Research within the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis is organized into four "Thrust Areas" based on broad questions in the area of microbial virulence. In addition, research within the Center is currently focused on four distinct ecosystems: the human vaginal tract, the mammalian intestinal tract, the plant leaf, and the mammalian respiratory tract, with research projects in several Thrust Areas related to each of these ecosystems. The Thrust Areas and broad research questions related to each area are:       Thrust Area 1. Microbial ecology of infectious diseases   What is the role of microbial communities in disease? How do conditions that shift communities favor or discourage disease?   Thrust Area 2. Genetic adaptation of pathogens   What genetic mechanisms permit pathogens to respond to changing environments and to survive within their hosts? How do pathogens regulate virulence? Can inhibition of these regulatory processes prevent or alter disease?   Thrust Area 3. Common virulence mechanisms of pathogens   What mechanisms are common to pathogens of many different hosts? Can inhibition of these common processes block disease? How do variations in common virulence mechanisms alter the disease process?   Thrust Area 4. Host specificity of microbial pathogens   What limits pathogen host range? What changes in pathogens or hosts can open new host ranges? Can we use this information to predict evolution of new emerging pathogens?                 Home|MSU Home|Contact the Center|Site Map