EVOGENE / CIME Seminar: Stefan Schild - Multi-faceted roles of bacterial membrane vesicles

Stefan Schild is an associate professor at the Inst. of Molecular Biosciences (UG) with expertise in infection biology, microbial physiology and host-microbe interactions. His lab investigates bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs) and their therapeutical potential comprising basic research as well as its translation to medicine and industrial use. The group has successfully characterized outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) as alternative vaccine candidates against several mucosal pathogens, i.e. Vibrio cholerae, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and members of the Pasteurellaceae family. The lab has recently unraveled a conserved mechanism of vesicle release in Gram-negative bacteria based on a retrograde lipid-trafficking system. Interestingly, the regulation of the system indicates that vesiculation is enhanced by the host environment, i.e. iron limitation. Ongoing research focuses on the physiological role of bacterial vesiculation during colonization using the facultative human pathogen V. cholerae as a model organism. In general, host cells on gastrointestinal tract are constantly bombarded with bacterial MVs. Thus, we also initiated projects to unravel the immunomodulatory activities of MVs resulting in beneficial or adverse effects for the host.