Linda J KENNEY
Alumni, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
Less is More: Simplified 3D Nanoscopy via Vortex Interference Widens Access
Researchers from the Kanchanawong Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS makes cutting-edge 3D nanoscopy more accessible to researchers without elaborate optical engineering.
The Chan Lab at the MBI-MPG Conference 2025!
Congratulations to Kim Whye and Kosei for being selected for talks, and Boon Heng for winning the 'Best Poster' prize! Thanks to all who gave feedback on our work!
Rac-1 Regulated Cadherin Clusters Mark Naive Stem Cells
Researchers from the Kanchanawong Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS discover a marker of ground-state pluripotent stem cells and what governs it.
Confined Migration Shapes the Bony Fate of Stem Cells
Researchers from the Holle Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS discover that migration through confined spaces causes lasting nuclear changes in stem cells, biasing them toward bone formation.
Linda J Kenney
Alumni
Research Areas
Signal transduction in bacteria; Bacterial Pathogenesis; Mechanotransduction and osmotic signaling in E. coli; Mechanisms of anti-silencing of virulence genes in Salmonella
Research Interests
Our laboratory is interested in signal transduction and the regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes. In particular, we are studying the two-component regulatory system EnvZ/OmpR that regulates the expression of outer membrane proteins as well as many other genes. Our present work focuses on how OmpR activates genes required for systemic infection (located on Salmonella pathogenicity island 2) in Salmonella enterica.
The Kenney Lab’s research was recently featured in an article exploring the bacterial molecular switch between virulence or dormancy, Salmonella Lifestyle Choices. Members of her lab have discovered that the bacterial protein SsrB is the molecular switch for determining whether Salmonella infections become acute and virulent, or remain in a dormant carrier state.
The study is published in eLife (Desai et al., The horizontally-acquired response regulator SsrB drives a Salmonella lifestyle switch by relieving biofilm silencing, February 2, 2016, eLife 2016; 5: e10747, doi: 10.7554/eLife.10747). Read full article.
Biography
Dr Kenney is a Professor of Microbiology at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her laboratory studies two-component systems in bacteria that control gene expression at a single cell and nanometer level.
Professor Linda J Kenney and Professor Michael Sheetz interviewed by the Washington Post at the April 2017 March for Science.
Education
PhD University of Pennsylvania
Recent Publications
- Fernandez M, Yamanaka Y, Zangoui P, White MA, and Kenney LJ. The sulfur assimilation pathway mitigates redox stress from acidic pH in Salmonella Typhi H58. mBio 2025;:e0046725. [PMID: 40422406]
- Shetty D, and Kenney LJ. A pH-sensitive switch activates virulence in Salmonella. Elife 2023; 12. [PMID: 37706506]
- Oh D, Liu X, Sheetz MP, and Kenney LJ. Small, Dynamic Clusters of Tir-Intimin Seed Actin Polymerization. Small 2023;:e2302580. [PMID: 37649226]
- Mon KKZ, Si Z, Chan-Park MB, and Kenney LJ. Polyimidazolium Protects against an Invasive Clinical Isolate of Salmonella Typhimurium. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2022;:e0059722. [PMID: 36094258]
- Jacob H, Geng H, Shetty D, Halow N, Kenney LJ, and Nakano MM. Distinct Interaction Mechanism of RNAP and ResD and Distal Subsites for Transcription Activation of Nitrite Reductase in Bacillus subtilisψ. J Bacteriol 2021;:JB0043221. [PMID: 34898263]
- Singh MK, Zangoui P, Yamanaka Y, and Kenney LJ. Genetic code expansion enables visualization of Salmonella type three secretion system components and secreted effectors. Elife 2021; 10. [PMID: 34061032]
- Kenney LJ, and Anand GS. EnvZ/OmpR Two-Component Signaling: An Archetype System That Can Function Noncanonically. EcoSal Plus 2020; 9(1). [PMID: 32003321]
- Desai SK, and Kenney LJ. Switching Lifestyles Is an in vivo Adaptive Strategy of Bacterial Pathogens. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:421. [PMID: 31921700]
- Desai SK, Padmanabhan A, Harshe S, Zaidel-Bar R, and Kenney LJ. Salmonella biofilms program innate immunity for persistence in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2019;. [PMID: 31160462]
- Ottemann KM, and Kenney LJ. Editorial overview: Host-pathogen interactions: bacteria. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 2019; 47:iii-v. [PMID: 31138403]
Lab Members
How do blebs expand and retract?
How do blebs expand? Expansion lasts between 5 to 30 seconds, following bleb initiation and preceding reformation of the cortical actomyosin cytoskeleton just beneath the membrane [1]. During this time, the bleb proceeds to [...]
What are filopodia?
What are filopodia? Filopodia (singular filopodium) are thin membrane protrusions that act as antennae for a cell to probe the surrounding environment [1][2][3]. Nonprotruding filopodia are mechanistically related to microspikes [4]. Filopodia are commonly [...]
What is the first step in filopodium formation?
What is the first step in filopodium formation? Actin nucleation initiates filopodium formation The first step in the formation of a filopodium is the nucleation of actin filaments from G-actin monomers. This is facilitated [...]
How does cross-linking of actin filaments aid in filopodia extension?
How does cross-linking of actin filaments aid in filopodia extension? Once nucleation has taken place, actin filaments begin to extend. This process is primarily facilitated by members of the formin family of proteins, however [...]
How do filopodia attach to the surrounding substrate?
How do filopodia attach to the surrounding substrate? A diverse array of cellular responses can result when a filopodium makes contact with a ligand or substrate. These responses are dependent on the coupling of [...]
How do filopodia pull on a substrate?
How do filopodia pull on a substrate? Although a reterograde motion of actin filaments is intrinsic in the formation of filopodia, the forces generated by actin treadmilling are too weak to facilitate the “pulling” [...]
How do filopodia move dynamically?
What causes filopodia retraction and collapse? Binding of filopodia to certain ligands or substratum may hinder filament assembly, thereby leading to changes that promote retraction, collapse or growth cone turning [1][2]. For example, substrate [...]
What is the role of the lamellipodia in mechanosensing and cell motility?
What is the role of the lamellipodia in mechanosensing and cell motility? During cell migration, and in the absence of filopodia, lamellipodia detect the stiffness of the surrounding ECM in a process called rigidity [...]
What steps are involved in Lamellipodia assembly?
What steps are involved in Lamellipodia assembly? The lamellipodia is a distinct region of the cell that facilitates cell motility and various mechanosensing mechanisms. Lamellipodium assembly can be described in a series of defined [...]
How does nucleation of actin initiate lamellipodia formation?
How does nucleation of actin initiate lamellipodia formation? In the first phase of lamellipodia formation, actin filament polymerization produces a protrusive force on the cell membrane that promotes the spreading out and enlargement of [...]
What mechanisms drive extension, pause and stasis of the lamellipodia?
What mechanisms drive extension, pause and stasis of the lamellipodia? Extension of the newly formed actin filament branches occurs at the interface between the leading edge and the existing actin filament network [1] and [...]
How do focal adhesions act as molecular clutches in lamellipodia?
How do focal adhesions act as molecular clutches in lamellipodia? Once formed, focal adhesions essentially act as “molecular clutches”, promoting protrusion at the leading edge whilst suppressing membrane contraction (reviewed in [1] [2][3]). Adhesions [...]
