R. Martin (Marty) Roop, II

Professor

Postdoctoral Study, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
PhD, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Phone: 252-744-1357
Fax: 252-744-3535
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. The goal of the research being performed in our laboratory is to define the roles of individual gene products in allowing these bacteria to sustain their intracellular persistence in host macrophages.

Selected Publications

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:(in press).

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.

Baglivo, I., L. Pirone, E. M. Pedone, J. E. Pitzer, L. Muscariello, M. M. Marino, G. Malgieri, A. Freschi, A. Chambery, R. M. Roop II, and P. V. Pedone. 2017. The Ml proteins from Mesorhizobium loti and MucR from Brucella abortus: an AT rich DNA core target site and oligomerization ability. Sci. Rep. 7:e15805.

Suárez-Esqivel, M., N. Ruiz-Villalobos, A. Castillo-Zeledón, C. Jiménez-Rojas, R. M. Roop II, D. J. Comerci, E. Barquero-Calvo, C. Chacón-Díaz, C. C. Caswell, K. S. Baker, E. Chaves-Olarte, N. R. Thomson, E. Moreno, J. J. Letesson, X. De Bolle, and C. Guzmán-Verri. 2016. Brucella abortus strain 2308 Wisconsin genome: importance of the definition of reference strains. Front. Microbiol. 7:e1557.

Saadeh, B., C. C. Caswell, Y. Chao, P. Berta, A. R. Wattam, R. M. Roop II, and D. O’Callaghan. 2015. Transcriptome-wide identification of  Hfq-associated RNAs in Brucella suis by deep sequencing. J. Bacteriol. 198: 427-435.

Sheehan, L. M., J. A. Budnick, R. M. Roop II, and C. C. Caswell. 2015. Coordinated zinc homeostasis is essential for the wild-type virulence of Brucella abortus. J. Bacteriol. 197:1582-1591.

Elhassanny, A. E. M., E. S. Anderson, E. A. Menscher, and R. M. Roop II. 2013. The ferrous iron transporter FtrABCD is required for the virulence of Brucella abortus 2308 in mice. Mol. Microbiol. 88:1070-1082.

Kim, H.-S., C. C. Caswell, R. Foreman, R. M. Roop II, and S. Crosson. 2013. The Brucella abortus general stress response system regulates chronic mammalian infection, and is controlled by phosphorylation and proteolysis. J. Biol. Chem. 288:13906-13916.

Caswell, C. C., A. E. Elhassanny, E. E. Planchin, C. M. Roux, J. N. Gorospe-Weeks, P. M. Dunman, and R. M. Roop II. 2013. Diverse genetic regulon of the virulence-associated transcriptional regulator MucR in Brucella abortus 2308. Infect. Immun. 81:1040-1051.

Caswell, C. C., J. E. Baumgartner, D. W. Martin, and R. M. Roop II. 2012. Characterization of the organic hydroperoxide resistance system of Brucella abortus 2308. J. Bacteriol. 194:5065-5072.

Caswell, C. C., J. M. Gaines, P. Ciborowski, D. Smith, C. H. Borchers, C. M. Roux, K. Sayood, P. M. Dunman, and R. M. Roop II. 2012. Identification of  two small regulatory RNAs linked to virulence in Brucella abortus 2308. Mol. Microbiol. 85:345-360.

Staff

	Name	Title	Location	Phone
	Barton, Ian	Postdoctoral Scholar	Biotech 117	252-744-3135 or 252-744-3125
	Vacant	Research Specialist TL	Biotech 117	252-744-3135 or 252-744-3125
	Cribb, Connor	Doctoral Student	Biotech 117	252-744-3135 or 252-744-3125