The Klose Lab in the UTSA College of Sciences.
NOVEMBER 2, 2023 — Karl Klose, director of The South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) and the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg College of Sciences Endowed Professor, coauthored a research article with Cameron Lloyd ’23, a UTSA doctoral student who graduated in August with a Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and immunology under the guidance of Klose.
The research paper investigates a novel strategy for inhibiting the spread and infection of Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria responsible for the disease, cholera.
The research article is entitled, “A peptide-binding domain shared with an Antarctic bacterium facilitates Vibrio cholerae human cell binding and intestinal colonization" and was recently published by The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). PNAS is a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences that broadly spans across the areas of biological, physical and social sciences.
V. cholerae choleraeis found naturally on various surfaces within marine environments. When water or food contaminated with V. cholerae is consumed by humans, it colonizes the gastrointestinal tract and causes cholera.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cholera is an intestinal infection that causes diarrhea, vomiting, circulatory collapse and shock. If left untreated, 25 to 50% of severe cholera cases can be fatal. Cholera is a leading cause of epidemic diarrhea in parts of the world and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates up to four million people are infected each year.
Lloyd was the primary author and completed the article as his thesis project under the advisement of Klose, who has been studying the pathogenic mechanisms of V. cholerae for 30 years. Lloyd worked in Klose’s laboratory for five years.
He learned how to study V. cholerae, genetically manipulate the bacteria, and measure its ability to spread disease, bind to red blood cells and form biofilms, which are surfaces where communities of bacteria form that are more resistant to antibiotics. Lloyd is currently interviewing for several postdoctoral fellowship positions in laboratories across the nation.
“By taking advantage of the structural similarities of functional domains in two large adhesins [cell-surface components or appendages of bacteria that facilitate adhesion to other cells, usually in the host they are infecting or living in] produced by two different organisms, we were able to characterize an effective inhibitor to intestinal colonization and biofilm formation,” said Lloyd.
In collaboration with the laboratories of Peter Davies, Canada research chair in Protein Engineering and professor of biomedical and molecular sciences at Queens University, Canada, and Ilja Voets, professor of chemical engineering and chemistry at Eindhoven University, Netherlands, Lloyd and Klose successfully identified a peptide, a short chain of amino acids that make up proteins, that can inhibit the virulence of V. cholerae.
They discovered that the peptide inhibitors that bind to Marinomonas primoryensis, an Antarctic bacterium that sticks to microalgae in a similar manner to how V. cholerae sticks to human intestines, can also disrupt V. cholerae from adhering to human cells, forming biofilms and colonizing the gastrointestinal tract.
“We demonstrated that these peptide inhibitors could inhibit both biofilm formation as well as intestinal colonization by V. cholerae,” said Klose. “It is possible that this could be part of intervention strategies to inhibit these bacteria from causing disease and persisting in the environment.”
The Klose Lab is a part of The South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) and specializes in studying how bacteria cause disease. The lab has worked most extensively with V. cholerae and Francisella tularensis, the bacterium that causes tularemia, or rabbit fever.
STCEID researchers specialize in the study of infectious diseases and form one of the premier centers for this type of research in the nation. The Center connects state-of-the art facilities with the diverse expertise of its faculty to cultivate an environment that answers critical questions relating to emerging and bioweapon-related diseases.
The facilities and faculty at the Center also serve an important role in providing hands-on training to undergraduate and graduate students who intend to pursue careers in science and technology.
“This project and others like it have equipped me with an in-depth knowledge of molecular biology, coding, and high throughput data analysis,” said Lloyd.
"Our graduate students that come to UTSA to get Master’s and Ph.D. degrees are in the best place to study infectious diseases," added Klose.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
This beginner-friendly workshop teaches basic sewing and quilting skills along with the history of the craft.
Santikos Building, Hall 150, UTSA Southwest CampusJoin UTSA Libraries for a virtual workshop for EndNote users who have mastered the basics but would like to learn about more advanced features the program can offer.
Virtual Event (Zoom)Join UTSA Libraries for a virtual workshop for EndNote users who have mastered the basics but would like to learn about more advanced features the program can offer.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryJoin UTSA Libraries and Museums to learn more about the publishing discounts available for UTSA researchers.
Virtual Event (Zoom)PubMed is an essential database for anyone conducting biomedical or health-related research. This workshop will teach attendees how to effectively navigate this free resource and locate peer-reviewed articles using advanced search features, MeSH subject headings, and Boolean operators.
Virtual Event (Zoom)Join us for a hands-on workshop about the basics of copyright, both in education and as a researcher. We’ll dispel some common copyright myths, differences between copyright law and other intellectual property law, and teach you how to apply a Fair Use checklist to your scholarly work.
Virtual Event (Zoom)In this workshop, we will explore sentiment analysis, a method for identifying feelings in text, whether the tone is positive, negative, or neutral.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.