Host: Prof. JC Gumbart

Title: Mechanics of Infection: How Forces Shape Staphylococcus aureus Virulence

Abstract:
Mechanical forces play a central role in biological function, yet their impact on infection and evolution remains poorly understood. In this talk, I will present how concepts from physics, including force propagation, mechanical stability, and energy landscapes, can be used to understand bacterial adhesion at the molecular scale. Using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations combined with dynamic network analysis and single-molecule experiments, we show that Staphylococcus aureus adhesins are finely tuned to withstand extreme mechanical loads, with calcium acting as a key regulator of their mechanical response. Comparative analysis across strains reveals a clear evolutionary trend toward increased mechanoresilience in more virulent isolates. These computational results, supported by single-molecule measurements, establish a direct link between molecular-scale mechanics and pathogenicity. More broadly, this work highlights how computational biophysics can bridge molecular physics and evolution to uncover how mechanical forces shape biological function.