Current Position:

---Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office Hours:

I have an open door policy- students may come by any time.

Research Interests:

Ten Bartonella species are arthropod-borne, emerging infectious agents of human disease and are responsible for severe illnesses of the circulatory system (e.g., bacillary angiomatosis, hepatis peliosis, endocarditis, etc.). Fourteen additional Bartonella species infect a variety of other mammals including rodents, cats, dogs, livestock and wildlife. Our lab studies molecular and genetic aspects of the Bartonella – human and Bartonella - arthropod vector interfaces, with special emphasis on elucidating mechanisms contributing to: a) parasitism of erythrocytes and vascular endothelial cells, b) iron acquisition, c) pathological angiogenesis during infection and d) persistence within the human host and arthropod vector. Data from these studies are expected to contribute towards eventual control strategies.

Our lab also works with Coxiella burnetii- one of the most infectious bacterial pathogens known. Research on Coxiella focuses on understanding its complex developmental cycle, its unusual genetic elements (introns, ribozymes, inteins) and marked persistence in the environment. We are also developing novel approaches for treating Q fever. This research is designed to counter the potential bioterrorist threat imposed by the illegitimate use of C. burnetii. 

Education:

B.S. Walla Walla College, 1982
M.S. Walla Walla College, 1984
Ph.D. Washington State University, 1987

Affiliations:

American Society for Microbiology

American Society for Rickettsiology (past president)

Selected Publications:

SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS-    

Parrow, N.L., J. Abbott, A.R. Lockwood, J.M. Battisti, and M.F. Minnick. 2009. Function, regulation, and transcriptional organization of the hemin utilization locus of Bartonella quintana. Infection and  Immunity. 77:307-316.

Raghavan, R., L.D. Hicks, and M.F. Minnick. 2009. A unique group I intron in Coxiella burnetii is a natural splice mutant. Journal of Bacteriology. 191:4044-4046.

Minnick, M.F. and J.M. Battisti. 2009. Pestilence, persistence and pathogenicity: infection strategies of Bartonella. Future Microbiology. 4:743-758.

Rahul Raghavan and M.F. Minnick. 2009. Group I introns and inteins: disparate origins, but convergent parasitic strategies. Journal of Bacteriology. 191:6193-6202.

Hicks, L.D., R. Raghavan, J.M. Battisti, and M.F. Minnick. 2010. A DNA-binding peroxiredoxin of Coxiella burnetii is involved in countering oxidative stress during exponential-phase growth. Journal of Bacteriology. 192:2077-2084.  

Minnick, M.F., L.D. Hicks, J.M. Battisti and R. Raghavan. 2010. Pentamidine inhibits Coxiella burnetii growth and 23S rRNA intron splicing in vitro. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. 36:380-382.

Battisti, J.M, L.D. Hicks and M.F. Minnick. 2011. A unique Coxiella burnetii lipoprotein involved in metal-binding (LimB). Microbiology 157:966-976.

Hicks, L.D., I. Warrier, R. Raghavan, and M.F. Minnick. 2011. Ribozyme stability, exon skipping and potential role for RNA helicase in group I intron splicing by Coxiella burnetii. Journal of Bacteriology. 193:5292-5299.

Minnick, M.F. and R. Raghavan. 2011. Invited author. Genetics of Coxiella burnetii: on the path of specialization. Future Microbiology. 6:1297-1314. 

 

Other Publications:

Book Chapters-

Spence, K.D. and M.F. Minnick. 1992. Invited author. Bacterial challenge and significance of an inducible protein (M13) in coagulation and cell agglutination in Manduca sexta (Lepidoptera). pp. 273-287. In: Immunology of Insects and Other Arthropods. (A.P. Gupta, ed.) CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Mallavia, L.P. and M.F. Minnick. 1995. Invited author. Coxiella burnetii as an etiologic agent. pp. 70-84. In: Q Fever in Humans and Animals. (Z. Anusz, ed.) Skrypty Akademii Rolniczo Press, Olsztyn, Poland.

Minnick, M.F. 1997. Invited author. Virulence determinants of Bartonella bacilliformis. pp. 197-211. In: Rickettsial Infections and Immunity. (B. Anderson, M. Bendinelli and H. Friedman, eds.) Plenum Press, NY.

Fournier, P-E., M.F. Minnick and D. Raoult. 1999. Transformation of Bartonella quintana to green fluorescent protein expression by electroporation. pp. 38-42. In: Rickettsia and Rickettsial Diseases at the Turn of the Third Millenium. (D. Raoult and P. Brouqui, eds.) Elsevier Press, Amsterdam.

