Teaching Interests
BSC 476/576 Molecular Biology
BSC 487/L/587/L Microbial Physiology
Research Interests
The major focus of my lab is to
understand the physiology and molecular biology of the
yeast to mold dimorphism of the important fungal
pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum. This organism,
which infects an estimated 500,000 Americans each year,
grows in soil as a multicellular mold and converts to a
single cell yeast in the lungs of humans or animals.
This mold to yeast conversion is required for
pathogenesis. We are currently isolating genes that are
preferentially expressed in the yeast form or during the
transformation process. The role of these genes in
dimorphism will be studied by biochemical and molecular
biological methods. A second area of our research
involves studies to determine how the fungus Mucor
racemosus is able to phenotypically adapt to many
different antibiotics. Our preliminary data indicate
that the cells express a p-glycoprotein very similar to
the drug pump seen in multidrug resistant human tumors.
My lab is currently supported by grants from the
National Institutes of Health, United States Department
of Agriculture and the American Lung Association of
Mississippi.
Representative Publications
Tian, X & G. Shearer. 2002. The
mold-specific MS8 gene is required for normal hypha
formation in the dimorphic pathogenic fungus
Histoplasma capsulatum. Eukaryotic Cell. 1: 249-256.
Shearer, G. 2002. Functional Genomics
in Histoplasma capsulatum: Dimorphism and
Virulence Factors. IN Pathogen Genomics. K.J. Shaw, ed.
Humana Press, New Jersey.
Tian, X. & G. Shearer. 2001. Cloning
and analysis of mold-specific genes in the dimorphic
fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. Gene. 275:
107-114.
Carr, J & G. Shearer. 1998. Genome
size, complexity and ploidy of the pathogenic fungus
Histoplasma capsulatum. J. Bacteriol. 180:
6697-6703. |
