Several transition metals are essential for life as trace elements. These metal ions are found as cofactor in enzymes and are necessary for their proper function, e.g. nickel in hydrogenases, zinc in polymerases, iron and copper in redox enzymes. For other transition metals, like silver, no biological function is known. However, if the concentration of these metals exceeds a certain level, all of them, independent from wether they essential or not, are toxic. For this, organisms have to regulate their internal metal concentration tightly.
My research concentrates on different aspects of microbial metal homoeostasis: i) Mechanism of copper and silver resistance in Escherichia coli and ii) Influence of zinc on pathogenicity of Salmonella typhimurium.
