Christopher Zhang, QBioS 4th Year Seminar

QBioS 4th Year Seminars for Spring 2025 have been scheduled!

Join us on Tuesdays from 12:30-1:30pm
Cherry Emerson Room 204
Pick-up lunch in Cherry Emerson 201B prior to the talk.
Talk flyers will be distributed prior to each event.

The Type 6 Secretion System (T6SS) is a sophisticated molecular weapon, evolutionarily derived from phage tail structures, that enables bacteria to inject lethal toxins into competing cells. This nanomachine's widespread distribution among Gram-negative bacteria (present in approximately 25% of species), its remarkable killing efficiency (exceeding 99.99%), and its versatile roles in defense, invasion, and resource acquisition have made it a focal point of recent microbiological research. Since its discovery in 2006, extensive research has characterized many aspects of T6SS mechanism, function, and ecological significance. However, several foundational assumptions continue to shape the field's theoretical framework. In this talk, I will present two projects that challenge these classical paradigms of T6SS biology and discuss the implications of this research on the T6SS field going forward.