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The goal of my thesis project was to characterize the physiology of a Paenibacillus (LMB265) swarmer cell and to study the molecular mechanisms that govern swarming in this strain. I have shown that LMB265 displays typical characteristics of swarmer cells such as hyperflagellation, production of extracellular slime, multiple antibiotic resistance and organized cooperative behavior using microbiological approaches. Furthermore, I have identified two genes putatively involved in swarming motility using RFDD PCR. Homolgs to the Bacillus subtilis for gapA (encoding for glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) and rpoA (encoding for the alpha-subunit of RNA polymerase) were identified. These results provide an important foundation for understanding the mechanisms that control swarming motility in the LMB265 Paenibacillus strain.

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The research conducted by Audrey Parangan was for her Master s Thesis at San Francisco State University, in the laboratory of Dr. Leticia Márquez-Maga¤a. Audrey was supported through the NIH-MBRS RISE Fellowship, while the research conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Márquez-Maga¤a was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

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