Patricia J. Johnson

Last updated
Patricia Johnson
Born
Patricia Jean Johnson

20th century
Alma mater Murray State University (BS)
University of Michigan (PhD)
Awards Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2019) [1]
Scientific career
Institutions University of California, Los Angeles
Rockefeller University
Netherlands Cancer Institute
Thesis A molecular comparison of actin genes in sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, S. purpuratus, and Lytechinus pictus)  (1984)
Website bioscience.ucla.edu/faculty/patricia-j-johnson

Patricia Jean Johnson (born 20th century) is an American microbiologist.

Contents

She is a Distinguished Professor of Microbiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). [2] She works on the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis , which is responsible for trichomoniasis – one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections in the United States.

Johnson was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2019. [1]

Early life and education

Johnson grew up on a farm in Virginia. [3]

She studied biology at Murray State University, where she specialised in molecular biology. [4] She moved to the University of Michigan for her graduate studies, earning her doctorate in 1984. [5] [3] She was supported by the Burroughs Wellcome fund. [6] Her thesis investigated the evolution of exons and introns [7] in actin genes of sea urchins ( Strongylocentrotus franciscanus , Strongylocentrotus purpuratus , and Lytechinus pictus ). [5]

Research and career

After her PhD, Johnson was a postdoctoral researcher with Piet Borst at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. [3] In the Netherlands Johnson worked on Trypanosoma . She then joined Rockefeller University, where she worked with Christian de Duve. [8] She studied the parasite Trypanosoma brucei , the parasite that causes African trypanosomiasis. [3]

Johnson joined the University of California, Los Angeles as an assistant professor in 1988, and was promoted to professor in 1998. At the University of California, Johnson worked on bacterial evolution. [9]

Johnson studies the molecular and cell biology of Trichomonas vaginalis , a parasite that causes trichomoniasis, one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections worldwide. Johnson cloned the first Trichomonas vaginalis gene in 1990. [10] She first sequenced the genome of Trichomonas vaginalis in 2007, [11] working with Jane M. Carlton at New York University. [10] To sequence the gene required the efforts of 66 scientists working in 10 countries. [10] Sequencing the genome revealed detailed information about the mechanism by which Trichomonas adheres to and kills human cells. [10] It is estimated that 275 million people worldwide live with the parasite. This work elucidated more knowledge on how Eukaryotic cells evolved. [12] She investigates the pathogenic mechanisms that permit Trichomonas vaginalis to establish infection. [1] Her work considers new means of diagnosing and treating Trichomonas vaginalis. [3]

Trichomonas vaginalis is one of the most divergent eukaryotes, so provides a good platform to study biodiversity. [13] Johnson studies different aspects of trichomonad biology, [14] including drug resistance, organelle biogenesis, gene expression, genomics and host-parasite interactions. [13] Johnson is also investigating the link between Trichomonas vaginalis and prostate cancer. [11] [15] [16] In 2014 she found that Trichomonas vaginalis secreted a protein that can invade benign cancerous prostate cells. [16]

She serves as an associate editor of PLOS Pathogens . [17]

Awards and honours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trichomoniasis</span> Medical condition

Trichomoniasis (trich) is an infectious disease caused by the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis. About 70% of affected people do not have symptoms when infected. When symptoms occur, they typically begin 5 to 28 days after exposure. Symptoms can include itching in the genital area, a bad smelling thin vaginal discharge, burning with urination, and pain with sex. Having trichomoniasis increases the risk of getting HIV/AIDS. It may also cause complications during pregnancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Excavata</span> Supergroup of unicellular organisms belonging to the domain Eukaryota

Excavata is an extensive and diverse but paraphyletic group of unicellular Eukaryota. The group was first suggested by Simpson and Patterson in 1999 and the name latinized and assigned a rank by Thomas Cavalier-Smith in 2002. It contains a variety of free-living and symbiotic protists, and includes some important parasites of humans such as Giardia and Trichomonas. Excavates were formerly considered to be included in the now obsolete Protista kingdom. They were distinguished from other lineages based on electron-microscopic information about how the cells are arranged. They are considered to be a basal flagellate lineage.

