Microbial Physiology and Regulation in Pathogenesis and Recycling

The Reynolds lab has two main areas of focus, which both revolve around the related subjects of physiology and metabolism in microbes.

Fungal Pathogenesis
One main focus is on the mechanisms by which the fungal pathogen Candida albicans survives in its host during infection and causes disease. C. albicans and other Candida species are the most common causes of fungal infections of umans, including life-threatening bloodstream infections, oral thrush, vaginitis (yeast infections), eye infections, and skin infections. In order to cause disease, C. albicans must be able to evade its host’s immune system and generate essential macromolecules from nutrients it obtains from its host. We are studying the biochemistry of fungal specific enzymes that C. albicans uses to generate membrane lipids it must have to survive in the host. Thus, these proteins are good potential drug targets. We are also studying how the fungus evades the host’s immune system to cause disease with an interest in improving therapies against the fungus by promoting the hosts’ own natural immune responses.

Plastic Degradation
A second major focus of the lab is to understand how soil bacteria of the Bacillus genus are able to degrade plastics that are accumulating in the environment. We are particularly interested in elucidating the mechanisms by which these microbes regulate the degradation process with a goal of exploiting this to improve the problem of plastics pollution.