Associate Professor
Glendale, AZ
Dr. Ellermeier received his B.S. in Agronomy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2002 and his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Illinois in Urbana in 2008. He did postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor and the University of Illinois in Urbana before becoming an Assistant Professor at Southeast Missouri State University in 2015. He taught a variety of pre-medical courses at Southeast for four years before joining the faculty at Midwestern as an Assistant Professor in the summer of 2019.
Title
Associate Professor
Campus
Glendale, AZ
College
College of Graduate Studies - AZ
Department
Microbiology & Immunology
Program
Biomedical Sciences (M.A.)
Biomedical Sciences (M.B.S.)
Osteopathic Medicine
Pharmacy
Physician Assistant Studies
Podiatric Medicine
Veterinary Medicine
Medical Microbiology MICRG 1615/1616 & 1625/1626
Medical Immunology MICRG 1531/1532
Veterinary Immunology MICRG 1522
PA Microbiology MICRG 570
Pharmacy Immunology MICRG 1553
Pharmacy Microbiology MICRG 1513
Salmonella species cause a range of diseases, from self-limiting gastroenteritis to life-threatening systemic infections, in a variety of hosts. The CDC estimates that non-typhoid Salmonella species cause 1.2 million cases of foodborne illness and 450 deaths per year in the United States alone. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide and is used as a model for human typhoid fever in mice. The twin arginine translocation system (Tat) is a protein secretion system that is conserved in bacteria, archaea, and plants. In gram-negative bacteria, it is required for the export of substrate proteins from the cytoplasm to the periplasm of the organism. Tat substrates must be properly folded prior to export to the periplasm. In Salmonella, there are 30 proteins that are substrates of Tat, among these are hydrogenases and cell wall amidases. We have demonstrated that increasing concentrations of bile salts induce expression of a tatABC-lacZ fusion. We also have found that deletions of tatABC are more sensitive than wild type to peptidoglycan targeting antibiotics. These findings lead to several questions: What is the mechanism of bile activation of tat expression? What promoter elements are important for expression of tatABC? Why is the tatABC deletion more susceptible to ampicillin? Research in the Ellermeier lab uses bacterial genetics to study these and other questions in Salmonella Typhimurium.
Rogers, A.R.^, E.E. Turner#, D.T. Johnson*, and J.R. Ellermeier. 2022. Envelope stress activates expression of the twin arginine translocation (Tat) system in Salmonella. Microbiology Spectrum. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01621-22.
Brauer A.M., A.R. Rogers, J. R. Ellermeier. 2021. Twin-arginine translocation (Tat) mutants in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium have increased susceptibility to cell wall targeting antibiotics. FEMS Microbes. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsmc/xtab004.
Golubeva, Y.A., J.R. Ellermeier, J.E. Cott Chubiz, and J.M. Slauch. 2016. Intestinal long chain fatty acids act as a direct signal to modulate expression of the Salmonella SPI1 T3SS. mBio. 7 (1): e02170-15.
Peterson, J.R., P. Labhsetwar, J.R. Ellermeier, P.R. Kohler, A. Jain, T. Ha, W.W. Metcalf, Z. Luthey-Shulten. 2014. Towards a Computational Model of a Methane Producing Archaeum. Archaea. doi: 10.1155/2014/898453.
Golubeva, Y.A., A.Y. Sadik, J.R. Ellermeier, and J.M. Slauch. 2012. Integrating global regulatory input into the Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 1 type III secretion system. Genetics. 190(1): 79-90.
Frirdich, E., J. Biboy, C. Adams, J. Lee, J. Ellermeier, L.D. Gielda, V.J. DiRita, S.E. Girardin, W. Vollmer, E.C. Gaynor. 2012. Peptidoglycan-Modifying Enzyme Pgp1 Is Required for Helical Cell Shape and Pathogenicity Traits in Campylobacter jejuni. PloS Pathogens. 8(3): e1002602.
Apel, D., J. Ellermeier, M. Pryjma, V. DiRita, and E. Gaynor. 2012. Characterization of Campylobacter jejuni racRS mutants reveals a role in the heat shock response, motility, and maintenance of cell length population homogeneity. Journal of Bacteriology. 194(9):2342-54.
Saini, S., J.R. Ellermeier, J.M. Slauch, and C.V. Rao. 2010. The role of coupled positive feedback in the expression of the SPI1 type three secretion system in Salmonella. PLoS Pathogens. 6(7): 1-16.
Ellermeier, J.R. and J.M. Slauch. 2008. Fur Regulates Expression of the Salmonella SPI1 Type Three Secretion System through HilD. Journal of Bacteriology. 190 (2):476-486.
Member, American Society for Microbiology
Member, American Society for Microbiology - Arizona/Southern Nevada Branch
Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Title: Genetic regulation of the twin arginine translocation system in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium
Agency: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Role in Project: Principle Investigator
