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Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology - FABIT

Molecular Microbiology. Coordinator: Danielli

Molecular and genomic research in prokaryiotic gene regulation and systems biology, and for the development of innovative phage bio/nano/technologies.

Areas: Drug discovery and development Industrial, plant and environmental biotechnologies Nutrition and health

Research themes

1) Helicobacter pylori gene regulation and transcriptional regulatory network

Our fundamental research interests focus on the regulation of gene expression in bacteria, with particular emphasis on transcriptional regulation of virulence factors, metal-ion homeostasis, stress-response and host-pathogen interactions. We use the human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori as model system to study gene regulation and the systems biology of infectious agents that have the ability to persist as obligate, life-lasting pathogens.

2) PhageKiss!

In parallell, the lab hosts a dedicated research line on phage-based biotechnologies. The latter represent an emerging approach for the development of innovative nanomedicines and biosensors. Our activitiy in this field pertains the implementation of advanced molecular techniques for the exploitation of the M13 filamentous phage in chemical and synthetic biology, as a therapeutical and biological vector, as well as a nanotechnological scaffold for bioconjugations.   

Lab members

Francesco Starinieri

Giulia Vittoria Ruta

Alberto Danielli

Internship projects

Contact the group leader

Main publications

Vannini, A., Pinatel, E., Costantini, P.E., Pelliciari, S., Roncarati, D., Puccio, S., De Bellis, G., Peano, C., Danielli, A. Comprehensive mapping of the Helicobacter pylori NikR regulon provides new insights in bacterial nickel responses (2017) Scientific Reports, 7, 45458

Roncarati, D., Pelliciari, S., Doniselli, N., Maggi, S., Vannini, A., Valzania, L., Mazzei, L., Zambelli, B., Rivetti, C., Danielli, A. Metal-responsive promoter DNA compaction by the ferric uptake regulator (2016) Nature Communications, 7, 12593

Pelliciari, S., Vannini, A., Roncarati, D., Danielli, A. The allosteric behavior of Fur mediates oxidative stress signal transduction in Helicobacter pylori (2015) Frontiers in Microbiology, 6 (JUL), 840

Vannini, A., Roncarati, D., Spinsanti, M., Scarlato, V., Danielli, A. In depth analysis of the Helicobacter pylori cag pathogenicity island transcriptional responses (2014) PLoS ONE, 9 (6), e98416 

Danielli, A., Scarlato, V. Regulatory circuits in Helicobacter pylori: Network motifs and regulators involved in metal-dependent responses (2010) FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 34 (5), pp. 738-752.       

Contacts