Nicholas Bergman, Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Biology (Biochemistry), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001
Phone:
Fax: (404) 894-0519
Office: Cherry Emerson 231
Research Interests
Medical microbiology, Host-pathogen interactions, Anthrax, Bacterial gene regulation and genomics
Overview
Research in my group is focused on the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. B. anthracis has a complex life cycle, and during the different phases of this cycle the bacterium is exposed to a wide range of environmental conditions both outside and inside its mammalian host. One of the primary goals of our work is to identify and understand the ways in which B. anthracis adapts its gene expression and basic physiology to the local environment, particularly during infection. To do this, we are using systems-level techniques (e.g., microarrays, proteomics, and genomics) as well as traditional biochemical and genetic tools, and this multi-level approach allows us to define both global trends and the individual roles that key proteins play in allowing the bacterium to rapidly adjust to its surroundings.
In related work, we are also taking a more bioinformatics-oriented view of B. anthracis biology and pathogenesis, with the ultimate goal of understanding how the architecture of the B. anthracis genome governs the regulation and expression of its 5500+ genes. Toward this end, we are using a variety of computational and experimental tools to identify functional groups (e.g., operons, regulons) and regulatory sequences within the genome, and eventually we hope to combine this information into a comprehensive map of the regulatory circuitry within the B. anthracis genome.
Selected Publications
[Complete list of publications]
N. H. Bergman, E. C. Anderson, E. E. Swenson, B. K. Janes, N. Fisher, M. Niemeyer, A Miyoshi, and P. C. Hanna. (2007) ”Transcriptional profiling of Bacillus anthracis during infection of host macrophages.” In press, Infection and Immunity.
K. D. Passalacqua, N. H. Bergman, J. Y. Lee and P.C. Hanna. (2007) “The global transcriptional responses of Bacillus anthracis Sterne 34F2 and deltasodA1 to paraquat reveal metal ion homeostasis imbalances during endogenous superoxide stress.” Journal of Bacteriology. 189(11):3996-4013.
J. Y. Lee, B. K. Janes, K. D. Passalacqua, B. Pfleger, N. H. Bergman, H. Liu, K. Hakansson, R. V. Somu, C. Aldrich, S. Cendrowski, P. C. Hanna, and D. Sherman. (2007) “Biosynthetic Analysis of the Petrobactin Siderophore Pathway from Bacillus anthracis.” Journal of Bacteriology. 189(5):1698-1710.
N. H. Bergman, K. D. Passalacqua, P. C. Hanna, and Z. S. Qin. (2007) “Operon Prediction in Sequenced Bacterial Genomes Without Experimental Information.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 73(3):846-54.
K. Passalacqua and N. H. Bergman. “Bacillus anthracis: Interactions with the host and establishment of inhalational anthrax”. Future Microbiology, Dec 2006, 1(4):397-415.
N. H. Bergman, E. C. Anderson, E. E. Swenson, M. M. Niemeyer, A. D. Miyoshi, and P. C. Hanna. (2006) “Transcriptional Profiling of the Bacillus anthracis Life Cycle in vitro and an implied model for regulation of spore formation” Journal of Bacteriology, 188(17):6092-6100.
K. D. Passalacqua, N. H. Bergman, A. Herring, and P. C. Hanna. (2006) "The superoxide dismutases of Bacillus anthracis do not cooperatively protect against endogenous superoxide stress." Journal of Bacteriology, 188(11):3837-3848.