Elias Lab University of Minnesota

Research

We study how enzymes and other macromolecules evolve and work, and how to engineer them. Six themes run through the lab.

Our main project

Where most of the lab's work goes.

  • Stained-glass mosaic of rod-shaped bacteria, some glowing gold inside rings of gold tiles and others dark green, on red glass under a blue sky, with ribbons of silver glass.

    Main project · Quorum sensing and quenching

    Hijacking bacterial communication

    Bacteria use chemical signalling to exchange information and coordinate behaviors. We develop molecular tools to hijack this communication and study this information flux, a promising way to address microbial resistance.

Key methods

The approaches that run through all our work.

  • Stained-glass mosaic of a folded protein in red and blue ribbons, glowing above a mountain valley, with smaller copies of the protein linked to it by threads of gold light.

    Key method · Protein engineering

    Writing better enzymes

    The lab is engaged in structure-based, combinatorial engineering approaches to improve the activities of lactonases, with applications from anti-virulence plasters and anti-biofouling paints to insecticide decontamination.

  • Mosaic of two small molecules drawn as balls and sticks on dark red tiles, joined by a short hydrogen bond that glows white and gold.

    Key method · Structural biology

    Seeing enzymes atom by atom

    X-ray crystallography shows us enzymes in atomic detail, down to ultra-high, sub-ångström resolution. Structures guide how we engineer enzymes, explain how they recognize their substrates, and reveal how they work.

  • Mosaic on dark red tiles of a sequencing machine and a DNA double helix above a pale glass plate, where rows of small folded shapes carry growing strings of colored beads.

    Key method · Multi-omics analysis

    Reading whole microbial communities

    Over the years, our group has increased its use of sequencing to understand the impact of quorum quenching strategies on microbiomes. It lets us follow whole microbial communities, not just one species at a time.

Past and emerging research interests

Where we have worked before, and where we are looking next.

  • Stained-glass mosaic of a gold transporter protein spanning a pale cell membrane, with phosphate ions, each a gold bead ringed by four orange ones, inside it and beside it.

    Research interest · Phosphate uptake

    Ion transport in microbes

    Numerous ions are both essential for life and limiting in natural environments. We investigate the elaborate molecular strategies microbes use to scavenge these essential nutrients from depleted environments while excluding potentially toxic competitors.

  • Stained glass of a turquoise hot spring ringed with orange on grey rock, with three enzymes around it drawn as surfaces in red, white and blue.

    Research interest · Enzymes from extremophiles

    Enzymes built to last

    Enzymes from microbes that thrive in hot springs, acid, radiation and other extremes are intrinsically stable. That extreme stability makes them easier to study and ready for real-world applications.

About the lab

Biological macromolecules are fantastic objects with nearly unlimited activities and potential. Their use in biotechnology has already changed several segments of industry, including detergents, paper and food, and is expected to revolutionize the medical industry.

Our methods span molecular biology and microbiology, protein engineering, structural biology and bioinformatics.