65th Annual Wind River Conference on Prokaryotic Biology

June 16-17, 2021 Held virtually on the Gather.Town platform

Prokaryotic Biology: ~ The Key to Understanding the Complexity of Life ~

65th Annual Wind River Conference, June 16-17, 2021 1 WELCOME TO THE 65th ANNUAL WIND RIVER CONFERENCE ON PROKARYOTIC BIOLOGY JUNE 16-17, 2021

Wind River Executive Committee: • Dr. Helen Wing, University of Nevada, Las Vegas • Dr. Erin Murphy, Ohio University • Dr. Mario Pedraza-Reyes, University of Guanajuato • Dr. Ethan Mann, Validus Cellular Therapeutics • Dr. Eduardo Robleto, University of Nevada, Las Vegas • Dr. Corrie Detweiler, University of Colorado Boulder • Dr. R. Martin (Marty) Roop, East Carolina University • Dr. Daniel Wozniak, Ohio State University • Dr. Clayton Caswell, Virginia Tech • Dr. Michael Schurr, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

2021 Scientific Program Chairs: • Dr. Amanda Oglesby, University of Maryland • Dr. Ronan Carroll, Ohio University

Contributions from the following sponsors helped make the past in-person Wind River conferences possible, and are gratefully acknowledged:

• American Society of Microbiology • Monserate Biotechnology Group • Sharklet Biotechnologies, Inc. • The Dao House • UNLV, School of Life Sciences

Special acknowledgements: • Special thanks are due to Whitney Kizer at UNLV for expert administrative assis- tance. • Special thanks to Emily Marino at Ohio University for assistance in organizing the program. • Special thanks to all trainees who volunteered their time to help with the meeting. • Special thanks to Eduardo Robleto and Helen Wing at UNLV for invaluable aca- demic and administrative support. • Special thanks to the Executive Committee members and previous WR conference conveners for grant writing activities.

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THE WIND RIVER HALL OF FAME: PAST AND PRESENT PLENARY SPEAKERS 2019 Dr. Christine Jacobs-Wagner Yale University Dr. Elizabeth Rucks University of Nebraska Medical Center Dr. Clay Fuqua Indiana University Bloomington Dr. Christopher Waters Michigan State University 2018 Dr. Denise M. Monack Stanford University Dr. Anthony Maurelli University of Florida, Emerging Pathogens Institute Dr. Amy Vollmer Swarthmore College Dr. Alfredo Torres University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston 2017 Dr. Melody Mills NIH, NIAID Dr. Catherine Drennan Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dr. Matthew Parsek University of Washington Dr. Forest Rohwer San Diego State University 2016 Dr. Graham Walker Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dr. Evgeny Nudler NYU School of Medicine Dr. Victor Nizet University of California, San Diego Dr. Peter Setlow University of Connecticut Health Sciences Center 2015 Dr. Victor Torres NYU School of Medicine Dr. Nancy Freitag University of - Dr. David Weiss Emory University Dr. Franz Narberhaus Ruhr University 2014 Dr. Michael Gilmore Harvard Medical School Dr. Gisela Storz National Institutes of Health Dr. Ferran Garcia-Pichel Arizona State University Dr. Barbara Funnell University of Toronto 2013 Dr. Nina Salama Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute Dr. Shelley Payne University of Texas at Austin Dr. Renee Tsolis University of California Davis Dr. Ralph Isberg Tufts University 2012 Dr. David Rudner Harvard Medical School Dr. Esther Angert Cornell University Dr. Mark Gomelsky University of Wyoming Dr. Dennis A. Bazylinski University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2011 Dr. James Bardwell University of Michigan Dr. Sean Crosson University of Chicago Dr. Jo Handelsman Yale University Dr. R. Martin Roop, II East Carolina University 2010 Dr. Peter Christie University of Texas-Houston Medical School Dr. Richard Gourse University of Wisconsin Dr. Dan Kearns University of Indiana Dr. Rolf Thauer Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg 2009 Dr. Jim Imlay, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Dr. Andy Camilli Tufts University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Dr. Jade Wang Baylor College of Medicine Dr. Norman Pace University of Colorado at Boulder 2008 Dr. , Harvard Medical School Dr. Graham Hatfull, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Roberto Belas, University of Maryland Dr. William Jacobs, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

