Richard Calendar

Professor of the Graduate School Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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Research Interests

We are using a transposon insertion library to define B. anthracis genes that are involved in adsorption of a typing phage and in production of a biofilm. We are constructing a plasmid vector that will allow insertion of any gene of interest at a defined site on the B. anthracis chromosome.

Current Projects

We have adapted the mariner transposon for use in B. anthracis. We have made random insertions in the B. anthracis chromosome and are characterizing mutants that are unable to adsorb a typing phage. We hope to characterize transposon insertion mutants that are unable to make a biofilm. We are constructing an integration vector--a plasmid that can insert in the B. anthracis chromosome--that will allow us to express particular antigens of B. anthracis at a high level.

Selected Publications

Killed but metabolically active Bacillus anthracis vaccines induce broad and protective immunity against anthrax. J. Skoble, J. W. Beaber, Y. Gao, J. A. Lovchik, L. E. Sower, W. Liu, W. Luckett, J. W. Peterson, R. Calendar, D. A. Portnoy, C. R. Lyons, and T. W. Dubensky. Infection and Immunity 77:1649-1673, 2009.

Terminally Redundant, non-permuted Genome of Listeria Bacteriophage A511: a Model for the SPO1-like Myoviruses of Gram-Positive Bacteria. J. Klumpp, J. Dorscht, R. Lurz, R. Bielmann, M. Wieland, M. Zimmer, R. Calendar, and M. J. Loessner. J. Bacteriol. 190:5753-5765, 2008.

A stable integration vector for nutritional selection of recombinant antigen expression by attenuated Listeria monocytogenes. L. A. Lenz, W. A. Huang, Chenhui Zhou, Zhongxia Li, and R. Calendar. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. 15:1414-1419, 2008.

Molecular characterization of L-413C, a P2-related plague diagnostic bacteriophage. E. Garcia, P. Chain, J. M. Elliott, A. G. Bobrov, V. L. Motin, O. Kirillina, V. Lao, R. Calendar and A. A. Filippov. Virology 372:85-96, 2008.

The Bacteriophages. R. Calendar, Editor. Oxford University Press, New York, 2006.

Bacteriophage Biology. R. Calendar and R. B. Inman. In Phages: Their Role in Bacterial Pathogenesis and Biotechnology," Ed. M. Waldor, D. Friedman and D. Court, American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C., 2005.

Genome and proteome of Listeria monocytogenes bacteriophage PSA: Programmed +1 translational frameshifting is utilized for synthesis of major structural proteins. Marcus Zimmer, Elke Sattelberger, Ross B. Inman, Richard Calendar and Martin Loessner. Molecular Microbiology 50:303-317, 2003.

Construction, Characterization, and Use of two Listeria monocytogenes site-specific phage integration vectors. P. Lauer, M. Chow, M. J. Loessner, D. Portnoy, and R. Calendar.  J. Bacteriol. 184: 4177-4186, 2002.

Gene insertion and replacement in Schizosaccharomyces pombe mediated by the Streptomyces bacteriophage phiC31 site-specific recombination system Lynn C. Thomason, Richard Calendar, and David W. Ow. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 265:1031-1038, 2001.

Last Updated 2009-07-06