Molecular Biology and Physiology
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCell Shape and Antibiotic Resistance Are Maintained by the Activity of Multiple FtsW and RodA Enzymes in Listeria monocytogenesThe human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes is usually treated with high doses of β-lactam antibiotics, often combined with gentamicin. However, these antibiotics only act bacteriostatically on L. monocytogenes, and the immune system is needed to clear the infection. Therefore, individuals with a...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyChromosome Dynamics in Bacteria: Triggering Replication at the Opposite Location and Segregation in the Opposite DirectionBacteria can accomplish surprising levels of organization in the absence of membrane organelles by constructing subcellular asymmetric protein gradients. These gradients are composed of regulators that can either trigger or inhibit cell cycle events from distinct cell poles. In Caulobacter crescentus, the onset of chromosome replication and segregation from the...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRegulation of Glutarate Catabolism by GntR Family Regulator CsiR and LysR Family Regulator GcdR in Pseudomonas putida KT2440Glutarate is an attractive dicarboxylate with various applications. Clarification of the regulatory mechanism of glutarate catabolism could help to block the glutarate catabolic pathways, thereby improving glutarate production through biotechnological routes. Glutarate is a toxic metabolite in humans, and its accumulation leads to a hereditary metabolic disorder, glutaric aciduria type I. The elucidation of the functions of CsiR and...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCellular Dynamics and Genomic Identity of Centromeres in Cereal Blast FungusMagnaporthe oryzae is an important fungal pathogen that causes a loss of 10% to 30% of the annual rice crop due to the devastating blast disease. In most organisms, kinetochores are clustered together or arranged at the metaphase plate to facilitate synchronized anaphase separation of sister chromatids in mitosis. In this study, we showed that the initially clustered...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySelection of Cyanobacterial (Synechococcus sp. Strain PCC 6301) RubisCO Variants with Improved Functional Properties That Confer Enhanced CO2-Dependent Growth of Rhodobacter capsulatus, a Photosynthetic BacteriumRubisCO catalysis has a significant impact on mitigating greenhouse gas accumulation and CO2 conversion to food, fuel, and other organic compounds required to sustain life. Because RubisCO-dependent CO2 fixation is severely compromised by oxygen inhibition and other physiological constraints, improving RubisCO’s kinetic properties to enhance growth in the presence of atmospheric O2 levels has been a...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyChromatin Profiling of the Repetitive and Nonrepetitive Genomes of the Human Fungal Pathogen Candida albicansThe fungus Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen that normally lives on the human body without causing any harm. However, C. albicans is also a dangerous pathogen responsible for millions of infections annually. C. albicans...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyIdentification of Dephospho-Coenzyme A (Dephospho-CoA) Kinase in Thermococcus kodakarensis and Elucidation of the Entire CoA Biosynthesis Pathway in ArchaeaCoA is utilized in a wide range of metabolic pathways, and its biosynthesis is essential for all life. Pathways for CoA biosynthesis in bacteria and eukaryotes have been established. In archaea, however, the enzyme that catalyzes the final step in CoA biosynthesis, dephospho-CoA kinase (DPCK), had not been identified. In the present study, bioinformatic analyses identified a candidate for the DPCK in archaea, which was biochemically and...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySudan Ebolavirus VP35-NP Crystal Structure Reveals a Potential Target for Pan-Filovirus TreatmentOutbreaks of the filoviruses can be unpredictable in timing, location, and identity of the causative virus, with each of Ebola virus, Sudan virus, Bundibugyo virus, and Marburg virus reemerging in the last several years to cause human disease with 30 to 90% lethality. The 2014–2016 outbreak in particular, with nearly 30,000 patients, highlighted the ability of these viruses to emerge unexpectedly and spread rapidly. Two ebolavirus...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA SpoIID Homolog Cleaves Glycan Strands at the Chlamydial Division SeptumChlamydiales species are obligate intracellular bacteria and important human pathogens that have a minimal division machinery lacking the proteins that are essential for bacterial division in other species, such as FtsZ. Chlamydial division requires synthesis of peptidoglycan, which forms a ring at the division septum and is rapidly turned over. However, little is known of peptidoglycan degradation, because many peptidoglycan-...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTargeting Mannitol Metabolism as an Alternative Antimicrobial Strategy Based on the Structure-Function Study of Mannitol-1-Phosphate Dehydrogenase in Staphylococcus aureusDue to the shortage of effective antibiotics against drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, new targets are urgently required to develop next-generation antibiotics. We investigated mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase of S. aureus USA300 (SaM1PDH), a key enzyme regulating intracellular...