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2007 Dr. Jared Leadbetter, California Institute of Technology Dr. Tina Henkin, Ohio State University Dr. Harry Mobley, University of Michigan Medical School Dr. Lynn Zechiedrich, Baylor College of Medicine 2006 Dr. David Figurski, Columbia University Medical Center Dr. Karl E. Klose, University of Texas-San Antonio Dr. John Helmann, Cornell University Dr. Victor Dirita, University of Michigan School of Medicine 2005 Dr. Samuel Kaplan, University of Texas Houston Medical School Dr. George O’Toole, Dartmouth Medical School Dr. Dianne Newman, California Institute of Technology Dr. Tom Silhavy, 2004 Dr. Curtis Suttle, University of British Columbia Dr. Paul Gollnick, State University of New York-Buffalo Dr. Heidi Kaplan, University of Texas Houston Medical School Dr. Jorge Galán, Yale University School of Medicine 2003 Dr. Vincent Fischetti, Rockefeller University Dr. Robert Landick, University of Wisconsin Dr. Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University Dr. Neil Welker, Northwestern University 2002 Dr. Stephen Farrand, University of Illinois-Urbana Dr. Barry Wanner, Purdue University Dr. Sanford A. Lacks, Brookhaven National Laboratory Dr. Janet Yother, University of Alabama-Birmingham Dr. Malcolm Winkler, Lilly Research Laboratories 2001 Dr. Kim Lewis, Tufts University Dr. Austin Newton, Princeton University Dr. Julie Theriot, Stanford University Dr. Dale Kaiser, Stanford University 2000 Dr. Thomas A. Trautner, Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics Dr. Ryland F. Young, Texas A&M University Dr. Abigail A. Salyers, University of Illinois Dr. John W. Costerton, Montana State University Dr. Tony Romeo, University of North Texas Health Science Center 1999 Dr. Frederick Neidhardt, University of Michigan Dr. Olaf Schneewind, University of California at Los Angeles Dr. Roger W. Hendrix, University of Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute Dr. Eugene Nester, University of Washington 1998 Dr. Scott Hultgren, Washington University School of Medicine Dr. Susan M. Rosenberg, Baylor College of Medicine Dr. Mary Lou Guerinot, Dartmouth College Dr. Peter Greenberg, University of Iowa 1997 Dr. Malcolm Winkler, University of Texas Houston Medical School Dr. John Baross, University of Washington Dr. Philip Harriman, National Science Foundation Dr. Susan Golden, Texas A&M University

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Welker-Streips Memorial Plenary Address

Neil E. Welker left us after a short, but brave, battle with cancer on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2004 at age 72. Neil, born in Darien Center, NY on April 21, 1932, received his PhD from Western Reserve in Cleveland, OH and moved to the Chicago area where he was a Professor of Biochem- istry, and Cell Biology at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL from 1964 to present. He is noted for promoting excellence in undergraduate science education and supporting students' participation in the Wind River Conference each year in Colorado. He was one of the original participants in the Wind River Conference, which was originally called The Transformation Meetings. Neil is survived by his loving wife, Fatima Vilich, and her children, Ines and Adis Kur- tovic; his three children, Thomas and Douglas Welker and Jennifer Burger and their spouses and children; his three stepchildren, Don and Jon Pollack and JoAnn Carbray and their spouses and children; his sister, Arlene Coccariand brother, Wallace Welker and their spouses, children and grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. In February, 2019, the Wind River Conference on Procaryotic Biology lost another friend, Dr. Uldis Streips. Uldis was Born in Riga, Latvia on February 1, 1942. In 1944, Uldis, his parents Hugo and Elenora Streips, and older brother Laimonis, fled from their homeland due to war. With nowhere to go, his family lived in displaced persons camps in Germany and Poland for seven years. They came to the US in 1951 and eventually settled in Chicago. He graduated Valparaiso University in 1964 with a B.A. in Biology and Chemistry and then entered Northwestern University where he worked on his Ph.D. in the laboratory of Dr. Neil Welker. Uldis received his doctoral degree in 1969 and then pursued postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. Frank E. Young (another founding member of the Transformation Meetings), first located at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, and then at the University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he met his future wife Patricia Williams. In 1972, Uldis became an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the University of Louisville, Medical Center and was promoted to Associate Pro- fessor in 1978 and Professor in 1988. He remained at UL until his retirement in 2017. Uldis re- ceived several teaching awards, as well as the AMWA Gender Equity Award. His commitment to medical and graduate student education was specifically recognized by his university and carried over to the leadership and guidance he provided during his entire career to the Wind River Con- ference. Uldis was the Executive Director of the Conference from 1968 to 2016 and worked tire- lessly to keep the conference moving forward as a place where students would be of primary importance. Everything Uldis did he did with passion and commitment. This was demonstrated most clearly by his commitment to his family; his wife Pat, his daughter Krista, his son, daughter-in law and grandchildren Krisjans, Sarah, Anja, Zander, Nora & Maia, respectively. Uldis never forgot his Latvian heritage or is love of music. He worked to help Latvia before and after it gained inde- pendence from the Soviet Union and was recognized for his tireless work by being made a mem- ber of the Latvian Academy of Science. He was the mentor to 17 M.S. and doctoral students who trained under him while he was at UL. He also provided guidance to countless number of medical students. For 40 years, Uldis was a proud, loyal bass guitarist, vocalist, and comedian for the band CikagasPiecisi, as it grew from its Latvian roots into international fame. Uldis was truly a mensch and he is missed. In honor of these two extraordinary scientists and mentors, the trainees who attended pre- vious Wind River conferences help select an outstanding scientist and mentor to give the Welker- Streips Memorial Plenary Address. This year’s Welker-Streips speaker, Professor Beronda Montgomery, is know for her dedication to effective mentorship and promoting an inclusive and diverse environment in academic research. We are truly honored and appreciative for her partic- ipation in this year’s conference.

