Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2013 Transcriptional crosstalk between helper bacteriophages and Staphylococcal aureus pathogenicity islands Kristin Lane Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Medicine and Health Sciences Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/3267 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Kristin Downie Lane, December 5th 2013 All Rights Reserved i TRANSCRIPTIONAL CROSSTALK BETWEEN HELPER BACTERIOPHAGES AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS PATHOGENICITY ISLANDS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. by KRISTIN DOWNIE LANE B.S., Christopher Newport University M.S., Old Dominion University Director: Guy Cabral, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA December 2013 Acknowledgement A sincere and heartfelt thank you to my mentor Dr. Gail Christie for pushing me to become a more stringent scientist and for her unwavering support through the years. Special thanks also to my committee members: Dr. Gordon Archer, Dr. Kimberly Jefferson, Dr. Michael McVoy and Dr. Darrell Peterson for constructive criticisms and helpful suggestions over the years. Thank you to the Cornelissen and Jefferson lab members for reagents, equipment use, humor and help. iii Dedication I cannot thank my family and friends enough for their support, tragic comedy and the random extra cup of coffee they brought me.