<i>Giardia duodenalis</i> Parasitic microorganism that causes giardiasis

Giardia duodenalis, also known as Giardia intestinalis and Giardia lamblia, is a flagellated parasitic protozoan microorganism of the genus Giardia that colonizes the small intestine, causing a diarrheal condition known as giardiasis. The parasite attaches to the intestinal epithelium by a ventral disc, and reproduces via binary fission. G. duodenalis is a non-invasive parasite, that does not spread to other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, but remains confined to the lumen of the small intestine. The parasite exists in two forms; trophozoites and cysts. The microorganism can undergo encystation, transforming into a dormant cyst that enables it to survive outside of its host. Giardia trophozoites are anaerobic, and absorb their nutrients from the intestinal lumen. If the organism is stained, its characteristic pattern resembles the familiar "smiley face" symbol.

<i>Mycoplasma</i> Genus of bacteria

Mycoplasma is a genus of bacteria that, like the other members of the class Mollicutes, lack a cell wall, and its peptidoglycan, around their cell membrane. The absence of peptidoglycan makes them naturally resistant to antibiotics such as the beta-lactam antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis. They can be parasitic or saprotrophic. Several species are pathogenic in humans, including M. pneumoniae, which is an important cause of "walking" pneumonia and other respiratory disorders, and M. genitalium, which is believed to be involved in pelvic inflammatory diseases. Mycoplasma species are among the smallest organisms yet discovered, can survive without oxygen, and come in various shapes. For example, M. genitalium is flask-shaped, while M. pneumoniae is more elongated, many Mycoplasma species are coccoid. Hundreds of Mycoplasma species infect animals.

<i>Gardnerella vaginalis</i> Species of bacterium

Gardnerella vaginalis is a species of Gram-variable-staining facultative anaerobic bacteria. The organisms are small non-spore-forming, nonmotile coccobacilli.

<i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> Species of parasite that causes sexually transmitted infections

Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic, flagellated protozoan parasite and the causative agent of a sexually transmitted disease called trichomoniasis. It is the most common pathogenic protozoan that infects humans in industrialized countries. Infection rates in men and women are similar but women are usually symptomatic, while infections in men are usually asymptomatic. Transmission usually occurs via direct, skin-to-skin contact with an infected individual, most often through vaginal intercourse. It is estimated that 160 million cases of infection are acquired annually worldwide. The estimates for North America alone are between 5 and 8 million new infections each year, with an estimated rate of asymptomatic cases as high as 50%. Usually treatment consists of metronidazole and tinidazole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parabasalid</span> Group of flagellated protists

The parabasalids are a group of flagellated protists within the supergroup Excavata. Most of these eukaryotic organisms form a symbiotic relationship in animals. These include a variety of forms found in the intestines of termites and cockroaches, many of which have symbiotic bacteria that help them digest cellulose in woody plants. Other species within this supergroup are known parasites, and include human pathogens.

<i>Trichomonas</i> Genus of parasitic, flagellated protists

Trichomonas is a genus of anaerobic excavate parasites of vertebrates. It was first discovered by Alfred François Donné in 1836 when he found these parasites in the vagina of a patient suffering from vaginitis, an inflammation of the vagina. Donné named the genus from its morphological characteristics. The prefix tricho- originates from the Ancient Greek word θρίξ (thrix) meaning hair, describing Trichomonas’s flagella. The suffix -monas, describes its similarity to unicellular organisms from the genus Monas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogenosome</span> Mitochondrion-derived organelle

A hydrogenosome is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in some anaerobic ciliates, flagellates, and fungi. Hydrogenosomes are highly variable organelles that have presumably evolved from protomitochondria to produce molecular hydrogen and ATP in anaerobic conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genome size</span> Amount of DNA contained in a genome

Genome size is the total amount of DNA contained within one copy of a single complete genome. It is typically measured in terms of mass in picograms or less frequently in daltons, or as the total number of nucleotide base pairs, usually in megabases. One picogram is equal to 978 megabases. In diploid organisms, genome size is often used interchangeably with the term C-value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conserved sequence</span> Similar DNA, RNA or protein sequences within genomes or among species

