Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology,
Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine,
Department of Biomedical Sciences,
Department of Pediatrics,
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine,
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine,
Department of Pediatrics, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
Dr Hongwei Yu is a Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. He is also the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and Co-Founder of Progenesis Technologies, LLC, a startup biotechnology company that specializes in engineering bacteria for the production of alginate. Alginate is a commercial polysaccharide currently extracted from a non-renewable resource, brown seaweeds. In addition, seaweed alginate cannot keep up with the demand for use in a plethora of biomedical applications, and global supply is declining due to over-harvesting, pollution, and climate change. To overcome these obstacles, Dr. Yu together with Dr Richard M Niles co-created Progenesis Technologies based on using the engineered bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a platform to produce quality-consistent, custom-made alginates. Dr. Yu’s initial study on the characterization of the signals for the controlled expression of alginate was published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). The key findings of this paper were also part of a patent awarded by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), respectively.
Dr. Yu’s research is focused on biofilm formation and its impact on lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. Dr. Yu’s interests also include synthetic/system biology, antimicrobials, and gut microbiota in health and disease. More recently, Dr Yu’s laboratory has used cell and mouse models to evaluate and validate the safety of Progenesis’ genetically engineered bacteria to better define the designation of Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) bacteria by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Dr Yu has published over 50 papers, 5 patents (2 awarded), and won several awards including the Marshall University Distinguished Artists & Scholars Award. Dr. Yu has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Department of Energy (DOE), the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and biotechnology companies. Dr. Yu received his B.Sc. in Aquaculture from the Ocean University of China in 1983, an M.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of Alberta in 1990, and his Ph.D. in Molecular Pathogenesis from the University of Calgary in 1994, followed by several years of postdoctoral training in Bacterial Genetics and Microbial Pathogenesis at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and the University of Michigan Medical School before joining the faculty at Marshall University School of Medicine in 1999.
Defect in early lung defence against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in DBA/2 mice is associated with acute inflammatory lung injury and reduced bactericidal activity in naive macrophages.
Microbiology (Reading, England) Apr, 2007 | Pubmed ID: 17379707
Regulated proteolysis controls mucoid conversion in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America May, 2007 | Pubmed ID: 17470813
Pharmacological modulation of cGMP levels by phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors as a therapeutic strategy for treatment of respiratory pathology in cystic fibrosis.
American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology Sep, 2007 | Pubmed ID: 17586695
ClpXP proteases positively regulate alginate overexpression and mucoid conversion in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Microbiology (Reading, England) Jul, 2008 | Pubmed ID: 18599839
PBAD-based shuttle vectors for functional analysis of toxic and highly regulated genes in Pseudomonas and Burkholderia spp. and other bacteria.
Applied and environmental microbiology Dec, 2008 | Pubmed ID: 18849445
The Pseudomonas aeruginosa sensor kinase KinB negatively controls alginate production through AlgW-dependent MucA proteolysis.
Journal of bacteriology Apr, 2009 | Pubmed ID: 19168621
Lipotoxin F of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an AlgU-dependent and alginate-independent outer membrane protein involved in resistance to oxidative stress and adhesion to A549 human lung epithelia.
Microbiology (Reading, England) Apr, 2009 | Pubmed ID: 19332805
The Mycoplasma genitalium MG_454 gene product resists killing by organic hydroperoxides.
Journal of bacteriology Nov, 2009 | Pubmed ID: 19717589
Pseudomonas aeruginosa MucD regulates the alginate pathway through activation of MucA degradation via MucP proteolytic activity.
Journal of bacteriology Jan, 2011 | Pubmed ID: 21036998
Vanadate and triclosan synergistically induce alginate production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO1.
Molecular microbiology Jul, 2011 | Pubmed ID: 21631603
Analysis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa regulon controlled by the sensor kinase KinB and sigma factor RpoN.
Journal of bacteriology Mar, 2012 | Pubmed ID: 22210761
Colonization and Distribution of Segmented Filamentous Bacteria (SFB) in Chicken Gastrointestinal Tract and Their Relationship with Host Immunity.
FEMS microbiology ecology Mar, 2012 | Pubmed ID: 22429007
Draft Genome Sequence for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strain PAO579, a Mucoid Derivative of PAO381.
Journal of bacteriology Dec, 2012 | Pubmed ID: 23144378
Comparative analysis of the distribution of segmented filamentous bacteria in humans, mice and chickens.
The ISME journal Nov, 2012 | Pubmed ID: 23151642
Truncation of type IV pilin induces mucoidy in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO579.
MicrobiologyOpen Mar, 2013 | Pubmed ID: 23533140
Effect of intracellular expression of antimicrobial peptide LL-37 on growth of escherichia coli strain TOP10 under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy Oct, 2013 | Pubmed ID: 23856776
Evidence for sigma factor competition in the regulation of alginate production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
PloS one , 2013 | Pubmed ID: 23991093
Draft Genome Sequence of a Stable Mucoid Strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO581 with a mucA25 Mutation.
Genome announcements , 2013 | Pubmed ID: 24115549
Draft Genome Sequence of a Mucoid Isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strain C7447m from a Patient with Cystic Fibrosis.
Genome announcements , 2013 | Pubmed ID: 24115552
Identification and characterization of a novel inhibitor of alginate overproduction in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Pathogens and disease Oct, 2013 | Pubmed ID: 24115673
Expression of mucoid induction factor MucE is dependent upon the alternate sigma factor AlgU in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
BMC microbiology , 2013 | Pubmed ID: 24138584
Draft Genome Sequences of Two Alginate-Overproducing Variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, PAO1-VE2 and PAO1-VE13.
Genome announcements , 2013 | Pubmed ID: 24336371