R. L. Lamason

An expanded genetic toolkit for inducible expression and targeted gene silencing in Rickettsia parkeri

This paper develops inducible gene expression and CRISPRi-mediated gene knockdown systems in Rickettsia parkeri to study its infectious life cycle.

Cell-selective proteomics reveal novel effectors secreted by an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen

The paper uses BONCAT to identify novel secreted effectors from Rickettsia parkeri, revealing new proteins that interact with host cellular components.

An obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen forms a direct, interkingdom membrane contact site

This study shows that Rickettsia parkeri forms a direct membrane contact site with the endoplasmic reticulum, mimicking host organelle-ER contacts.

The ankyrin repeat protein RARP-1 is a periplasmic factor that supports Rickettsia parkeri growth and host cell invasion

This study identifies RARP-1 as a periplasmic protein in Rickettsia parkeri that supports host cell invasion and growth but not cell-to-cell spread or autophagy evasion.

A streamlined method for transposon mutagenesis of Rickettsia parkeri yields numerous mutations that impact infection

This study uses a transposon mutagenesis method to generate Rickettsia parkeri mutants, identifying genes involved in infection and host interactions.