Julia E. Martin
Assistant Professor
Biological Sciences
Idaho State University
United States of America
Biography
Professor Martin joined the Biological Sciences Department in 2017. Her research interests encompass the molecular mechanisms of infectious disease. Current research in her lab employs various techniques and approaches that span the interface between classical microbiology, molecular genetics, biochemistry, chemical biology, and biophysical chemistry that together address significant questions regarding transition metal ion homeostasis and virulence of bacteria, including the major human respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. Work is ongoing in three project areas: 1) the mechanisms of manganese-mediated toxicity; 2) the regulation of manganese efflux; and 3) the structural and functional characterization of the manganese-specific cation diffusion facilitator transporter MntE. These studies will provide novel insights into the processes that enable bacterial pathogens to cause disease in invertebrate hosts, and will ultimately help in the development of new antimicrobial agents to combat drug-resistant bacterial pathogens, an increasingly urgent problem for the public health sector.
Research Interest
We study the physiological underpinnings and molecular mechanisms of how cells regulate transition metal ion homeostasis and detoxification in the major human respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Publications
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Feng-Ming Chang, Julia E. Martin, David P. Giedroc. (2015) Electrostatic occlusion and quaternary structural ion pairing are key determinants of Cu(I)-mediated allostery in the copper-sensing operon repressor (CsoR). Biochem. 54(15):2463-72.
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Julia E. Martin and David P. Giedroc. (2016) Functional determinants of metal ion transport and selectivity in paralogous cation diffusion facilitator transporters CzcD and MntE in Streptococcus pneumoniae. J. Bacteriol. 198(7):1066-76.
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John P. Lisher, Ho-Ching Tiffany Tsui, Smirla Ramos-Montañez, Kristy L. Hentchel, Julia E. Martin, Jonathan C. Trinidad, Malcolm E. Winkler, and David P. Giedroc. (2017) Biological and chemical adaptation to endogenous hydrogen peroxide production in Streptococcus pneumoniae D39. mSphere. 2(1): e00291-00216.
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Julia E. Martin, John P. Lisher, Malcolm E. Winkler, and David P. Giedroc. (2017) Perturbations in manganese metabolism disrupts cellular division in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Mol. Microbiol. 104(2):334-348.
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Julia E. Martin, Katherine A. Edmonds, Kevin E. Bruce, Gregory C. Campanello, Bart A. Eijkelkamp, Erin B. Brazel, Christopher A. McDevitt, Malcolm E. Winkler, and David P. Giedroc. (2017) The zinc efflux activator SczA protects Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 2 D39 from intracellular zinc toxicity. Mol. Microbiol. 104(4):636-651.
