DETROIT – While carbon monoxide (CO) is widely feared as an odorless, deadly household hazard, nature views it quite differently. In the microscopic world, carbon monoxide serves as an essential cellular messenger and a vital lifeline of energy for microbes thriving in harsh environments.
To bridge the gap between carbon monoxide's notorious toxicity and its hidden potential in biology, Dr. Matthew R. Dent, assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University, has received a prestigious U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award. The five-year, $749,702 grant supports his project, "CAREER: Carbon Monoxide Sensing, Selectivity, and Signaling in Microbes."
Carbon monoxide is naturally produced inside nearly all living organisms, playing crucial roles in regulating cellular growth, death, and inflammation. Certain bacteria can even "eat" CO, using it as an alternative metabolic fuel when other nutrients are scarce. Despite its biological importance and immense promise for novel human therapeutics and sustainable energy systems, scientists still know surprisingly little about how biological systems detect CO and convert those signals into cellular actions.
Dent’s lab aims to change that by identifying and characterizing the molecular "sensors" that microorganisms use to detect CO.
“Carbon monoxide has a notorious reputation as a poison, but in biology, it is also a powerful signal and an energy currency for certain microbes,” said Dent. “By studying how microbes selectively identify CO at the molecular level, we can learn how living cells harness this gas. These fundamental discoveries could open exciting doors for designing new medical treatments, developing biosensors and advancing alternative bioenergy strategies.”
Microbial transcription factors – proteins that control gene expression – bind CO tightly using specialized metal ion sites, making them powerful, accessible models for studying gas signaling. Integrating protein biochemistry, cell biology, genomics and bioinorganic spectroscopy, the Dent lab will determine the structural blueprints that allow proteins to selectively bind CO and identify previously unknown CO-sensing proteins across diverse microbial species.
Beyond the laboratory, the NSF CAREER award emphasizes integrated education and public engagement. Dent’s project will train undergraduate and graduate STEM students in laboratory research and science communication, alongside a hands-on community outreach program exploring the biochemistry of blood, connecting everyday biological concepts with real-world health and science.
In a partnership with Wayne State University Athletics, Dent and his team piloted this outreach program earlier this year at the Fourth Annual I-96 Blood Battle, a blood drive competition between Wayne State and Davenport University. The Wayne State Warriors won the competition soundly, securing twice as many blood donations as the Davenport Panthers, and Dent looks forward to engaging the local community through this partnership in the coming years.
“Dr. Dent’s groundbreaking investigation is an excellent example of the caliber of pioneering research taking place across Wayne State University’s campus,” said Dr. Ezemenari M. Obasi, vice president for research & innovation. “By bridging chemistry with future applications in human health, environmental sustainability and community-engaged STEM education, this project reflects our commitment to translating research that will impact our community and beyond. We are proud of Dr. Dent for earning this well-deserved national distinction and look forward to his research outcomes.”
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program is among the NSF’s most competitive honors, recognizing early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their universities.
The grant number for Dent’s CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation is 2540612. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this release are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.
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Wayne State University is one of the nation’s pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu .