Novel Mass Spectrometry Methods Identify Metal-Binding Molecules Produced by Environmental Microbiota

Dr Allegra Aron – University of Denver - Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Metals are required for life, and microbes have evolved diverse natural products that can scavenge metals from metal-deficient environments ranging from the surface of a leaf to the human urinary tract. Systematic methods for the discovery of metal-small molecule complexes from biological samples remain limited. This seminar will describe a native electrospray ionization mass spectrometry-based method that has allowed us to discover metal-binding molecules produced by both human host-associated and environmental microorganisms. This seminar will describe a new class of lanthanide-binding metal-chelators produced by environmental bacteria and potential future applications of these molecules.

Allegra Aron- BS, Brown University - PhD, UC, Berkeley, where she worked as an NSF graduate fellow in the laboratory of Professor Christopher Chang. Allegra moved to the University of California, San Diego, where she worked in Pieter Dorrestein’s laboratory. Allegra moved to the University of Denver in 2022, where she started her laboratory as an assistant professor. Since starting her laboratory, Allegra has received the Boettcher Webb-Waring Early Investigator Award along with an NIH MIRA and an NSF CAREER Award. She also recently won the University of Denver’s Research Scholar - Emerging Investigator Award. Outside of the laboratory, loves rock climbing, skiing, and hiking.