Host-pathogen interactions in obligate intracellular bacteria

We study host-pathogen interactions, with a special focus on Rickettsia. Rickettsia includes obligate intracellular pathogens that replicate in the host cell cytosol, where bacteria can polymerize host actin for motility and cell-to-cell dissemination. Despite Rickettsia are spreading worldwide and cause life-threatening infections in humans, the infection biology of these pathogens is poorly understood, mainly due to their genetic intractability. To address this, we are engineering genetic tools to promote new opportunities to study Rickettsia cell biology, including how Rickettsia effector proteins manipulate the host and how host cells control bacterial infection. Our goal is to understand what makes Rickettsia such a successful cytosolic pathogen. Considering Rickettsia is among the few bacterial pathogens that replicate in the host cell cytosol, where many cell-autonomous immune responses operate, the study of Rickettsia can provide novel insights in cell biology and immunity.