Charles Rock, PhD

Charles O. Rock, PhD

Member, St. Jude Faculty
Director, Protein Production Facility

Departments

Infectious Diseases

Contact Information

Charles Rock, PhD
Infectious Diseases
MS 320, Room E8050
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
Email: charles.rock@stjude.org
Phone: (901) 595-3491
FAX: (901) 595-3099

Education

BS - Colorado State University, Ft. Collins (1971)
PhD - University of Tennessee at Oak Ridge (1976)


Research Interests

  • Control points in fatty acid biosynthesis
  • Regulation of membrane phospholipid metabolism
  • Small molecule therapeutics

Prokaryotic lipid metabolism


Selected Publications

Jerga A, Miller DJ, White SW, Rock CO. Molecular determinants for interfacial binding and conformational change in a soluble diacylglycerol kinase. J Biol Chem 284:7246-7254, 2009.

Jerga A, Rock CO. Acyl-acyl acrrier protein regulates transcription of fatty acid biosynthetic genes via the FabT repressor in Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Biol Chem 284:15364-15368, 2009.

Wu B-N, Zhang Y-M, Rock CO, Zheng J. Structural modification of acyl carrier protein by butyryl group. Prot Sci 18:240-246, 2009.

Zhang Y-M, Rock CO. Transcriptional regulation in bacterial membrane lipid synthesis. J Lipid Res 50:S115-S119, 2009.

Zhu K, Rock CO. RhlA converts β-hydroxyacyl-acyl carrier protein intermediates in fatty acid synthesis to the β-hydroxydecanoyl-β-hydroxydecanoate component of rhamnolipids in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Bacteriol 190:3147-3154, 2008.

Zhang Y-M, Frank M, Zhu K, Mayasundari A, Rock CO. PqsD is responsible for the synthesis of 2,4-dihydroxyquinoline, an extracellular metabolite produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Biol Chem 283: 28788-28794, 2008.

Zhang Y-M, Rock CO. Acyltransferases in bacterial glycerophospholipid synthesis. J Lipid Res 49:1867-1874, 2008.

Grimes KD, Lu, Y-J, Zhang Y-M, Luna VA, Hurdle JG, Carson EI, Qi J, Kudrimoti S, Rock CO, Lee RE. Novel acylphosphate mimetics target PlsY, an essential acyltransferase in gram-positive bacteria. Chem Med Chem 3:1936-1945, 2008.

Zhang Y-M, Rock CO. Membrane lipid homeostasis in bacteria. Nat Rev Microbiol 6:222-233, 2008.

Miller DJ, Jerga A, Rock CO, White SW. Analysis of the Staphylococcus aureus DgkB structure reveals a common catalytic mechanism for the soluble diacylglycerol kinases. Structure 16:1036-1046, 2008.

Zhang YM, Chohnan S, Virga KG, Stevens RD, Ilkayeva OR, Wenner BR, Bain JR, Newgard CB, Lee RE, Rock CO, Jackowski S. Chemical knockout of pantothenate kinase reveals the metabolic and genetic program responsible for hepatic coenzyme A homeostasis. Chem Biol 14:291-302, 2007.

Zhang Y-M, Zhu K, Frank MW, Rock CO. A Pseudomonas aeruginosa transcription factor that senses fatty acid structure. Molec Microbiol 66:622-632, 2007.

Yun MK, Nourse A, White SW, Rock CO, Heath RJ. Crystal structure and allosteric regulation of the cytoplasmic Escherichia coli L-asparaginase I. J Mol Biol 369:794-811, 2007.

Paoletti L, Lu Y-J, Schujman GE, de Mendoza D, Rock CO. Coupling of fatty acid and phospholipid synthesis in Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol 189:5816-5824, 2007.

Lu Y-J, Zhang F, Grimes KD, Lee RE, Rock CO. Topology and active site of PlsY: the bacterial acylphosphate:glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase. J Biol Chem 282:11339-11346, 2007.

Leonardi R, Rock CO, Jackowski S, Zhang Y-M. Activation of human mitochondrial pantothenate kinase 2 by palmitoylcarnitine. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:1494-1499, 2007.

Leonardi R, Zhang YM, Lykidis A, Rock CO, Jackowski S. Localization and regulation of mouse pantothenate kinase 2. FEBS Lett 581:4639-4644, 2007.

Jerga A, Lu Y-J, Schujman GE, de Mendoza D, Rock CO. Identification of a soluble diacylglycerol kinase required for lipoteichoic acid production in Bacillus subtilis. J Biol Chem 282:21738-21745, 2007.

Hong BS, Senisterra G, Rabeh WM, Vedadi M, Leonardi R, Zhang YM, Rock CO, Jackowski S, Park HW. Crystal structures of human pantothenate kinases. Insights into allosteric regulation and mutations linked to a neurodegeneration disorder. J Biol Chem 282:27984-27993, 2007.

Lu Y-J, Zhang Y-M, Rock CO. Acyl-phosphates initiate membrane phospholipid synthesis in gram-positive pathogens. Molec Cell 23, 765-772, 2006.

Hong B-S, Yun M-K, Zhang Y-M, Chohnan S, Rock CO, White SW, Jackowski S, Park H-W, Leonardi R. Type II and type III pantothenate kinases: The same monomer fold creates dimers with distinct catalytic properties. Structure 14, 1251-1261, 2006.

Zhu K, Choi K-H, Schweizer HP, Rock CO, Zhang Y-M. Two aerobic pathways for the formation of unsaturated fatty acids in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Molec Microbiol 60, 260-273, 2006.

Zhang Y-M, White SW, Rock CO. Inhibiting bacterial fatty acid synthesis. J Biol Chem 281, 17541-17544, 2006.

Zhang Y-M, Hurlbert J, White SW, Rock CO. Roles of the active site water, histidine-303 and phenylalanine-396 in the catalytic mechanism of the elongation condensing enzyme of Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Biol Chem 281, 17390-17399, 2006.

Miller DJ, Zhang Y-M, Rock CO, White SW. Structure of RhlG, an essential ß-ketoacyl reductase in the rhamnolipid biosynthetic pathway of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Biol Chem 281, 18025-18032, 2006.

Lu Y-J, Rock CO. Transcriptional regulation of fatty acid biosynthesis in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Mol Microbiol 59, 551-566, 2006.

Zhang Y-M, Rock CO, Jackowski S. Biochemical properties of human pantothenate kinase 2 isoforms and mutations linked to pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration. J Biol Chem 281, 107-114, 2006.

Virga KG, Zhang Y-M, Leonardi R, Ivey RA, Hevener K, Park H-W, Jackowski S, Rock CO, Lee RE. Structure-activity relationships and enzyme inhibition of pantothenamide-type pantothenate kinase inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem 14, 1007-1020, 2006.

Last update: June 2009

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