Thomas Böttcher
Bacterial metabolites influencing cross-species proteostasis
Metabolites play multiple roles in the communication and coordination of bacterial cells and in the interaction with a eukaryotic host. In this project, we aim to investigate the effect of metabolites as modulators of cross-species proteostasis. We will employ activity-based probes to detect changes of enzyme activities upon exposure to foreign metabolites in proteomes of commensal bacteria and use a competitive strategy to identify bacterial metabolites as selective inhibitors of the proteasome and selected E2 and E3 ligases of a eukaryotic host.
Our goal is to investigate the effects of bacterial metabolites on proteostasis and gain a better understanding of the complex interactions of the human microbiome.