In evolutionary biology, conserved sequences are identical or similar sequences in nucleic acids or proteins across species, or within a genome, or between donor and receptor taxa. Conservation indicates that a sequence has been maintained by natural selection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire M. Fraser</span> American genome scientist and microbiologist

Claire M. Fraser is an American genome scientist and microbiologist who has worked in microbial genomics and genome medicine. Her research has contributed to the understanding of the diversity and evolution of microbial life. Fraser is the director of the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, where she holds the Dean's Endowed Professorship in the School of Medicine. She has joint faculty appointments at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology. In 2019, she began serving a one-year term as President-Elect for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which will be followed by a one-year term as AAAS president starting in February 2020 and a one-year term as chair of the Board of Directors in February 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protozoan infection</span> Parasitic disease caused by a protozoan

Protozoan infections are parasitic diseases caused by organisms formerly classified in the kingdom Protozoa. These organisms are now classified in the supergroups Excavata, Amoebozoa, Harosa, and Archaeplastida. They are usually contracted by either an insect vector or by contact with an infected substance or surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaea</span> Domain of organisms

Archaea is a domain of organisms. Traditionally, Archaea only included its prokaryotic members, but since this has been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are now known to have evolved from archaea. Even though the domain Archaea cladistically includes eukaryotes, the term "archaea" in English still generally refers specifically to prokaryotic members of Archaea. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, receiving the name archaebacteria, but this term has fallen out of use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genome evolution</span> Process by which a genome changes in structure or size over time

Genome evolution is the process by which a genome changes in structure (sequence) or size over time. The study of genome evolution involves multiple fields such as structural analysis of the genome, the study of genomic parasites, gene and ancient genome duplications, polyploidy, and comparative genomics. Genome evolution is a constantly changing and evolving field due to the steadily growing number of sequenced genomes, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, available to the scientific community and the public at large.

In biology, a pathogen, in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane M. Carlton</span> Biologist

Jane M. Carlton is a biologist at Johns Hopkins University whose research centers on two groups of single-celled parasites: those which cause malaria, and trichomonads, which include the common sexually transmitted parasite Trichomonas vaginalis. She is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Malaria Genomics and Public Health. She holds primary appointments in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in the Bloomberg School of Public Health and in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, a department shared by the Whiting School of Engineering and the School of Medicine. She is also the director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute.

<i>Trichomonas tenax</i> Species of single-celled organism

Trichomonas tenax, or oral trichomonas, is a species of Trichomonas commonly found in the oral cavity of humans. Routine hygiene is generally not sufficient to eliminate the parasite, hence its Latin name, meaning "tenacious". The parasite is frequently encountered in periodontal infections, affecting more than 50% of the population in some areas, but it is usually considered insignificant. T. tenax is generally not found on the gums of healthy patients. It is known to play a pathogenic role in necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis and necrotizing ulcerative periodontitis, worsening preexisting periodontal disease. This parasite is also implicated in some chronic lung diseases; in such cases, removal of the parasite is sufficient to allow recovery.