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All times listed are Mountain Standard Time

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

4:30-5:00 PM Welcoming remarks

5:00-6:00 PM Welker-Streips Plenary Address Dr. Beronda Montgomery Michigan State University East Lansing, MI

6:00-8:00 PM Social/happy hour on the Gather.Town Platform

Thursday, June 17, 2021

8:30-9:00 AM Welcome and announcements

9:00-11:00 AM Session I Session Conveners: Erin Gloag and Rachel Zapf

9:00–9:15 AM Genome-wide screen of Group B Streptococcal factors contributing to vaginal colonization and ascending intrauterine infection Lindsey Burcham University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA

9:15-9:30 AM Lipid A remodeling modulates outer membrane vesicle formation in Por- phyromonas gingivalis Sumita Jain University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

9:30-9:45 AM Identification of multiple Staphylococcus aureus secreted factors sensed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Tiffany Zarrella National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

9:45-10:00 AM Inhibition of flagellar motility by a novel component of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens acid response Melene Alakavuklar Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

10:00-10:15 AM Azospirillum brasilense chemoreceptor localization and aerotactic aesponse Madison Rost University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

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10:15-10:30 AM Efficient chito-oligosaccharide utilization requires two TonB-dependent transporters and one hexosaminidase in Cellvibrio japonicus Jeffrey Gardner University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

10:30-10:45 AM Role of c-di-AMP in Bacillus subtilis Growth- and Stationary-Phase-Muta- genesis Karen Abundiz-Yáñez Universidad de Guanajuato, Durango, Mexico

10:45-11:00 AM Competence pili in Streptococcus pneumoniae are highly dynamic struc- tures that retract to promote DNA uptake Donald A. Morrison University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

11:00am-noon Break

12:00-2:00 PM Poster Session

2:00-4:00 PM Session II Session Conveners: Yahan Wei and Erin Cassin

2:00-2:15 PM Inhibition of cell wall synthesis activates a plant invasion pathway and an envelope stress response in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Jacob Bouchier University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

2:15-2:30 PM Non-typhoidal Salmonella that causes invasive disease evades induction of reactive oxygen species by neutrophils Annica Stull-Lane University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA

2:30-2:45 PM Gain of function cytolysin variant expressed by clinically isolated urinary Enterococcus faecalis Neha Hulyalkar University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA

2:45-3:00 PM The phosphodiesterase PdeA is required for the pole morphology of Bru- cella abortus Angeline Reboul University of Namur, Namur, Belgium

3:00-3:15 PM The Vibrio cholera Feo system as a model to understand ferrous iron transport in pathogenic Camilo Gómez-Garzón University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

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3:15-3:30 PM Effects of cell wall targeting antibiotics on twin arginine translocation (Tat) mutants in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Jeremy Ellermeier Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO, USA

3:30-3:45 PM Physiological characterization of a Methylorubrum extorquens AM1 ge- netic variant isolated from methanol growth with the heavy lanthanide gad- olinium Nathan Good University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

3:45-4:00 PM Cleavage of a peptidoglycan hydrolase by a protease required for spore cortex formation in Clostridioides difficile Diogo Martins Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal

4:00-5:00 PM Break

5:00-6:00 PM Keynote Address Dr. Michael D.L. Johnson University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson, AZ

6:00-8:00 PM Social/happy hour on Gather.Town platform

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