Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded the University of Maryland, College Park a Project Grant totaling $571,412 under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) on June 11, 2026, with a completion date of May 31, 2031. This five-year research project investigates the role of linear diribonucleotides as signaling molecules in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis. The research builds upon prior findings demonstrating that specific enzymes (ORN, NRNA, NRNB, and NRNC) are essential for converting diribonucleotides into mononucleotides, and that their absence produces observable phenotypic changes in bacterial cell growth, biofilm formation, motility, and sporulation.

The project delivers fundamental and applied research investigating diribonucleotide generation, degradation, and biological function through molecular biology, biochemistry, and structural characterization studies. Specific research objectives include characterizing how diribonucleases and triribonucleases bind their respective substrates, identifying diribonucleotide-binding proteins in central metabolism, and evaluating virulence defects in Pseudomonas aeruginosa using animal models of catheter-associated urinary tract infection. The research aims to establish whether cells utilize linear dinucleotides as signaling molecules capable of binding target proteins to alter bacterial cell physiology and pathogenic potential, with findings intended to advance understanding of bacterial infection mechanisms and potentially inform novel therapeutic approaches to infectious disease.