Area of research
Endocrinology · Genetics
Research interest
Research topics from publications: Escherichia coli O157:H7 senses microbiota-produced riboflavin to increase its virulence in the gut. Representative work: Riboflavin is produced by most commensal bacteria in the human colon, where enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) colonizes and causes diseases. Sensing environmental signals to site-specifically express the type-III secretion system (T3SS), which injects effectors into host cells leading to intestinal colonization and disease, is key to the pathogenesis of EHEC. Here, we reveal that EHEC O157:H7, a dominant EHEC serotype frequently associated with severe diseases, acquired a previously uncharacterized two-component regulatory system rbfSR , which senses microbiota-produced riboflavin to directly activate the expression of LEE genes encoding the T3SS in the colon. rbfSR is present in O15