene families of between 9 and 21 members in Chlamydia spp., the latter representing nearly 15% of the genome. We have expressed all 9 Pmps of C. trachomatis, purified epitope-tagged recombinant polypeptides and produced monospecific polyclonal antibodies. Analysis of specific antibody in patients with genital infection has revealed differential responses to a subset of Pmps cross-sectionally and longitudinally. These and other observations are globally consistent with a proposed role for the Pmp family in antigenic variation and suggest that these proteins are important determinants of pathogenicity. We aim to identify mechanisms of differential pmp expression and antigenic variation at the cellular level. Other ongoing studies include investigations in animal models and topological and functional analyses. - Comparative genomics: The Bavoil laboratory is part of a consortium with TIGR and the University of British Columbia for a broad Chlamydia comparative genomics project (‘Taxogenomics’) developed by Dr Tim Read at TIGR. The project includes the sequencing of six new genomes of the Chlamydiaceae (Simkania, Waddlia, C. pneumoniae from koala, C. suis, C. pecorum and C. psittaci). Genomic information from all species will then be used to construct a gene array (‘Taxochip’) which will allow the identification of new isolates and the isolation of new virulence genes by subtraction.

Lab Techniques

bacterial genetics, molecular genetics, cell biology, genomics, proteomics, etc.

Publications

Wilson, D.P., A.K. Bowlin, P.M. Bavoil and R.G. Rank. 2009. Ocular pathology elicited by Chlamydia and the predictive value of quantitative modeling. J. Infect. Dis., in press.

Stephens, R.S., G.S.A. Myers, M. Eppinger and P.M. Bavoil. 2009. Divergence without difference: Phylogenetics and taxonomy resolved, FEMS Immun. Med. Microbiol., 55:115-119.

Laroucau, K., S. Thierry, F. Vorimore, R. Aaziz, K. Blanco, R. Hoop, S. Magnino, K. Sachse, G.S.A. Myers, P.M. Bavoil, G. Vergnaud, and C. Pourcel. 2008. High resolution typing of Chlamydophila psittaci by Multilocus VNTR Analysis (MLVA). Infect. Genet. Evolut, 8:171-181.

Hoare, A., P. Timms, P.M. Bavoil and D.P. Wilson. 2008. Spatial constraints within the chlamydial host cell inclusion predict interrupted development and persistence. BMC Microbiol. 8:5.

Yousef Mohamad K., S. Roche, G.S.A. Myers, P.M. Bavoil, K. Laroucau, S. Magnino, S. Laurent, D. Rasschaert and A. Rodolakis. 2008. Preliminary phylogenetic identification of virulent C. pecorum strains. Infect. Genet. Evol, 8:764-771.

Yousef Mohamad K., A. Rekiki,, G.S.A. Myers, P.M. Bavoil and A. Rodolakis. 2008. Identification and characterization of coding tandem repeat variants in incA of C. pecorum, Vet. Res., 39:56.

Liu, Z., Rank, R., Kaltenboek, B., Magnino, S., Dean, D., Burall, L., Plaut, R., Read, T.D., Myers, G., and Bavoil, P.M. 2007. Genomic plasticity of the rrn-nqrF intergenic segment in the Chlamydiaceae, J. Bact. 189:2128-2132.

Burall, L.S., Liu, Z., Rank, R.G. and P.M. Bavoil. 2007. The conundrum of the invasin-like protein gene of the Chlamydiaceae. Micr. & Infect., 9: 873-880.

Peters, J., D. Wilson, G.S.A.. Myers, P. Timms and P.M. Bavoil. 2007. Type III secretion à la Chlamydia. Trends Microbiol. 15:241-251.

Wilson, D.P., P. Timms, D.L.S. McElwain, & P.M. Bavoil. 2006. Type Three Secretion, contact-dependent model for the intracellular development of Chlamydia, Bull. Math. Biol. 68:1-18.

Crane, D.D., J.H. Carlson, P.M. Bavoil, R.-c. Hsia, C. Tan, C.-c. Kuo, and H.D. Caldwell. 2006. Chlamydia trachomatis polymorphic membrane protein D is a species common pan neutralizing antigen, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 103:1894-1899.

Bavoil, P.M. & P. Wyrick (editors). 2006. Chlamydia: Genomics, Pathogenesis and Implications for Control, Horizon Press, Inc. Norwich, UK. In press.

Ojcius, D.M., T. Darville, & P.M. Bavoil. 2005. Can Chlamydia be stopped? Scientific American, 292:72-79.

Read, T., G.S.A. Myers, R.C. Brunham, W.C. Nelson, I.T. Paulsen, J. Heidelberg, E. Holtzapple, H. Khouri, N.B. Federova, H.A. Carty, L.A. Umayam, D.H. Haft, J. Peterson, M.J. Beanan, O. White, S.L. Salzberg, R.-c. Hsia, G. McClarty, R.G. Rank, P.M. Bavoil & C.M Fraser. 2003. Genome sequence of Chlamydophila caviae (Chlamydia psittaci GPIC): Examining the role of biotype-specific genes in the evolution of the Chlamydiaceae, Nucl. Ac. Res. 31:2134-2147.

Clark, V.L., & P.M. Bavoil (editors). 2002. Methods in Enzymology: Bacterial Pathogenesis, Part C, Volume 358, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego.

Read, T. D., Fraser, C. M., Hsia, R. C., and Bavoil, P. M. (2001). Comparative analysis of Chlamydia bacteriophages reveals variation localized to a putative receptor binding domain. Microb Comp Genomics 5, 223-231.

Bavoil, P. M., Hsia, R.-c., and Ojcius, D. (2000). Closing in on Chlamydia and its intracellular bag of tricks. Microbiology 146, 2723-2731.

Hsia, R.-c., Ting, L.-M., and Bavoil, P. M. (2000). Microvirus of Chlamydia psittaci strain GPIC: isolation and molecular characterization. Microbiol 146, 1651-1660.

Hsia, R.-c., Ohayon, H., Gounon, P., Dautry-Varsat, A., and Bavoil, P. M. (2000). Phage infection of the obligate intracellular bacterium, Chlamydia psittaci strain GPIC. Microbes and Infection 2, 761-772.

Bavoil, P. M., and Hsia, R.-c. (1998). Type III secretion in Chlamydia: a case of déjà vu? Molecular Microbiology 28, 860-862.

Hsia, R.-c., Pannekoek, Y., Ingerowski, E., and Bavoil, P. M. (1997). Type III secretion genes identify a putative virulence locus of Chlamydia. Molecular Microbiology 25, 351-359.