Molecular Biology and Physiology
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...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA Gene Cluster That Encodes Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Contributes to Bacterial Persistence and Antibiotic Tolerance in Burkholderia thailandensisThe discovery of antibiotics such as penicillin and streptomycin marked a historic milestone in the 1940s and heralded a new era of antimicrobial therapy as the modern standard for medical treatment. Yet, even in those early days of discovery, it was noted that a small subset of cells (∼1 in 105) survived antibiotic treatment and continued to persist, leading to recurrence of chronic infection. These persisters are phenotypic...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGlobal Network Analysis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Identifies Coordination between Pathways, Processes, and Regulators Expressed during Human InfectionNeisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) gonorrhea, a disease with high morbidity worldwide with an estimated 87 million cases annually. Current therapeutic and pharmacologic approaches to treat gonorrhea have been compromised by increased antibiotic resistance worldwide, including to the most recent FDA-approved...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRegulatory Noncoding Small RNAs Are Diverse and Abundant in an Extremophilic Microbial CommunityMicroorganisms in the natural world are found in communities, communicating and interacting with each other; therefore, it is essential that microbial regulatory mechanisms, such as gene regulation affected by small RNAs (sRNAs), be investigated at the community level. This work demonstrates that metatranscriptomic field experiments can link environmental variation with changes in RNA pools and have the potential to provide new insights...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyFrom Modules to Networks: a Systems-Level Analysis of the Bacitracin Stress Response in Bacillus subtilisAntibiotic resistance poses a major threat to global health, and systematic studies to understand the underlying resistance mechanisms are urgently needed. Although significant progress has been made in deciphering the mechanistic basis of individual resistance determinants, many bacterial species rely on the induction of a whole battery of resistance modules, and the complex regulatory networks controlling these modules in response to...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA Complex Interplay between Nitric Oxide, Quorum Sensing, and the Unique Secondary Metabolite Tundrenone Constitutes the Hypoxia Response in MethylobacterHere, we describe a novel and complex hypoxia response system in a methanotrophic bacterium that involves modules of central carbon metabolism, denitrification, quorum sensing, and a secondary metabolite, tundrenone. This intricate stress response system, so far unique to Methylobacter species, may be responsible for the persistence and activity of these species across gradients of dioxygen tensions and for the cosmopolitan...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTranscriptomic Response of Nitrosomonas europaea Transitioned from Ammonia- to Oxygen-Limited Steady-State GrowthNitrification is a ubiquitous microbially mediated process in the environment and an essential process in engineered systems such as wastewater and drinking water treatment plants. However, nitrification also contributes to fertilizer loss from agricultural environments, increasing the eutrophication of downstream aquatic ecosystems, and produces the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. As ammonia-oxidizing bacteria are the most dominant...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyComparative Transcriptomic and Functional Assessments of Linezolid-Responsive Small RNA Genes in Staphylococcus aureusBacterial small RNAs (sRNAs) are RNA molecules that can have important regulatory roles across gene expression networks. There is a growing understanding of the scope and potential breadth of impact of sRNAs on global gene expression patterns in Staphylococcus aureus, a major human pathogen. Here, transcriptome comparisons were used to examine the roles of sRNA genes...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyDynamic Characterization of Protein and Posttranslational Modification Levels in Mycobacterial Cholesterol CatabolismCholesterol assimilation is a critical step in mycobacterial chronic infection. However, knowledge from the dynamic characterization of cholesterol metabolism in mycobacteria at the protein expression and PTM levels remains limited. Our study uncovered the landscape of protein expression, lysine acetylation, lysine propionylation, and S/T/Y phosphorylation during the metabolic changes from glucose to cholesterol in mycobacteria. The...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRapid and Concomitant Gut Microbiota and Endocannabinoidome Response to Diet-Induced Obesity in MiceThe intestinal microbiota and the expanded endocannabinoid system, or endocannabinoidome, have both been implicated in diet-induced obesity and dysmetabolism. This study aims at identifying the potential interactions between these two fundamental systems—which form the gut microbiota-endocannabinoidome axis—and their involvement in the establishment of diet-induced obesity and related metabolic complications. We report here time- and...