Sean Crosson

Cells have the extraordinary ability to rapidly modulate their physiology in response to changes in their environment. This plasticity is particularly evident in microbial species, many of which adapt to grow across an extremely diverse range of conditions. Our interests center on how chemical and physical signals are received, processed, and integrated by a bacterial cell to generate an adaptive response. To address these questions, we are using an interdisciplinary set of tools including NMR and crystallography to explore the structural basis of signal detection and transduction by sensor histidine kinases, genetics and array-based transcriptional profiling to decipher the function and topology of microbial signaling networks, and mathematical modeling to test our experimentally-derived network topologies.

Cells have the extraordinary ability to rapidly modulate their physiology in response to changes in their environment. This plasticity is particularly evident in microbial species, many of which adapt to grow across an extremely diverse range of conditions. Our interests center on how chemical and physical signals are received, processed, and integrated by a bacterial cell to generate an adaptive response. To address these questions, we are using an interdisciplinary set of tools including NMR and crystallography to explore the structural basis of signal detection and transduction by sensor histidine kinases, genetics and array-based transcriptional profiling to decipher the function and topology of microbial signaling networks, and mathematical modeling to test our experimentally-derived network topologies.

Siegal-Gaskins, D., Ash, J., and Crosson, S. (2009). Model-based deconvolution of cell cycle time-series data reveals gene expression details at high resolution. PLoS Comput. Biol. 5: e1000460; doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000460. 

Boutte, C.C, Srinivasan, B.S., Flannick, J.A., Novak, A.F., Martens, A.T., Batzoglou, S., Viollier, P.H., and Crosson, S. (2008). Genetic and Computational Identification of a Conserved Bacterial Metabolic Module. PLoS Genetics 4: e1000310; doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000310. 

Siegal-Gaskins, D. and Crosson, S. (2008). Tightly-Regulated and Heritable Division Control in Single Bacterial Cells. Biophys. J. 95:2063-2072. 

Purcell, E.B. and Crosson, S. (2008). Photoregulation in Prokaryotes. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 11:168-178. 

Purcell, E.B., Siegal-Gaskins, D., Rawling, D.C., Fiebig, A., and Crosson, S. (2007). A Photosensory Two-Component System Regulates Bacterial Cell Attachment. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 104:18241-18246. 

Kennis, J.T.M., and Crosson, S. (2007). A Bacterial Pathogen Sees the Light. Science 317:1041-1042. 

Purcell, E.B., Boutte, C.C., and Crosson, S. (2007). Two-component networks and cell cycle control in Caulobacter crescentus. In Bacterial Signal Transduction: Networks and Drug Targets ; ed. R. Utsumi. Landes-Eurekah. Austin, Texas. 

Crosson, S. McGrath, P.T., Stephens, C., McAdams, H.H., and Shapiro, L. (2005). Conserved Modular Design of an Oxygen Sensory/Signaling Network with Species Specific Output. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 8018-8023. 

Crosson, S. LOV domain structure, dynamics and diversity. (2005). In Handbook of Photosensory Receptors ed. W. Briggs and J. Spudich. Wiley-VCH Verlag. Weinheim, Germany. 

Crosson, S. McAdams, H., and Shapiro, L. (2004). A genetic oscillator and the regulation of cell cycle progression in Caulobacter crescentus. Cell Cycle 3: 1252-1254. 

Kennis, J., van Stokkum, I., Crosson, S., Gauden, M., Moffat, K., and van Grondelle, R. (2004). The LOV2 domain of phototropin: a reversible photochromic switch. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126: 4512-4513. 

Crosson, S., Rajagopal, S. and Moffat, K. (2003). The LOV domain family: photoresponsive signaling modules coupled to diverse output domains. Biochemistry 42: 2-10. 

Kennis, J., Crosson, S., Gauden, M., van Stokkum, I., Moffat K., and van Grondelle, R. (2003). Primary reactions of the LOV2 domain of phototropin, a plant blue-light photoreceptor. Biochemistry 42: 3385-3392. 

Crosson, S. and Moffat, K. (2002). Photoexcited structure of a plant photoreceptor domain reveals a light-driven molecular switch. Plant Cell 14: 1067-1075. 

Crosson, S. and Moffat, K. (2001). Structure of a flavin-binding plant photoreceptor domain: insights into light-mediated signal transduction. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98: 2995-3000. 

Siegal-Gaskins, D., Ash, J., and Crosson, S. (2009). Model-based deconvolution of cell cycle time-series data reveals gene expression details at high resolution. PLoS Comput. Biol. 5: e1000460; doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000460. 

Boutte, C.C, Srinivasan, B.S., Flannick, J.A., Novak, A.F., Martens, A.T., Batzoglou, S., Viollier, P.H., and Crosson, S. (2008). Genetic and Computational Identification of a Conserved Bacterial Metabolic Module. PLoS Genetics 4: e1000310; doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000310. 

Siegal-Gaskins, D. and Crosson, S. (2008). Tightly-Regulated and Heritable Division Control in Single Bacterial Cells. Biophys. J. 95:2063-2072. 

Purcell, E.B. and Crosson, S. (2008). Photoregulation in Prokaryotes. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 11:168-178. 

Purcell, E.B., Siegal-Gaskins, D., Rawling, D.C., Fiebig, A., and Crosson, S. (2007). A Photosensory Two-Component System Regulates Bacterial Cell Attachment. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 104:18241-18246.