metabolism
- Research ArticleModeling Growth Kinetics, Interspecies Cell Fusion, and Metabolism of a Clostridium acetobutylicum/Clostridium ljungdahlii Syntrophic Coculture
Widespread cell fusion and protein exchange between microbial organisms as observed in synthetic C. acetobutylicum/C. ljungdahlii culture is a novel observation that has not been explored in silico. The mechanisms responsible for the observed cell fusion events in this culture are still unknown.
- Research Article | Novel Systems Biology TechniquesA High-Throughput Method for Identifying Novel Genes That Influence Metabolic Pathways Reveals New Iron and Heme Regulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
The ability to simultaneously and more directly correlate genes with metabolite levels on a global level would provide novel information for many biological platforms yet has thus far been challenging. Here, we describe a method to help address this problem, which we dub “Met-Seq” (metabolite-coupled Tn sequencing).
- Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceMetabolic Reconstruction Elucidates the Lifestyle of the Last Diplomonadida Common Ancestor
Diplomonads are a group of microbial eukaryotes found in oxygen-poor environments. There are both parasitic (e.g., Giardia intestinalis) and free-living (e.g., Trepomonas) members in the group.
- Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyInvestigating the Role of Diet and Exercise in Gut Microbe-Host Cometabolism
Improved control of dietary confounders, through the use of an objective dietary assessment score, has uncovered further insights into the complex, multifactorial relationship between diet, exercise, the gut microbiome, and metabolism. Each of the models pertaining to diet healthiness, physical exercise, or a combination of both, displayed a distinct metabolic and functional microbial signature.
- Research Article | Novel Systems Biology TechniquesMetabolic Feedback Inhibition Influences Metabolite Secretion by the Human Gut Symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
Bacteroides is a highly abundant taxon in the human gut, and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (B. theta) is a ubiquitous human symbiont that colonizes the host early in development and persists throughout its life span. The phenotypic plasticity of keystone organisms such as B. theta is important to understand in order to predict phenotype(s)...
- Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDuration of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Is Associated with Alterations in Human Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Phenotypes
Atrial fibrillation was associated with a disordered gut microbiota in previous research. However, the gut microbiota signature of patients at different stages of atrial fibrillation remains largely unknown. We sought to determine whether the shift in the gut microbiota and metabolic profiles occurs early and remains stable or develops gradually during atrial fibrillation. We found that patients with persistent atrial fibrillation of...
- Opinion/Hypothesis | Therapeutics and PreventionMetaMed: Linking Microbiota Functions with Medicine Therapeutics
Understanding how the human microbiome affects human health has consequences for treating disease and minimizing unwanted side effects in clinical research.
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Formaldehyde Dehydrogenase SsFdh1 Is Regulated by and Functionally Cooperates with the GATA Transcription Factor SsNsd1 in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
S. sclerotiorum is a pathogenic fungus with sclerotium and infection cushion development, making S. sclerotiorum one of the most challenging agricultural pathogens with no effective control method. We identified important sclerotium and compound appressorium formation determinants, SsNsd1 and SsFdh1...
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGenomewide Assessment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Conditionally Essential Metabolic Pathways
Mycobacterium 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...
- Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceThe Power of Metabolism for Predicting Microbial Community Dynamics
Quantitative understanding and prediction of microbial community dynamics are an outstanding challenge. We test the hypothesis that metabolic mechanisms provide a foundation for accurate prediction of dynamics in microbial systems. In our research, metabolic models have been able to accurately predict species interactions, evolutionary trajectories, and response to perturbation in simple synthetic consortia.