Molecular Biology and Physiology
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Azospirillum brasilense Core Chemotaxis Proteins CheA1 and CheA4 Link Chemotaxis Signaling with Nitrogen Metabolism
Bacterial chemotaxis is widespread in bacteria, increasing competitiveness in diverse environments and mediating associations with eukaryotic hosts ranging from commensal to beneficial and pathogenic. In most bacteria, chemotaxis signaling is tightly linked to energy metabolism, with this coupling occurring through the sensory input of several energy-sensing chemoreceptors.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyChaperone-Mediated Stress Sensing in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Enables Fast Activation and Sustained Response
Gene regulatory networks controlling stress response in mycobacterial species have been linked to persistence switches that enable bacterial dormancy within a host. However, the mechanistic basis of switching and stress sensing is not fully understood.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyProduction and Excretion of Polyamines To Tolerate High Ammonia, a Case Study on Soil Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaeon “Candidatus Nitrosocosmicus agrestis”
Ammonia tolerance of AOA is usually much lower than that of the AOB, which makes the AOB rather than AOA a predominant ammonia oxidizer in agricultural soils, contributing to global N2O emission. Recently, some AOA species from the genus “Ca. Nitrosocosmicus” were also found to have high ammonia tolerance.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySulfur Metabolites Play Key System-Level Roles in Modulating Denitrification
Nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) colonize diverse anoxic environments, including soil subsurface, groundwater, and wastewater. NRB and SRB compete for resources, and their interplay has major implications on the global cycling of nitrogen and sulfur species, with undesirable outcomes in some contexts.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyComplex Response of the Chlorarachniophyte Bigelowiella natans to Iron Availability
Despite low iron availability in the ocean, marine phytoplankton require considerable amounts of iron for their growth and proliferation. While there is a constantly growing knowledge of iron uptake and its role in the cellular processes of the most abundant marine photosynthetic groups, there are still largely overlooked branches of the eukaryotic tree of life, such as the chlorarachniophytes.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyHarnessing Machine Learning To Unravel Protein Degradation in Escherichia coli
Bacteria use protein degradation to control proliferation, dispose of misfolded proteins, and adapt to physiological and environmental shifts, but the factors that dictate which proteins are prone to degradation are mostly unknown. In this study, we have used a combined computational-experimental approach to explore protein degradation in E. coli.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySystematic Analysis of the Lysine Crotonylome and Multiple Posttranslational Modification Analysis (Acetylation, Succinylation, and Crotonylation) in Candida albicans
C. albicans is a kind of pathogen of fungal infections that is found worldwide. Lysine crotonylation of proteins as a recently discovered PTM (posttranslational modification) may have a critical role in regulating cells.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTwists and Turns in the Salicylate Catabolism of Aspergillus terreus, Revealing New Roles of the 3-Hydroxyanthranilate Pathway
Aspergilli are versatile cell factories used in industry for the production of organic acids, enzymes, and pharmaceutical drugs. To date, bio-based production of organic acids relies on food substrates.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTranscription Inhibitors with XRE DNA-Binding and Cupin Signal-Sensing Domains Drive Metabolic Diversification in Pseudomonas
Bacteria of the Pseudomonas genus, including the major human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are known for their complex regulatory networks and high number of transcription factors, which contribute to their impressive adaptive ability. However, even in the most studied species, most of the regulators are still uncharacterized.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyDinoroseobacter shibae Outer Membrane Vesicles Are Enriched for the Chromosome Dimer Resolution Site dif
Gram-negative bacteria continually form vesicles from their outer membrane (outer membrane vesicles [OMVs]) during normal growth. OMVs frequently contain DNA, and it is unclear how DNA can be shuffled from the cytoplasm to the OMVs.