The continuous increase in the multidrug resistance of clinical pathogens is recognized as a major public health threat. However, there is limited knowledge of the pathogenesis at the cellular and molecular levels of clinical bacterial strains. Subsequently, treating such infections is becoming more difficult for both hospitals and governments. Therefore, understanding such bacterial pathogenesis is necessary to develop more effective antibiotic treatments. Our research group is interested in finding the molecular and biochemical mechanisms contributing to bacterial resistance. In addition, we are also exploring the “Host-Pathogen” interactions via post-translational modifications, which could help to develop intervention strategies and provide insights into disease progression. 

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kFlnEE4AAAAJ&hl=en

• Nagamalleswari, E., Rao, S., Vasu, K. & Nagaraja, V. Restriction endonuclease triggered bacterial apoptosis as a long-term survival mechanism. Nucleic Acids Res 45, 8423-8434, (2017).
• Vasu, K.; Nagamalleswari, E.; Zahran, M.; Imhof, P.; Xu, S.-y.; Zhu, Z.; Chan, S.-H.; Nagaraja, V., Increasing cleavage specificity and activity of restriction endonuclease KpnI. Nucleic Acids Res, 41 (21), 9812-9824 (2013)
• Vasu, K., Nagamalleswari, E. & Nagaraja, V. Promiscuous restriction is a cellular defense strategy that confers fitness advantage to bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci, 109, E1287-E1293, (2012).
• Nagamalleswari, E., Vasu, K. & Nagaraja, V. Ca2+ Binding to the ExDxD Motif Regulates the DNA Cleavage Specificity of a Promiscuous Endonuclease. Biochemistry 51, 8939-8949, (2012).
• Salas-Lloret, D.; Jansen, N. S.; Nagamalleswari, E.; van der Meulen, C.; Gracheva, E.; de Ru, A. H.; Otte, H. A. M.; van Veelen, P. A.; Pichler, A.; Goedhart, J.; Vertegaal, A. C. O.; González-Prieto, R., SUMO-activated target traps (SATTs) enable the identification of a comprehensive E3-specific SUMO proteome. Science Advances 9 (31), eadh2073 (2023).