Helen E. Blackwell

This study defines how ligand structure controls function in a LuxR-type quorum sensing receptor by presenting full-length structures bound to agonist and antagonist ligands.

This paper investigates how structural features of LuxR-type receptors determine their ligand-response mechanisms, showing that the ligand-binding domain primarily dictates associative vs. dissociative activity.

This study investigates BSH activity in human gut bacteria and finds that some strains can directly dehydrogenate conjugated bile acids to produce conjugated secondary bile acids, challenging the idea that deconjugation is a prerequisite for further modifications.

This study evaluates benzaldehyde derivatives as quorum sensing inhibitors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, identifying ortho-vanillin as a competitive inhibitor of RhlR.