Molecular Biology and Physiology
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPqsE Is Essential for RhlR-Dependent Quorum Sensing Regulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosaPseudomonas aeruginosa is a versatile bacterium found in various environments. It can cause severe infections in immunocompromised patients and naturally resists many antibiotics. The World Health Organization listed it among the top priority pathogens for research and development of new antimicrobial compounds. Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-cell communication...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyOverexpression of the Small RNA PA0805.1 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Modulates the Expression of a Large Set of Genes and Proteins, Resulting in Altered Motility, Cytotoxicity, and Tobramycin ResistanceP. aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen of humans. With roughly 10% of its genes encoding transcriptional regulators, and hundreds of small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) interspersed throughout the genome, P. aeruginosa is able to fine-tune its response to adapt and survive in the host and resist...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCellular and Structural Basis of Synthesis of the Unique Intermediate Dehydro-F420-0 in MycobacteriaMycobacteria are major environmental microorganisms and cause many significant diseases, including tuberculosis. Mycobacteria make an unusual vitamin-like compound, F420, and use it to both persist during stress and resist antibiotic treatment. Understanding how mycobacteria make F420 is important, as this process can be targeted to create new drugs to combat infections like tuberculosis. In this study, we show...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCombined RNAseq and ChIPseq Analyses of the BvgA Virulence Regulator of Bordetella pertussisBordetella pertussis, the etiological agent of whooping cough, remains a major global health problem. Despite the global usage of whole-cell vaccines since the 1950s and of acellular vaccines in the 1990s, it still is one of the most prevalent vaccine-preventable diseases in industrialized countries. Virulence of...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCritical Role of Zur and SmtB in Zinc Homeostasis of Mycobacterium smegmatisZinc is crucial for many biological processes, as it is an essential cofactor of enzymes and a structural component of regulatory and DNA binding proteins. Hence, all living cells require zinc to maintain constant intracellular levels. However, in excess, zinc is toxic. Therefore, cellular zinc homeostasis needs to be tightly controlled. In bacteria, this is achieved by transcriptional regulators whose activity is mediated via zinc-...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRedox-Regulated Adaptation of Streptococcus oligofermentans to Hydrogen Peroxide StressThe catalase-negative streptococci produce as well as tolerate high levels of H2O2. This work reports the molecular mechanisms of low-H2O2-concentration-induced adaptation to higher H2O2 stress in a Streptococcus species, in which the peroxide-responsive repressor PerR and its redox regulons play the major role. Distinct from the...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyIn Vivo Thermodynamic Analysis of Glycolysis in Clostridium thermocellum and Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum Using 13C and 2H TracersThermodynamics constitutes a key determinant of flux and enzyme efficiency in metabolic networks. Here, we provide new insights into the divergent thermodynamics of the glycolytic pathways of C. thermocellum and T. saccharolyticum, two industrially relevant thermophilic bacteria whose metabolism still is not well understood. We report that while the glycolytic pathway in T. saccharolyticum is as...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyProton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Metabolomics Corroborates Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase as the Primary Target of 2-Aminoacrylate in a ridA Mutant of Salmonella entericaThe accumulation of the reactive enamine intermediate 2-aminoacrylate (2AA) elicits global metabolic stress in many prokaryotes and eukaryotes by simultaneously damaging multiple pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes. This work employed 1H NMR to expand our understanding of the consequence(s) of 2AA stress on metabolite pools and effectively identify the metabolic changes stemming from one damaged target: GlyA. This...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Entner-Doudoroff and Nonoxidative Pentose Phosphate Pathways Bypass Glycolysis and the Oxidative Pentose Phosphate Pathway in Ralstonia solanacearum
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySPD_1495 Contributes to Capsular Polysaccharide Synthesis and Virulence in Streptococcus pneumoniaeCapsular polysaccharide is a key factor underlying the virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae in human diseases. Thus, a deep understanding of capsular polysaccharide synthesis is essential for uncovering the pathogenesis of S. pneumoniae infection. In this study, we show that protein SPD_1495...