T. K. Lu

Frame Editors for Precise, Template-Free Frameshifting

This paper introduces Frame Editors (FEs) that improve CRISPR-Cas9 editing accuracy by inducing controlled frameshifts without templates, reducing random mutations and off-target effects.

Optimization of host cell-compatible, antimicrobial peptides effective against biofilms and clinical isolates of drug-resistant bacteria.

This study optimizes antimicrobial peptides to enhance activity against drug-resistant bacteria and biofilms while reducing cytotoxicity.

Antigen-specific induction of CD4+CD8αα+ intraepithelial T lymphocytes byBacteroidetes species

This study identifies Bacteroidetes species that induce CD4+CD8αα+ intraepithelial T lymphocytes, which provide protective immunity against colitis.

Multiplex CRISPRi-Cas9 silencing of planktonic and stage-specific biofilm genes in Enterococcus faecalis

This paper develops a CRISPRi system in Enterococcus faecalis to silence genes involved in biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, and essentiality, enabling efficient study of pathogenesis and host interactions.

High-throughput CRISPR screens to dissect macrophage-Shigella interactions

This study uses CRISPR screens to identify host factors involved in Shigella-induced inflammation and macrophage survival, revealing potential therapeutic targets.

Illuminating host-mycobacterial interactions with functional genomic screening to inhibit mycobacterial pathogenesis

This study uses CRISPR screens to identify host genes that inhibit mycobacterial growth, revealing potential targets for host-directed tuberculosis therapies.

Colonization with heterologous bacteria reprograms a Caenorhabditis elegans nutritional phenotype

This study shows that introducing cellulolytic bacteria into C. elegans allows the host to utilize cellulose as a carbon source, improving nutrition and larval yield.