Aiden Houck

Historically, it has been challenging to predict which amino acids may get post translationally modified and how, as these predictions are based on sequence alone. Therefore, many microbial post translational modifications that have yet to be elucidated. Taking a genome-neighborhood guided approach coupled with sequence conservation analysis, we can identify distinct targets for post-translational modifications. One amino acid of interest includes tryptophan due to its role as a metabolic precursor for a variety of signaling molecules in humans, plants, and microbes. While transformation of the free tryptophan metabolite has been well documented in eukaryotic systems, how it gets modified in bacterial systems, the chemical scope of those modifications, and the biological relevance of these modifications is less well-understood.