That question will be addressed in the first Suter Science Seminar of the new school year.
Dr. Louise Temple, associate professor of biology at James Madison University
Dr. Louise Temple, associate professor of biology at James Madison University, will speak on the topic 3:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at EMU.
The bacterium Bordetella avium is found widely in wild bird populations, but interest is generated largely from the disease it causes in commercially grown turkeys. For nearly 15 years, the Temple lab, with collaborators at Drew University, NC State Veterinary School and Cambridge University, have studied how this bacterium causes the disease, which occurs in the respiratory tract and resembles whooping cough in humans.
“We have learned a lot about how the bacterium attaches to ciliated cells of the trachea, and we are starting to explore its toxic effects. Most of the work has been accomplished by undergraduate researchers,” Temple noted.
The program is being held in Martin Chapel instead of the Suter Science Center in order that Dr. Temple, an accomplished musician, can play a brief recital on the seminary organ prior to her 4 p.m. talk.
The public is invited; admission is free.
For more information, contact Dr. Roman J. Miller, Daniel B. Suter endowed professor of biology, at 540-432-4412.