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About Karine Gibbs

Dr. Gibbs is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Greenberg’s laboratory. She earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Stanford University with Dr. Julie A. Theriot, where she studied bacterial cell biology, specifically protein dynamics on the bacterial cell surface. While at Stanford, Dr. Gibbs was a Stanford Graduate Fellow and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and received the Professor Sidney Raffel Award from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Before moving to the West Coast, she graduated with an A.B. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard University, where she studied the initiation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation in Dr. Roberto Kolter's laboratory. One of Dr. Gibbs’ interests is the application of modern molecular biology techniques to answer puzzling phenomena described in previous research eras, with a focus on microbial physiology and ecology.

Karine Gibbs, Ph.D.
Postdoc

Email:
kagibbs at u.washington.edu

Phone:
(206) 221-2850

Location:
HSB K-359

Mailing Address:
UW Box 357735
Seattle WA 98195

Shipping Address:
HSB K-359
1708 NE Pacific St
Seattle WA 98195

Research

Swarming in the uropathogen Proteus mirabilis is a coordinated social behavior for population migration across a surface. A visible boundary forms between swarms of different P. mirabilis strains; however, swarms of the same strain do not give rise to a visible boundary and merge, indicating that P. mirabilis swarms are capable of self versus non-self recognition. Recently, we have identified a six-gene locus, termed idsA-F for “identification of self,” that is required for self versus non-self recognition in P. mirabilis (Science 2008 321:256). Through genetic analyses, we have shown that two of the ids genes (idsD and idsE) encode strain-specific identifiers and that three of the ids genes (idsB, idsC and idsF) encode non-strain-specific factors necessary for self-recognition. The remaining ids gene (idsA) encodes an unknown function. We observed that the boundary between two different wild-type P. mirabilis strains consisted of cell debris; the debris is most likely due to the production of Proteus-specific antibacterial peptides. However, we have shown that the ids genes do not appear to encode a toxin/antitoxin system. Moreover, the idsA-F genes are present in each P. mirabilis strain that we analyzed. Based on our data, we have proposed a “bar code/scanner model” for self/non-self recognition in which IdsD and IdsE encode the definition of self-identity (i.e. “bar codes”) and IdsB, IdsC and IdsF act as scanners necessary for the function of the bar codes. We believe that this self/non-self recognition behavior is analogous to territoriality in larger organisms. Current projects focus on further examining the molecular mechanisms by which P. mirabilis populations are able to discern self from other.