E. Fidelma Boyd

Biological Sciences

Resources and Links

Fidelma Boyd's Google Scholar Publications

E. Fidelma Boyd

Professor

fboyd@udel.edu

302-831-1088

Office: 328 Wolf Hall

Lab: 353 Wolf Hall

Education

B.S. -National University of Ireland (Galway, Ireland)
Ph.D. - National University of Ireland (Galway, Ireland)
Postdoctoral - The Pennsylvania State University
Postdoctoral - Harvard University
Postdoctoral - Tufts University School of Medicine

Teaching

BISC 682 - Molecular Mechanisms of Pathogens
BISC 850 - Advanced Topics in Microbiology

Research Interests

Members of the Vibrionaceae are marine species that survive and proliferate in high salinity.

Many Vibrio species are halophile and salt is an absolute requirement for growth.

We investigate 1. The role of quorum sensing regulators in the osmotic stress tolerance response 2. The role of the organosulfur compound dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) in Vibrio fitness and survival 3. How bacterial compatible solute metabolism influences bacterial host interactions 4. The structure and function of compatible solute transproters.

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The role of mobile genetic elements in the evolution of Vibrio

Our group identified a genomic island named Vibrio Pathogenicity Island-2, which encodes the genes required for sialic acid scavenging, uptake and catabolism. We showed that these genes were important for host colonization by Vibrio cholerae the causative agent of cholera.

In our group, we examine 1. How genomic islands integrate and excise from the bacterial chromosome, 2. The evolution of these islands among bacteria, 3. The role of island cargo genes in the physiology of the bacterium

In addition to sialic acid, bacteria have the ability to biosynthesize prokaryote-specific Nonulosonic acids (NulOs)

We study the synthesis of the amino sugar nonulosonic acid (NulO), a sialic acid-like molecule present in bacteria. V. vulnificus produces at least two types of NulOs,legionaminic acid and pseudaminic acid, whihc each have unique modifications.

In our group, we explore 1. Sialylation of the bacterial cell wall, 2. How sialylation influences cell physiology, 3. Bacterial metabolism impact on host competitiveness

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