Kendall Long

The Jones Laboratory has shown in previous research that changes in select gene expression within the Enterobacter cloacae genome occur as a result of bacterial-noroviral binding. Although the importance of certain bacterial cell binding of human norovirus for effective noroviral infection and changes in E. cloacae gene expression have been acknowledged, it has yet to be determined if these specific changes in bacterial gene expression due to noroviral binding are analogous across a wide range of bacterial species. Therefore, I will be researching changes in gene expression in Lactobacillus acidophilus, an additional bacterial species whose changes in gene expression due to noroviral binding have not yet been studied. This could lead to the identification of analogous changes in gene expression within both E. cloacae and L. acidophilus as a result of bacterial-norovirus binding. Understanding the widespread impact that norovirus binding has on multiple commensal bacteria will help advance our understanding of these interactions and aid in determining the impact of viral infections on the human intestinal microbiome.