Goran Jovanović

Education:

BSc: Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade
MSc: Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade
PhD: The Rockefeller University, New York

Current position and address:

Imperial College London
South Kensington Camus
Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Division of Biology

Research interest:

Maintaining membrane integrity is fundamental to all cell types. Many bacteria mount a major adaptive response to membrane stress by inducing the Phage shock protein (Psp) system. Related stress control systems are found in Achaea and in plants.
The Psp system of Gram-negative pathogens is induced by secretins and protects the cell envelope of bacterial pathogens during infection. The Psp response is important for growth, biofilm formation and medical treatment of enterobacteria being highly up regulated in multiple antibiotics resistant persister cells.
Agents inducing psp impair the membrane and dissipate the proton motive force (pmf). The conserved membrane associated effector protein PspA helps to repair the membrane and conserve the pmf and energy metabolism. In enterobacteria, PspA also directly inhibits its cognate transcription activator PspF. In plants, the PspA homologue VIPP1 is needed for thylakoid biogenesis.
Our work is focused on deciphering the molecular and cell biology of the Psp system. We are intersted in (i) nature of the signal, (ii) regulation of the Psp response, (iii) protein and membrane determinants that gouvern the functions of PspA, (iv) spatial and temporal organisation of the response and (v) mecahnism of the PspA action upon stress.

Additional information: