Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive bacterium that lives as a commensal organism in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, but can behave as an opportunistic pathogen. Our lab discovered that mutation of the eutK gene attenuates virulence of E. faecalis in the C. elegans model host. eutK is part of the ethanolamine metabolic pathway which was previously unknown in E. faecalis. I discovered the presence of two unique posttranscriptional regulatory features that control expression of eut locus genes. The first feature I found is an AdoCBL riboswitch, a cis-acting RNA regulatory element that acts as a positive regulator of gene expression. The second feature I discovered is a unique two-component system, EutVW. The EutV response regulator contains an ANTAR family domain, which binds RNA to trigger transcriptional antitermination. I determined that induction of expression of several genes in the eut locus is dependent on ethanolamine, AdoCBL and the two-component system. AdoCBL and ethanolamine are both required for induction of eut locus gene expression. Additionally, I discovered eutG is regulated by a unique mechanism of antitermination. Both the AdoCBL riboswitch and EutV response regulator control the expression of the downstream gene eutG. EutV potentially acts through a novel antitermination mechanism in which a dimer of EutV binds to a pair of mRNA stem loops forming an antitermination complex. My data show a unique mechanism by which two environmental signals are integrated by two different posttranscriptional regulators to regulate a single locus.
","abstract_html":"<p> <p><em>Enterococcus faecalis</em> is a Gram-positive bacterium that lives as a commensal organism in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, but can behave as an opportunistic pathogen. Our lab discovered that mutation of the <em>eutK</em> gene attenuates virulence of <em>E. faecalis</em> in the <em>C. elegans</em> model host. <em>eutK</em> is part of the ethanolamine metabolic pathway which was previously unknown in <em>E. faecalis</em>. I discovered the presence of two unique posttranscriptional regulatory features that control expression of <em>eut</em> locus genes. The first feature I found is an AdoCBL riboswitch, a <em>cis</em>-acting RNA regulatory element that acts as a positive regulator of gene expression. The second feature I discovered is a unique two-component system, EutVW. The EutV response regulator contains an ANTAR family domain, which binds RNA to trigger transcriptional antitermination. I determined that induction of expression of several genes in the <em>eut</em> locus is dependent on ethanolamine, AdoCBL and the two-component system. AdoCBL and ethanolamine are both required for induction of <em>eut</em> locus gene expression. Additionally, I discovered <em>eutG</em> is regulated by a unique mechanism of antitermination. Both the AdoCBL riboswitch and EutV response regulator control the expression of the downstream gene <em>eutG</em>. EutV potentially acts through a novel antitermination mechanism in which a dimer of EutV binds to a pair of mRNA stem loops forming an antitermination complex. My data show a unique mechanism by which two environmental signals are integrated by two different posttranscriptional regulators to regulate a single locus.</p> </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fox, Kristina A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation (PhD)","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Danielle Garsin, Ph.D.","Theresa M. Koehler, Ph.D.","Barbara E. Murray, M.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:50:16Z","subjects":["Enterococcus faecalis","riboswitch","two-component system","ethanolamine","Other Microbiology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/130","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Danielle Garsin, Ph.D.","Theresa M. Koehler, Ph.D.","Barbara E. Murray, M.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fox, Kristina A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-05-31T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation (PhD)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Enterococcus faecalis","riboswitch","two-component system","ethanolamine","Other Microbiology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/130"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["
Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive bacterium that lives as a commensal organism in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, but can behave as an opportunistic pathogen. Our lab discovered that mutation of the eutK gene attenuates virulence of E. faecalis in the C. elegans model host. eutK is part of the ethanolamine metabolic pathway which was previously unknown in E. faecalis. I discovered the presence of two unique posttranscriptional regulatory features that control expression of eut locus genes. The first feature I found is an AdoCBL riboswitch, a cis-acting RNA regulatory element that acts as a positive regulator of gene expression. The second feature I discovered is a unique two-component system, EutVW. The EutV response regulator contains an ANTAR family domain, which binds RNA to trigger transcriptional antitermination. I determined that induction of expression of several genes in the eut locus is dependent on ethanolamine, AdoCBL and the two-component system. AdoCBL and ethanolamine are both required for induction of eut locus gene expression. Additionally, I discovered eutG is regulated by a unique mechanism of antitermination. Both the AdoCBL riboswitch and EutV response regulator control the expression of the downstream gene eutG. EutV potentially acts through a novel antitermination mechanism in which a dimer of EutV binds to a pair of mRNA stem loops forming an antitermination complex. My data show a unique mechanism by which two environmental signals are integrated by two different posttranscriptional regulators to regulate a single locus.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Multiple Posttranscriptional Regulatory Features Control Expression of Ethanolamine Utilization Genes In Enterococcus Faecalis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Danielle Garsin, Ph.D.","Theresa M. Koehler, Ph.D.","Barbara E. Murray, M.D."],"dc:creator":["Fox, Kristina A"],"dc:date.available":["2013-05-31T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["
Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive bacterium that lives as a commensal organism in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, but can behave as an opportunistic pathogen. Our lab discovered that mutation of the eutK gene attenuates virulence of E. faecalis in the C. elegans model host. eutK is part of the ethanolamine metabolic pathway which was previously unknown in E. faecalis. I discovered the presence of two unique posttranscriptional regulatory features that control expression of eut locus genes. The first feature I found is an AdoCBL riboswitch, a cis-acting RNA regulatory element that acts as a positive regulator of gene expression. The second feature I discovered is a unique two-component system, EutVW. The EutV response regulator contains an ANTAR family domain, which binds RNA to trigger transcriptional antitermination. I determined that induction of expression of several genes in the eut locus is dependent on ethanolamine, AdoCBL and the two-component system. AdoCBL and ethanolamine are both required for induction of eut locus gene expression. Additionally, I discovered eutG is regulated by a unique mechanism of antitermination. Both the AdoCBL riboswitch and EutV response regulator control the expression of the downstream gene eutG. EutV potentially acts through a novel antitermination mechanism in which a dimer of EutV binds to a pair of mRNA stem loops forming an antitermination complex. My data show a unique mechanism by which two environmental signals are integrated by two different posttranscriptional regulators to regulate a single locus.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/130"],"dc:subject":["Enterococcus faecalis","riboswitch","two-component system","ethanolamine","Other Microbiology"],"dc:title":["Multiple Posttranscriptional Regulatory Features Control Expression of Ethanolamine Utilization Genes In Enterococcus Faecalis"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation (PhD)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:50:16Z"}