Minnick, M.F. and B. Anderson. 2000. Invited author. Bartonella interactions with host cells. pp. 97-124. In: Subcellular Biochemistry: Bacterial Invasion Into Eukaryotic Cells. Vol. 33. (J. Hacker and T. Oelschlaeger, eds.) Plenum Press, NY.

Minnick, M.F. 2001. Invited author. Bartonella. Chapter 99, pp.2115-2136. In: Molecular Medical Microbiology. (M. Sussman, ed.) Academic Press, London.

Minnick, M.F. and B. E. Anderson. 2001. Invited author. The Genus Bartonella. In: THE PROKARYOTES: an Evolving Electronic Resource for the Microbiological Community, 3rd Edition (latest update release 3.6) (M. Dworkin et al., eds.), Springer-Verlag, New York.

Walker D. H., C. Maguiña andM.F. Minnick.2005.Invited author.Bartonelloses. Chapter 44. In: Tropical Infectious Diseases: Principles, Pathogens and Practice, 2nd Edition. (R.L.Guerrant, D.H. Walker, and P.F. Weller, eds.) Elsevier Press.

Battisti, J.M. and M.F. Minnick. 2008.Laboratory Maintenance of Bartonella quintana. In: Current Protocols in Microbiology. John Wiley & Sons, NY. (In press).

Research Articles-

 Minnick, M.F., R. A. Rupp and K. D. Spence. l986. A bacterial-induced lectin which triggers hemocyte coagulation in Manduca sexta. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. l37:729-735.

 Minnick, M.F., and K. D. Spence. l988. Tissue site and modification of a bacteria-induced coagulation protein from Manduca sexta. Insect Biochem. l8:637-644.

 Minnick, M. F., R. A. Heinzen, M. E. Frazier and L. P. Mallavia. l990. Characterization and expression of the cbbE'gene of Coxiella burnetii. J. Gen. Microbiol. 136:1099-1107.

 Minnick, M.F., R. A. Heinzen, R. Douthardt, L. P. Mallavia and M. E. Frazier. 1990. Analysis of QpRS-specific sequences from Coxiella burnetii. Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 590:514-522.

 Mallavia, L. P., L. L. Whiting, M.F. Minnick, R. A. Heinzen, D. Reschke, M. Foreman, O. G. Baca and M. E. Frazier. 1990. Strategy for differentiation of Coxiella burnetii strains using polymerase chain reaction. Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 590:572-581.

 Minnick, M. F., C. Small, M. E. Frazier and L. P. Mallavia. 1991. Analysis of the cbhE' plasmid gene from acute disease-causing isolates of Coxiella burnetii. Gene 103:113-118.

 Minnick, M. F., R. A. Heinzen, D. K. Reschke, M. E. Frazier and L. P. Mallavia. l991. A plasmid-encoded surface protein found in chronic isolates of Coxiella burnetii. Infect. Immun. 59:4735-4739.

 Minnick, M. F., C. Small, M. E. Frazier and L. P. Mallavia. 1991. Analysis of strain-specific plasmid sequences from Coxiella burnetii. Acta Virol. 35:497-502.

 Minnick, M. F., L. C. Stillwell, J. M. Heineman and G. L. Stiegler. 1992. A highly repetitive DNA sequence possibly unique to canids. Gene 110:235-238.

Spence, K.D., J.E. Karlinsey, T.R. Kyriakides, C.S. Patil, and M.F. Minnick. 1992. Regulation and synthesis of selected bacteria-induced proteins in Manduca sexta. Insect Biochem. Molec. Biol. 22:321-331.

Minnick, M.F., and D.C. Scherer. 1993. Cloning and sequence analysis of a hemolysin-encoding gene from Pseudomonas paucimobilis. Gene 130:57-63.

Minnick, M.F. 1993. Nucleotide sequence of the 5S ribosomal RNA gene of Bartonella bacilliformis. Nucleic Acids Res. 21:1036.

Minnick, M.F. 1993. Characterization of the fMet initiator tRNA gene of Bartonella bacilliformis. Gene 131:151-152.

Minnick, M.F. and G.L. Stiegler. 1993. Nucleotide sequence and comparison of the 5S ribosomal RNA genes of Rochalimaea henselae, R. quintana, and Brucella abortus. Nucleic Acids Res. 21:2518.

Scherer, D.C., I. DeBuron-Connors, and M.F. Minnick. 1993. Characterization of Bartonella bacilliformis flagella and effect of antiflagellin antibodies on invasion of human erythrocytes. Infect. Immun. 61:4962-4971.

Minnick, M.F. 1994. Identification of outer membrane proteins of Bartonella bacilliformis. Infect. Immun. 62:2644-2648.

Minnick, M.F., Strange, J.C., and K.F. Williams. 1994. Characterization of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer of Bartonella bacilliformis. Gene 143:149-150.

