Ph.D.: Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Post-doctorate: The Scripps Research Institute

Position: Professor
Department of Chemistry

Faculty of Natural Sciences

E-mail: meijler@bgu.ac.il

Webpage: http://www.bgu.ac.il/~meijler

Chemical Biology of Bacterial Communication

Current research

Quorum Sensing

An important focus of my group’s research is the study of bacterial intra- and interspecies signaling. Cell-to-cell communication is used by single-cell organisms to coordinate their behavior and function so as to allow them to adapt to changing environments and possibly compete with multi-cellular organisms. This phenomenon has been termed ’quorum sensing‘ (QS). Examples of QS-controlled behaviors include biofilm formation, virulence factor expression, antibiotic production and bioluminescence. Quorum-sensing systems exist in both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, with a variety of oligopeptides and N-acyl-homoserine lactones having been identified as QS molecules. As many QS systems have not been fully characterized, we will attempt to clarify the role of various QS molecules in bacterial signaling in species such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Helicobacter pylori through the synthesis and evaluation of QS molecules and potential antagonists. We, moreover, hope to develop methodologies to study a wide variety of newly discovered as well as undiscovered QS molecules. Currently, as part of two different studies to design P. aeruginosa QS antagonists,, we have synthesized several highly active covalent and non-covalent QS inhibitors.

Bacterial-Eukaryotic Inter-kingdom Signaling
Recent reports have shown that several bacterial QS molecules can also have a direct effect on eukaryotes. Indeed, a diverse group of eukaryotes has been found to react strongly to the presence of such compounds. My group currently examines the hypothesis that diverse eukaryotic species have developed mechanisms to react to specific bacterial QS molecules in a receptor-mediated fashion, seeking greater insight into the primary molecular mechanism of QS molecule (QSM)-induced effects on mammals, fungi and nematodes. Identification of specific QSM receptors in eukaryotes will allow us to further understand the complex mechanisms of coexistence and evolution of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Ultimately the insight obtained from these experiments could lead to:  a) new approaches in the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections, most notably in the clinical setting of cystic fibrosis, as well as to the development of potential new drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases; b) an increased understanding of general principles that guide the evolution of symbiotic relationships between competing species; and c) the development of an integrated platform for the discovery of unknown receptors for small hydrophobic bioactive compounds.

Selected publications