Pesticides: Science and Policy

The Microarray Research Laboratory is a new facility founded in 2003 by the Office of Pesticide Program's (OPP) to conduct groundbreaking research in the genotoxicity of antimicrobials.

Location: EPA's Environmental Science Center at Fort Meade, Maryland

The Microarray Research Laboratory employs DNA microarray or Gene-chips ®, a newly-developing technology and method, to identify toxicogenotoxic effects of various disinfectants on bacterial cell response. By using microarrays, the lab produces global gene expression profiles in pathogenic bacteria following exposure to antimicrobial agents. The global gene profiles are then analyzed to help us understand the mechanisms involved in toxicity and resistance. More specifically, the aims of the laboratory are to:

• Integrate the recent advances in the field of genomics into current microbiological techniques for testing the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents
• Analyze genome-wide changes in pathogenic bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus in response to exposure to antimicrobials and explore how these responses manifest themselves via variations in structural, physiological and metabolic properties
• Compare responding genes to those of other bacteria and determine signature genes correlated to a mechanism of action and lethality
• Investigate cell-to-cell signaling among bacterial pathogens when their pathogenicity is determined by the secretion and perception of signal molecules

OPP anticipates that this exciting research will provide useful data for healthcare facilities, patients and scientists as well as a training ground for students interested in genomics research.

Links to non-EPA web sites containing research from the Microarray Research Laboratory are provided in the publications and presentations sections. You will leave the EPA.gov domain and enter another page with more information. EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of information on that non-EPA page. Providing links to a non-EPA Web site is not an endorsement of the other site or the information it contains by EPA or any of its employees. Also, be aware that the privacy protection provided on the EPA.gov domain (see Privacy and Security Notice) may not be available at the external link.

Publications

List of published research

Presentations

1. C. Nde, H. Jang, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2008). Global Transcriptome Analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Response to Ortho-phenyl phenol (18 pp, 13.5MB, about PDF): A 15 minute Slide presentation at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and the 48th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC): a Joint meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and IDSA, held October 25-28, 2008 in Washington , D.C.
2. H. Jang, C. Nde, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2008). Toxicogenomic response of Staphylococcus aureus to Ortho-phenyl phenol (1 pp, 248.82K, about PDF): A Poster presentation at the 46th Annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and the 48th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC): a Joint meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and IDSA, held October 25-28, 2008 in Washington, DC.
3. H. Jang, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2008). Toxicogenomic Response of Staphylococcus aureus to Triclosan Stress at the 2008 American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Annual Meeting (1 pp, 319.54K, about PDF), held April 5- 9 in San Diego, CA.
4. W. Chang, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2006). Genome-wide transcriptional response of Staphylococcus aureus to hypochlorite-induced oxidative stress. American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting, San Francisco CA. (1 pp, 239.17K, about PDF)
5. W. Chang, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2006) Genome-wide transcriptional analysis of Staphylococcus aureus response to oxidative antimicrobials: hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid. American Society for Microbiology General Meeting, Orlando FL. (1 pp, 206.21K, about PDF) EPA Science Forum, Washington DC.
6. W. Chang, D. Small, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2006) Whole-Genome transcriptional analysis of hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in Staphylococcus aureus, a human pathogen. EPA Science Forum, Washington DC. (1 pp, 339.55K, about PDF)
7. D. Small, W. Chang, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2006) Comparative global transcriptome analysis of sodium hypochlorite, peracetic acid, and hydrogen peroxide on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. EPA Science Forum, Washington DC. (1 pp, 351K, about PDF)
8. W. Chang, D. Small, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2005) Microarray analysis of toxicogenomic effects of hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, and sodium hypochlorite on Staphylococcus aureus. EPA Science Forum, Washington DC. (1 pp, 400K, about PDF) EPA Science Forum, Washington DC.
9. W. Chang, D. Small, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2004) Transcriptome analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa response to hydrogen peroxide. (1 pp, 220K, about PDF)University of Maryland Biotechnology Research Review Day, College Park, MD.
10. D. Small, W. Chang, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2004) Toxicogenomic effects of sodium hypochlorite on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. (1 pp, 538.60K, about PDF)University of Maryland Biotechnology Research Review Day, College Park, MD.
11. W. Chang, D. Small, F. Toghrol, and W. Bentley (2004) Toxicogenomic effects of peracetic acid and sodium hypochlorite on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. (1 pp, 524.71K, about PDF)EPA Science Forum, Washington DC