Latest Articles
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyReal-Time Imaging of Polioviral RNA Translocation across a Membrane
The initial transfer of genomic material from a virus into a host cell is a key step in any viral infection. Consequently, understanding how viruses deliver their genomes into cells could reveal attractive therapeutic targets.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCryoelectron Microscopy Structures of AdeB Illuminate Mechanisms of Simultaneous Binding and Exporting of Substrates
Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as one of the most highly antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative pathogens. The prevalent AdeB multidrug efflux pump mediates resistance to a broad spectrum of clinically relevant antimicrobial agents.
- Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySubcellular Architecture of the xyl Gene Expression Flow of the TOL Catabolic Plasmid of Pseudomonas putida mt-2
The transfer of information between DNA, RNA, and proteins in a bacterium is often compared to the decoding of a piece of software in a computer. However, the tridimensional layout and the relational logic of the cognate biological hardware, i.e., the nucleoid, the RNA polymerase, and the ribosomes, are habitually taken for granted.
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyDiscovery of Bacterial Fimbria–Glycan Interactions Using Whole-Cell Recombinant Escherichia coli Expression
Understanding the tropism of pathogens for host and tissue requires a complete understanding of the host receptors targeted by fimbrial adhesins. Furthermore, blocking adhesion is a promising strategy to counter increasing antibiotic resistance and is enabled by the identification of host receptors.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyToward a Comprehensive Analysis of Posttranscriptional Regulatory Networks: a New Tool for the Identification of Small RNA Regulators of Specific mRNAs
With the recognition of the importance of posttranscriptional regulation mediated by bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs), their contribution to global gene expression regulatory networks needs to be addressed in a truly comprehensive manner. While a single sRNA targets multiple RNAs, an mRNA can be regulated by multiple sRNAs that can be either transcribed individually or derived by processing of mRNAs.
- Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionPrime-Pull Immunization with a Bivalent M-Protein and Spy-CEP Peptide Vaccine Adjuvanted with CAF®01 Liposomes Induces Both Mucosal and Peripheral Protection from covR/S Mutant Streptococcus pyogenes
A vaccine to control S. pyogenes infection is desperately warranted. S. pyogenes colonizes the upper respiratory tract (URT) and skin, from where it can progress to invasive and immune-mediated diseases.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyParameters Affecting Continuous In Vitro Culture of Treponema pallidum Strains
Syphilis is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum. Until recently, this pathogen could only be maintained through infection of rabbits or other animals, making study of this important human pathogen challenging and costly. T. pallidum subsp. pallidum has now...
- Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyEnterococcal Physiology and Antimicrobial Resistance: The Streetlight Just Got a Little Brighter
Enterococcus faecalis differs from many other common human pathogens in its physiology and in its susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. Multiresistant E. faecalis strains owe their phenotypes to a combination of intrinsic and acquired antimicrobial resistance determinants.
- Observation | Host-Microbe BiologyPhospholipid Metabolism Is Associated with Time to HIV Rebound upon Treatment Interruption
The likelihood of HIV rebound after stopping antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a combination of the size of HIV reservoirs that persist despite ART and the host immunological and inflammatory factors that control these reservoirs. Therefore, there is a need to comprehensively understand these host factors to develop a strategy to cure HIV infection and prevent viral rebound post-ART.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMolecular Basis of the Versatile Regulatory Mechanism of HtrA-Type Protease AlgW from Pseudomonas aeruginosa
HtrA-family proteases are commonly employed to sense the protein folding stress and activate the regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) cascade in Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we reveal the unique dual-signal activation and dynamic regulation properties of AlgW, an HtrA-type protease triggering the AlgU stress-response pathway, which controls alginate production and mucoid conversion in...
- Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyUnraveling the Impact of Secreted Proteases on Hypervirulence in Staphylococcus aureus
A key feature of the pathogenic success of S. aureus is the myriad virulence factors encoded within its genome. These are subject to multifactorial control, ensuring their timely production only within an intended infectious niche.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyEvaluation of Microbe-Driven Soil Organic Matter Quantity and Quality by Thermodynamic Theory
Microbial communities are known to be important drivers of organic matter (OM) accumulation in terrestrial ecosystems. However, despite the importance of these soil microbes and processes, the mechanisms behind these microbial-SOM associations remain poorly understood.
- Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceConvergent Adaptation to Quantitative Host Resistance in a Major Plant Pathogen
Understanding the genetic basis of pathogen adaptation to quantitative resistance in plants has a key role to play in establishing durable strategies for resistance deployment. In this context, a population genomic approach was developed for a major plant pathogen (the fungus Pseudocercospora fijiensis causing black leaf streak disease of banana) whereby samples from new resistant banana hybrids were compared with samples from...
- Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceFitness Cost Evolution of Natural Plasmids of Staphylococcus aureus
Plasmids are major agents in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes among bacteria. How plasmids and their hosts coevolve to reduce the fitness cost associated with plasmid carriage when bacteria grow in an antibiotic-free environment is not well understood.
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA Bacterial Toxin Perturbs Intracellular Amino Acid Balance To Induce Persistence
To overcome various environmental challenges, bacterial cells can enter a physiologically quiescent state, known as dormancy or persistence, which balances growth and viability. In this study, we report a new mechanism by which a toxin-antitoxin system responds to harsh environmental conditions or nutrient deprivation by orchestrating a dormant state while preserving viability.