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George A. O'Toole Jr, PhD

Title(s)
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Department(s)
Microbiology and Immunology

Education
University of Wisconsin - Madison, Ph.D., 1994
Cornell University, B.S., 1988

After postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard Medical School, Dr. O'Toole joined the faculty of the Department of Microbiology at Dartmouth Medical School in 1999.

Programs
Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Programs

Websites
O'Toole Lab
Microbiology and Molecular Pathogenesis Program
Dept of Microbiology & Immunology
Molecular Cellular Biology Grad Program

Contact Information

Geisel School of Medicine
Remsen Building, Rm 202 - HB 7550
Hanover NH 03755

Office: 202 Remsen
Phone: 603-650-1248
Email: georgeo@Dartmouth.Edu


Professional Interests

The main focus of the O'Toole laboratory is the study of complex surface-attached bacterial communities known as biofilms. Biofilms can form on a wide variety of surfaces including catheter lines, surgical implants, contact lenses, the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis, industrial and drinking water pipelines, and on the surfaces of plant roots. In most natural, clinical, and industrial settings bacteria live predominantly in biofilms and not as planktonic (free-swimming) cells such as those typically studied in the laboratory. Bacteria growing in biofilm communities are of great interest to the medical community, because these bacteria become highly resistant to antibiotics by an as yet unknown mechanism. Although much has been learned about the types of microbes that can form biofilms, the morphology of these communities, and their chemical/physical properties, until recently little was known about the molecular genetic basis of biofilm formation or antibiotic resistance.

Studies in the O'Toole lab focus on:
>Polymicrobial infections and antibiotic tolerance in cystic fibrosis.
>The role of gut microbiota in airway disease in infants with cystic fibrosis.
>The signal transduction pathways regulating biofilm formation and surface sensing.
>The role of the intracellular signaling molecule c-di-GMP in controlling biofilm formation by Pseudomonads.


Selected Publications

 

In vitro biofilm formation only partially predicts beneficial Pseudomonas fluorescens protection against rhizosphere pathogens.
Liu Y, Gates AD, Liu Z, Duque Q, Chen MY, Hamilton CD, O'Toole GA, Haney CH
bioRxiv. 2024 Dec 17; pii: 2024.12.17.628960. doi: 10.1101/2024.12.17.628960. Epub 2024 Dec 17.
PMID: 39763852

Genetic Analysis of Flagellar-Mediated Surface Sensing by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14.
Kuchma S, Geiger CJ, Webster S, Fu Y, Montoya R, O'Toole GA
bioRxiv. 2024 Dec 5; pii: 2024.12.05.627040. doi: 10.1101/2024.12.05.627040. Epub 2024 Dec 5.
PMID: 39677620

Organoclay flocculation as a pathway to export carbon from the sea surface.
Sharma D, Menon VG, Desai M, Niu D, Bates E, Kandel A, Zinser ER, Fields DM, O'Toole GA, Sharma M
Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 10;14(1):28863. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-79912-z. Epub 2024 Dec 10.
PMID: 39658625

Pseudomonas aeruginosa supports the survival of Prevotella melaninogenica in a cystic fibrosis lung polymicrobial community through metabolic cross-feeding.
El Hafi B, Jean-Pierre F, O'Toole GA
bioRxiv. 2024 Oct 21; pii: 2024.10.21.619475. doi: 10.1101/2024.10.21.619475. Epub 2024 Oct 21.
PMID: 39484496

Quantifying Forms and Functions of Enterohepatic Bile Acid Pools in Mice.
Sudo K, Delmas-Eliason A, Soucy S, Barrack KE, Liu J, Balasubramanian A, Shu CJ, James MJ, Hegner CL, Dionne HD, Rodriguez-Palacios A, Krause HM, O'Toole GA, Karpen SJ, Dawson PA, Schultz D, Sundrud MS
Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024;18(6):101392. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2024.101392. Epub 2024 Aug 22.
PMID: 39179177

Premodulator microbiome alterations associated with postmodulator growth outcomes in pediatric cystic fibrosis: Can we predict outcomes?
Sanville J, O'Toole GA, Madan J, Coker M
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2024 Sep;79(3):695-704. doi: 10.1002/jpn3.12350. Epub 2024 Aug 9.
PMID: 39118488

An energy coupling factor transporter of Streptococcus sanguinis impacts antibiotic susceptibility as well as metal and membrane homeostasis.
Rudzite M, O'Toole GA
bioRxiv. 2024 Jul 12; pii: 2024.07.12.603315. doi: 10.1101/2024.07.12.603315. Epub 2024 Jul 12.
PMID: 39026867

Dpr-mediated H(2)O(2) resistance contributes to streptococcus survival in a cystic fibrosis airway model system.
Rogers RR, Kesthely CA, Jean-Pierre F, El Hafi B, O'Toole GA
J Bacteriol. 2024 Jul 25;206(7):e0017624. doi: 10.1128/jb.00176-24. Epub 2024 Jun 28.
PMID: 38940597

A bacterial sense of touch: T4P retraction motor as a means of surface sensing by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14.
Geiger CJ, Wong GCL, O'Toole GA
J Bacteriol. 2024 Jul 25;206(7):e0044223. doi: 10.1128/jb.00442-23. Epub 2024 Jun 4.
PMID: 38832786

Atomic force microscopy analysis of Pel polysaccharide- and type IV pili-mediated adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 to an abiotic surface.
Beaussart A, Paiva TO, Geiger CJ, Baker AE, O'Toole GA, Dufrene YF
Nanoscale. 2024 Jun 27;16(25):12134-12141. doi: 10.1039/d4nr01415d. Epub 2024 Jun 27.
PMID: 38832761

View more publications on PubMed