Participant 3. Jonathan Ewbank (JE), PhD
Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, INSERM-CNRS, France
General: The research interests of the Ewbank lab are focused on the understanding of host-pathogen interactions. (Ewbank, Microb. Infection, Vol 4, pp 247-256). Specifically, we are using C. elegans (a) as a model to identify bacterial virulence factors, particularly of the emerging human opportunistic pathogen Serratia marcescens, and (b) to uncover evolutuionary conserved aspects innate immunity.
Role in the project: In the context of the current project, JE will be responsible for the initial steps of library generation, and together with participant #6, carry out the molecular characterisation of the transposon insertion sites.
Expertise/Resources: The Ewbank lab is currently composed of 8 members, including 4 with permanent CNRS or INSERM positions. It is headed by JE who gained his first experience with working with C. elegans working on a project related to biological timing (Ewbank et al., Science 275, 980-3). In addition to being fully equipped for molecular biology, biochemistry, microscopy, microinjection and the culture and maintenance of nematode strains, the JE lab is currently one of the very few European laboratories to have an automated worm sorter, complete with robotised plate-handling capacity. This platform, part of the Marseille Genopole, functions as an analysis platform (C-TAURN: Centre de Tri Automatique Ultra-Rapide de Nématodes) open to the French research community. Several ongoing C-TAURN large-scale projects are automated high-throughput screens. Additionally, the lab is co-ordinator of the French national C. elegans microarray platform, and the only European worm laboratory to have established a microarray resource that has generated published results.
The JE lab is one of 16 research groups at the CIML (Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy), a mixed research unit of the French public research agencies CNRS (UMR 6102) and INSERM (U136), was created in April 1976. It is located in the Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy and has a total laboratory surface area of 5300 m2. Some 170 people work at the CIML, of which more than 100 are permenant research staff, post-doctoral researchers, or PhD students. Major research topics at the CIML include lymphocyte development and activation, phagocytosis, pathogen-host cell interactions, and programmed cell death. Institute core facilities include Cell Imaging and Flow Cytometry, Peptide Synthesis, and DNA Sequencing. Each facility is run by highly qualified technical staff.
Complementarity with other participants: In addition to direct collaborations with participants #2 and #6, the JE lab has worked together with participant #4 on the development of the automated worm sorter. Additionally, the shared interest in the establishment of community microarray resources has resulted in extensive informal contact with participant #5 over the last 3 years.
Recent Publications:
1. Pujol N, Link EM, Liu LX, Kurz LC, Alloing G, Tan MW, Ray KP, Solari R, Johnson CD, Ewbank JJ. (2001) A reverse genetic analysis of components of the Toll signalling pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans. Curr Biol 11:809-821.
2. Couillault C, Ewbank JJ. (2002) Diverse bacteria are pathogens of Caenorhabditis elegans. Infect Immun 70:4705-4707.
3. Mallo GV, Kurz CL, Couillault C, Pujol N, Granjeaud S, Kohara Y, Ewbank JJ. (2002) Inducible antibacterial defence system in C. elegans. Curr Biol 12:1209-1214.
4. Kurz CL, et al. Virulence factors of the human opportunistic pathogen Serratia marcescens identified by in vivo screening. Embo J. 22:1451-1460.
5. Kurz CL, Ewbank JJ. C. elegans, an emerging genetic model for the study of innate immunity. Nature Genetics Reviews 4: 380-390.