Tc1/mariner is a class and superfamily of interspersed repeats DNA transposons. The elements of this class are found in all animals, including humans. They can also be found in protists and bacteria.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "2019 NAS Election". www.nasonline.org.
  2. ↑ Dyall, Sabrina D.; Brown, Mark T.; Johnson, Patricia J. (2004). "Ancient Invasions: From Endosymbionts to Organelles". Science. 304 (5668): 253–257. Bibcode:2004Sci...304..253D. doi:10.1126/science.1094884. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   15073369. S2CID   19424594. Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cellular crosstalk and disease pathogenesis". researchfeatures.com. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  4. ↑ "Murray State University 2019 Distinguished Alumni Spotlights – The Blue & Gold". msublueandgold.org. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  5. 1 2 Johnson, Patricia Jean (1984). A molecular comparison of actin genes in sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, S. purpuratus, and Lytechinus pictus) (PhD thesis). University of Michigan. OCLC   68294642.
  6. 1 2 "2014 SCEP Symposium". Southern California Eukaryotic Pathogen Symposium. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Patricia J.; Carlton, Jane M.; Yan, Weihong; Vaňáčová, Štěpánka (2005). "Spliceosomal introns in the deep-branching eukaryote Trichomonas vaginalis". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102 (12): 4430–4435. Bibcode:2005PNAS..102.4430V. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0407500102 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   554003 . PMID   15764705.
  8. ↑ "Patricia Jean Johnson - Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Immunology and Microbiology in Los Angeles, California, United States of America | eMedEvents". emedevents.com. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  9. ↑ "The World's Smallest Genome Just Got Smaller". npr.org. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "UCLA and NYU microbiologists crack genome of a parasite that causes a common STD". eurekalert.org. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  11. 1 2 Carlton, J. M.; Hirt, R. P.; Silva, J. C.; Delcher, A. L.; Schatz, M.; Zhao, Q.; Wortman, J. R.; Bidwell, S. L.; Alsmark, U. C. M.; Besteiro, S.; Sicheritz-Ponten, T.; Noel, C. J.; Dacks, J. B.; Foster, P. G.; Simillion, C.; Van de Peer, Y.; Miranda-Saavedra, D.; Barton, G. J.; Westrop, G. D.; Muller, S.; Dessi, D.; Fiori, P. L.; Ren, Q.; Paulsen, I.; Zhang, H.; Bastida-Corcuera, F. D.; Simoes-Barbosa, A.; Brown, M. T.; Hayes, R. D.; Mukherjee, M.; Okumura, C. Y.; Schneider, R.; Smith, A. J.; Vanacova, S.; Villalvazo, M.; Haas, B. J.; Pertea, M.; Feldblyum, T. V.; Utterback, T. R.; Shu, C.-L.; Osoegawa, K.; de Jong, P. J.; Hrdy, I.; Horvathova, L.; Zubacova, Z.; Dolezal, P.; Malik, S.-B.; Logsdon, J. M.; Henze, K.; Gupta, A.; Wang, C. C.; Dunne, R. L.; Upcroft, J. A.; Upcroft, P.; White, O.; Salzberg, S. L.; Tang, P.; Chiu, C.-H.; Lee, Y.-S.; Embley, T. M.; Coombs, G. H.; Mottram, J. C.; Tachezy, J.; Fraser-Liggett, C. M.; Johnson, P. J. (2007). "Draft Genome Sequence of the Sexually Transmitted Pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis". Science. 315 (5809): 207–212. Bibcode:2007Sci...315..207C. doi:10.1126/science.1132894. ISSN   0036-8075. PMC   2080659 . PMID   17218520.
  12. ↑ Doctrow, Brian (2019-10-22). "QnAs with Patricia Johnson". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116 (43): 21339–21340. doi:10.1073/pnas.1917119116. PMC   6815151 . PMID   31636206.
  13. 1 2 "Patricia J. Johnson, Ph.D. – Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics". ucla.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  14. ↑ Bui, E. T.; Bradley, P. J.; Johnson, P. J. (1996). "A common evolutionary origin for mitochondria and hydrogenosomes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 93 (18): 9651–9656. Bibcode:1996PNAS...93.9651B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.18.9651 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   38483 . PMID   8790385.
  15. ↑ Twu, O.; Dessi, D.; Vu, A.; Mercer, F.; Stevens, G. C.; de Miguel, N.; Rappelli, P.; Cocco, A. R.; Clubb, R. T.; Fiori, P. L.; Johnson, P. J. (2014). "Trichomonas vaginalis homolog of macrophage migration inhibitory factor induces prostate cell growth, invasiveness, and inflammatory responses". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (22): 8179–8184. Bibcode:2014PNAS..111.8179T. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1321884111 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   4050605 . PMID   24843155.
  16. 1 2 Roberts, Michelle (2014-05-20). "Prostate cancer 'linked to sex bug'". bbc.com. BBC . Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  17. ↑ "PLOS Pathogens: A Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Journal". journals.plos.org. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  18. ↑ Johnson, Patricia. "Biogenesis of Hydrogenosomes of a Trichomonad Parasite". grantome.org.
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