Capitol News

Sean Crosson, a professor at Michigan State University, has been awarded a $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The grant is intended to support research into Brucella abortus, the bacterium responsible for brucellosis disease, also known as Bang’s disease or undulant fever.

Brucellosis is highly contagious and primarily affects cattle, bison, and swine. It causes significant issues such as loss of young, infertility, and lameness. The disease can also affect other animals and humans and is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

In the United States, an eradication program by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has kept the disease under control in livestock since the 1950s. However, wild elk and bison in Yellowstone National Park still carry it. This poses a risk when livestock graze on open ranges where they might contract the disease.

Globally, brucellosis remains a major problem in regions with limited resources where people live close to their livestock. "Globally, it’s a huge burden on agricultural production," Crosson said. "Because you have this reservoir of animals that are infected, it’s a burden on human health."

The purpose of Crosson's research is to explore the genes and pathways Brucella abortus uses during infection with hopes of developing vaccines for wildlife. “We need vaccines,” Crosson stated. “None of the current vaccines that are used in livestock actually work on elk or bison.”

Crosson's study will focus on three specific aims: understanding how Brucella senses environmental changes through proteins like photosensors; investigating EipB protein's role in maintaining cell envelope stability; and examining two noncoding RNAs—GsrN1 and GsrN2—and their impact on gene regulation.

Crosson explained that microbes adapt to environmental stress by modifying gene expression: “Microbes have mechanisms to sense that change...and then modify their gene expression.” His team aims to understand these processes better to inform vaccine development efforts.

“We want to understand the why,” Crosson said about his research objectives. He believes his work holds importance from both human health and agricultural biotechnology perspectives.