Molecular Biology and Physiology
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyHfq Globally Binds and Destabilizes sRNAs and mRNAs in Yersinia pestisDiscovered in 1968 as an Escherichia coli host factor that was essential for replication of the bacteriophage Qβ, the Hfq protein is a ubiquitous and highly abundant RNA-binding protein in many bacteria. With the assistance of Hfq, small RNAs in bacteria play important roles in regulating the stability and translation of mRNAs by base pairing. In this study, we want...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGenomewide Assessment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Conditionally Essential Metabolic PathwaysMycobacterium tuberculosis causes 10 million cases of tuberculosis (TB), resulting in over 1 million deaths each year. TB therapy is challenging because it requires a minimum of 6 months of treatment with multiple drugs. Protracted treatment times and the emergent spread of drug-resistant M. tuberculosis...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA Novel Cys2His2 Zinc Finger Homolog of AZF1 Modulates Holocellulase Expression in Trichoderma reeseiIn this work, we used a systems biology approach to map new regulatory interactions in Trichoderma reesei controlling the expression of genes encoding cellulase and hemicellulase. By integrating transcriptomics related to complex biomass degradation, we were able to identify a novel transcriptional regulator which is able to activate the expression of these genes in...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyAlteration of Proteomes in First-Generation Cultures of Bacillus pumilus Spores Exposed to Outer SpaceSpore-forming bacteria are well known for their resistance to harsh environments and are of concern for spreading contamination to extraterrestrial bodies during future life detection missions. Bacillus pumilus has been regularly isolated from spacecraft-associated surfaces and exhibited unusual resistance to ultraviolet light and other sterilization techniques. A...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMulti-omics Signature of Candida auris, an Emerging and Multidrug-Resistant PathogenCandida auris was first described in Japan in 2009 and has now been the cause of significant outbreaks across the globe. The high number of isolates that are resistant to one or more antifungals, as well as the high mortality rates from patients with bloodstream infections, has attracted the attention of the medical mycology, infectious disease, and public health...
Special Issue Perspective | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyToward a Better Understanding of Species Interactions through Network BiologyWithin the last decade, there has been an explosion of multi-omics data generated for several microbial systems. At the same time, new methods of analysis have emerged that are based on inferring networks that link features both within and between species based on correlation in abundance.
Resource Report | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyAbsolute Measurements of mRNA Translation in Caulobacter crescentus Reveal Important Fitness Costs of Vitamin B12 ScavengingCaulobacter crescentus is a model system of the bacterial cell cycle culminating in asymmetric cell division, with each daughter cell inheriting a distinct set of proteins. While a genetic network of master transcription factors coordinates the cell cycle timing of transcription for nearly 20% of Caulobacter genes, we lack knowledge of how many of each...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyType E Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Clostridium butyricum Strains Are Aerotolerant during Vegetative GrowthBotulinum neurotoxins, the causative agents of the potentially fatal disease of botulism, are produced by certain Clostridium strains during vegetative growth, usually in anaerobic environments. Our findings indicate that, contrary to current understanding, the growth of neurotoxigenic C. butyricum strains and botulinum neurotoxin type E production can continue upon transfer from anaerobic to aerated conditions and...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyComparative Transcriptome Analysis Shows Conserved Metabolic Regulation during Production of Secondary Metabolites in Filamentous FungiSecondary metabolites are a major source of pharmaceuticals, especially antibiotics. However, the development of efficient processes of production of secondary metabolites has proved troublesome due to a limited understanding of the metabolic regulations governing secondary metabolism. By analyzing the conservation in gene expression across secondary metabolite-producing fungal species, we identified a metabolic signature that links...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyClostridium difficile Modulates the Gut Microbiota by Inducing the Production of Indole, an Interkingdom Signaling and Antimicrobial MoleculeClostridium difficile infection is the leading cause of hospital-acquired and antibiotic-associated diarrhea worldwide. C. difficile flourishes in the colon after the diversity of the beneficial and protective gut microbiota have...