Grasseschi, H.A. and M.F. Minnick. 1994. Transformation of Bartonella bacilliformis by electroporation. Can. J. Microbiol. 40:782-786.

Mitchell, S.J. and M.F. Minnick. 1995. Characterization of a two-gene locus from Bartonella bacilliformis associated with the ability to invade human erythrocytes. Infect. Immun. 63:1552-1562.

Minnick, M.F., S.J. Mitchell, S.J. McAllister, and J. M. Battisti. 1995. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the 23S ribosomal RNA-encoding gene of Bartonella bacilliformis. Gene 162:75-79.

Minnick, M.F., S.J. Mitchell, and S. J. McAllister. 1996. Invited author. Cell entry and the pathogenesis of Bartonella infections. Trends Microbiol. 4:343-347.

Wright, B.E., and M.F. Minnick. 1997. Reversion rates in a leuB auxotroph of Escherichia coli K12 correlate with ppGpp levels during exponential growth. Microbiology 143:847-854.

Mitchell, S.J. and M.F. Minnick. 1997. A carboxy-terminal processing protease gene is located immediately upstream of the invasion-associated locus from Bartonella bacilliformis. Microbiology 143:1221-1233.

Mitchell, S.J. and M.F. Minnick. 1997. Cloning, functional expression, and complementation analysis of an inorganic pyrophosphatase from Bartonella bacilliformis. Can. J. Microbiol. 43:734-743.

Minnick, M.F. and K.D. Barbian. 1997. Identification of Bartonella using PCR; genus- and species-specific primer sets. J. Microbiol. Methods 31:51-57.

Battisti, J.M, L.S. Smitherman, D.S. Samuels and M.F. Minnick. 1998. Mutations in Bartonella bacilliformis gyrB confer resistance to coumermycin A_­1. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 42:2906-2913.

Cartwright, J.L, P. Britton, M.F. Minnick, and A.G. McLennan. 1999. The ialA invasion gene of Bartonella bacilliformis encodes a (di)nucleoside polyphosphate hydrolase of the MutT motif family and has homologs in other invasive bacteria. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 256:474-479.

Battisti, J.M., and M.F. Minnick. 1999. Development of a system for genetic manipulation of Bartonella bacilliformis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:3441-3448.

Barbian, K.D. and M.F. Minnick. 2000. A bacteriophage-like particle from Bartonella bacilliformis. Microbiology 146:599-609.

Carroll, J.C., S.A. Coleman, L.S. Smitherman and M.F. Minnick. 2000. Hemin-binding surface protein from Bartonella quintana. Infect. Immun. 68:6750-6757.

Fournier, P.E., M.F. Minnick, H. Lepidi and D. Raoult. 2001. Experimental model of human body louse infection using green fluorescent protein-expressing Bartonella quintana. Infect. Immun. 69:1876-1879.

Coleman, S.A. and M.F. Minnick. 2001. Establishing a direct role for the invasion-associated locus B protein of Bartonella bacilliformis in erythrocyte parasitism. Infect. Immun. 69:4373-4381.

Minnick, M.F., Z.R. Wilson, L.S. Smitherman, and D.S. Samuels. 2003. gyrA mutations in ciprofloxacin-resistant Bartonella bacilliformis strains obtained in vitro. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 47:383-386.

Minnick, M.F., K.N. Sappington, L.S. Smitherman, S.G.E.Andersson, O. Karlberg and J.A. Carroll. 2003. A five-member gene family of Bartonella quintana. Infect. Immun. 71:814-821.

Coleman, S.A. and M.F. Minnick. 2003. Differential expression of the invasion-associated locus B (ialB) gene of Bartonella bacilliformis in response to environmental cues. Microb. Pathogen. 34:179-186.

Minnick, M.F., L.S. Smitherman and D.S. Samuels. 2003. Mitogenic effect of Bartonella bacilliformis on human vascular endothelial cells and involvement of GroEL. Infect. Immun. 71:6933-6942.

Wright, B.E., K.H. Schmidt and M.F. Minnick. 2004. A mechanism by which transcription can regulate somatic hypermutation. Genes Immun. 5:176-182.

Wright, B.E., K.H. Schmidt, M.F. Minnick and N. Davis. 2008. I. VH gene transcription creates stabilized secondary structures for coordinated mutagenesis during somatic hypermutation. Molec. Immunol. 45:3589-3599.

Wright, B.E., K.H. Schmidt, N. Davis, A.T. Hunt, and M.F. Minnick. 2008. II. Correlations between secondary structure stability and mutation frequency during somatic hypermutation. Molec. Immunol. 45:3600-3608.

Countries Visited:

• Germany
  
• France
  
• Spain
  
• Peru