The author’s functional model of Legionella effector protein SidF .

1. Subversion of host cells causing Legionnaires' diseaseJoel D. Brock, Cornell University, DMR 0936384 Broader Impacts: Several species in the Legionella genus of environmental bacteria, in particular Legionella pneumophilaand Legionellalongbeachae, are pathogenic to humans. The development of artificial water systems and semi-closed environments, such as air conditioning in tightly-controlled, energy efficient buildings, have created opportunities for Legionnaires’ disease to emerged as a significant health threat to human health. Once inhaled and swallowed by immune cells, they secrete phosphatases proteins to make our cells more hospitable for themselves. Although other bacteria have been reported to use similar mechanisms, this is the first such report for the Legionalla species. This discovery opens a new avenue toward the understanding of the roles of protein signaling and metabolism in L. pneumophilainfection. FoSheng Hsu, Wenhan Zhu, Lucy Brennan, Lili Tao, Zhao-Qing Luo, and Yuxin Mao; "Structural Basis for Substrate Recognition by a Unique Legionella Phosphoinositide Phosphatase", PNAS vol.109, no. 34, pp. 13567-13572; doi: 10.1073/pnas.1207903109 (August 21, 2012) The author’s functional model of Legionella effector protein SidF. CHESS DMR-0936384 October 2012