Hello, welcome to the webpage of Clayton Cox!

My research focuses on the role of community-wide bacterial cell-to-cell communication in the resilience of oyster-associated microbial communities and their resistance to invasion by a model pathogen, Salmonella enterica. Bacteria are omni-present in nature and often exist in complex, multi-species communities which are capable of communication and coordinated activity. Bacteria constantly sense their external environment and are capable of perceiving complex chemical cues from animals, plants and other bacteria which regulate bacterial behaviors such as motility, surface colonization, biofilm formation and virulence in a process called Quorum Sensing.

There are two aspects to my project; dissecting the genetic regulation of colonization of established microbial communities by an opportunistic pathogen using a S. enterica gfp labeled promoter-probe library and determining the role of the GacS/GacA regulatory system in surface colonization and persistence on oysters. The characterization of interactions between host-associated microbiota and “invaders” can serve as a model for dissecting evolutionarily conserved mechanisms of microbe-microbe and host-microbe interactions which are central to understanding the ecology of host-associated microbiota.

The surface of an oyster harbors many species of bacteria, most of which are harmless to humans. However, little is known about the composition of these communities. Characterizing the wild type community composition and shifts in community composition in response to specific treatments under controlled laboratory conditions allows studying microbe-microbe and host-microbe interaction in greater depth. These analyses are a central element to this project which will augment the genetic analyses.

Please check back for updates