The Navarre lab studies how bacteria evolve to become dangerous pathogens and how genes transfer between bacteria to cause virulence and antibiotic resistance. We also actively explore the gut microbiota of laboratory animals with the goal of explaining how microbes impact the physiology and health of the animal. Ultimately we aim to find novel biologics that can promote healthy microbiota and eliminate pathogens and harmful commensals (pathobionts).

Selected publications:

1. Navarre WW. The Impact of Gene Silencing on Horizontal Gene Transfer and Bacterial Evolution. Adv Microb Physiol. 2016;69:157-186.
2. Ding P, McFarland KA, Jin S, Tong G, Duan B, Yang A, Hughes TR, Liu J, Dove SL, Navarre WW, Xia B. A Novel AT-Rich DNA Recognition Mechanism for Bacterial Xenogeneic Silencer MvaT. PLoS Pathog. 2015 Jun 11;11(6):e1004967.
3. Ali SS, Soo J, Rao C, Leung AS, Ngai DH, Ensminger AW, Navarre WW. Silencing by H-NS potentiated the evolution of Salmonella. PLoS Pathog. 2014 Nov6;10(11):e1004500.
4. Wang H, Yehoshua S, Ali SS, Navarre WW, Milstein JN. A biomechanical mechanism for initiating DNA packaging. Nucleic Acids Res. 2014 Oct 29;42(19):11921-7.
5. Hersch SJ, Elgamal S, Katz A, Ibba M, Navarre WW. Translation initiation rate  determines the impact of ribosome stalling on bacterial protein synthesis. J Biol Chem. 2014 Oct 10;289(41):28160-71.