R. Martin (Marty) Roop, II
Professor
Postdoctoral Study, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
PhD, Virginia Tech
Phone: 252-744-1357
Fax: 252-744-3104
Email: roopr@ecu.edu
Research
Brucellosis is one of the world’s leading zoonotic infections. Brucella strains survive and replicate in host macrophages, causing chronic infections which can produce abortion and infertility in animals and a debilitating condition known as ‘undulant fever’ in humans. Unfortunately, the mechanisms by which the brucellae establish and maintain their long-term residence in host macrophages are presently unknown. In collaboration with Daniel Martin and Ian Barton, our lab is working to define the roles of individual gene products in allowing these bacteria to sustain their intracellular persistence in host macrophages.
Selected Publications
Baglivo, I., G. Malgieri, R. M. Roop II, I. S. Barton, X. Wang, V. Russo, L. Pirone, E. M. Pedone, P. V. Pedone. 2024. MucR protein: three decades of studies have led to the identification of a new H-NS-like protein. Mol. Microbiol. (in press).
Campbell, M., I. S. Barton, R. M. Roop II, and P. Chien. 2024. Comparison of CcrM-dependent methylation in Caulobacter crescentus and Brucella abortus by nanopore sequencing. J. Bacteriol 206:e0008324.
Barton, I. S., Z. Ren, C. B. Cribb, J. E. Pitzer, I. Baglivo, D. W. Martin, X. Wang, and R. M. Roop II. 2023. Brucella MucR acts as an H-NS-like protein to silence virulence genes and structure the nucleoid. mBio 14:02201-23.
Yurgel, S. N., S. A. Johnson, J. Rice, N. Sa, C. Bailes, J. Baumgartner, J. E. Pitzer, R. M. Roop II, and S. Roje. 2022. A novel formamidase is required for riboblavin synthesis in invasive bacteria. J. Biol. Chem. 298:102377.
Roop, R. M. II, I. S. Barton, D. Hopersberger, and D. W. Martin. 2021. Uncovering the hidden credentials of Brucella virulence. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 85: e00021-19.
Budnick, J. A., L. M. Sheehan, A. H. Benton, J. E. Pitzer, L. Kang, P. Michalak, R. M. Roop II, and C. C. Caswell. 2020. Characterizing the transport and utilization of the neurotransmitter GABA in the bacterial pathogen Brucella abortus. PLoS ONE 15:e0237371.
Banerjee, S., R. J. Garrigues, M. N. Chanakira, J. J. Negron-Olivo, Y. H. Odeh, A. M. Spuches, R. M. Roop II, J. E. Pitzer, D. W. Martin, and S. Dasgupta. 2020. Investigating the roles of the conserved Cu2+-binding residues in Brucella FtrA in producing conformational stability and functionality. J. Inorg. Biochem. 210:111162.
Johnsrude, M. J., J. E. Pitzer, D. W. Martin, and R. M. Roop II. 2019. The cation diffusion family protein EmfA confers resistance to manganese toxicity in Brucella abortus 2308 and is an essential virulence determinant in mice. J. Bacteriol. 202:e00357-19.
Pirone, L., J. E. Pitzer, G. D’Abrosca, R. Fattorusso, G. Malgieri, E. M. Pedone, P. V. Pedone, R. M. Roop II, and I. Baglivo. 2018. Identifying the region responsible for Brucella abortus MucR higher-order oligomer formation and examining its role in gene regulation. Sci Rep 8:e17238.
Pitzer, J. E., T. N. Zeczycki, J. E. Baumgartner, D. W. Martin, and R. M. Roop II. 2018. The manganese-dependent pyruvate kinase PykM is required for wild-type glucose utilization by Brucella abortus 2308 and its virulence in C57BL/6 mice. J. Bacteriol. 200:e00471-18.
Budnick, J. A., L. M. Sheehan, J. M. Colquhoun, P. M. Dunman, G. C. Walker, R. M Roop II, and C. C. Caswell. 2018. The endoribonuclease YbeY is linked to proper cellular morphology and virulence in Brucella abortus. J. Bacteriol. 200:e00105-18.
Baglivo, I., L. Pirone, G. Malgeri, R. Fattorusso, R. M. Roop II, E. M. Pedone, and P. V. Pedone. 2018. MucR binds multiple target sites in the promoter of its own gene and it is a heat-stable protein: is MucR a H-NS like protein? FEBS Open Bio 8:711-718.
Staff
| Name | Title | Location | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Bitzer, Graham | Postdoctoral Scholar | Biotech 124 | 252-744-3135 |
 | Cribb, Connor | Doctoral Candidate | Biotech 121 | 252-744-3135 |
 | Ogle, Jodi | Doctoral Student | Biotech 121 | 252-744-3135 |