Penelope Higgs
Dr. Penelope I. Higgs
MPI für terrestrische Mikrobiologie
Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 10
D-35043 Marburg / Germany
Phone: +49 6421 178-301
Fax: +49 6421 178-309
Email: higgs@mpi-marburg.mpg.de
Research group members
Group leader: Dr. Penelope I. Higgs
Graduate students: Vidhi Grover, Carina Holkenbrink, Andreas Schramm, Maike Vetter
BSc student: Anne-Kathrin Herrmann
Technical assistant: Petra Mann
Dr. Penelope I. Higgs
Curriculum Vitae
Penelope Ilsa Higgs (born 1968)
B.S. (Microbiology) Washington State University, USA, 1994)
Ph.D. (Microbiology) Washington State University, USA, 2001)
Post-doc (Molecular and Cell Biology), University of California, Berkeley, USA, 2001-2005
Group Leader at the Department of Ecophysiology, MPI Marburg, since 08/2005
Research Area: Signal transduction and regulation of cell differentiation in Myxococcus xanthus
M. xanthus is a bacterium that exhibits a social (multi-cellular) life cycle. Under nutrient-rich conditions, the bacteria obtain nutrients cooperatively. Under nutrient-limiting conditions, a complex developmental program is induced wherein cells segregate into different fates. The majority of the cells undergo lysis via programmed cell death. The remaining cells either aggregate into mounds and then differentiate into spores (forming mature fruiting bodies) or differentiate into a persister-like state termed peripheral rods. This developmental program occurs over the course of approximately 72 hours and is tightly controlled by a series of temporally regulated extracellular and intracellular signals.
More about "Signal transduction and regulation of cell differentiation in Myxococcus xanthus"
Recent publications
Müller, F., Schink, C., Hoiczyk, E., Cserti, E., and P.I. Higgs (2012) Spore formation in Myxococcus xanthus is tied to cytoskeleton functions and polysaccharide spore coat deposition. Mol. Microbiol. 83: 486-505.
Lee, B., Mann, P., Grover, V., Treuner-Lange, A., Kahnt, J., and P.I. Higgs (2011) The Myxococcus xanthus Spore Cuticula Protein C is a Fragment of FibA, an Extracellular Metalloprotease Produced Exclusively in Aggregated Cells. Plos One 6:e28968. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028968
Müller FD, Treuner-Lange A, Heider J, Huntley SM, Higgs PI. (2010) Global transcriptome analysis of spore formation in Myxococcus xanthus reveals a locus necessary for cell differentiation. BMC Genomics. Apr 26;11:264.
Lee B., Schramm A., Jagadeesan S., Higgs P.I. (2010) Two-component systems and regulation of developmental progression in Myxococcus xanthus. Methods Enzymol. 471:253-78.