Molecular Biology and Physiology
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCharacterization of the Streptomyces coelicolor Glycoproteome Reveals Glycoproteins Important for Cell Wall BiogenesisIn prokaryotes, the role of protein glycosylation is poorly understood due to our limited understanding of their glycoproteomes. In some Actinobacteria, defects in protein O-glycosylation have been shown to retard growth and result in hypersensitivity to cell wall-targeting antibiotics, suggesting that this modification is important for maintaining cell wall structure. Here, we have characterized the glycoproteome in...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyUnique, Diverged, and Conserved Mitochondrial Functions Influencing Candida albicans RespirationCandida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen of major clinical concern. The virulence of this pathogen is intimately intertwined with its metabolic behavior, and mitochondria have a central role in that metabolism. Mitochondria have undergone many evolutionary changes, which include lineage-specific adaptations in association with their eukaryotic host. Seven...
Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyEmerging Roles for NlpE as a Sensor for Lipoprotein Maturation and Transport to the Outer Membrane in Escherichia coliOuter membrane biogenesis is a complex process for Gram-negative bacteria as the components are synthesized in the cytoplasm or at the inner membrane and then transported to the outer membrane. Stress pathways monitor and respond to problems encountered in assembling the outer membrane. The two-component system CpxAR was recently reported to be a stress pathway for transport of lipoproteins to the outer membrane, but it was unclear how...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySerine-Threonine Kinases Encoded by Split hipA Homologs Inhibit Tryptophanyl-tRNA SynthetaseBacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules confer multidrug tolerance (persistence) that may contribute to the recalcitrance of chronic and recurrent infections. The first high-persister gene identified was hipA of Escherichia coli strain K-12, which encodes a kinase that inhibits glutamyl-tRNA synthetase. The hipA gene encodes the toxin of the hipBA...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Lipid A 1-Phosphatase, LpxE, Functionally Connects Multiple Layers of Bacterial Envelope BiogenesisDephosphorylation of the lipid A 1-phosphate by LpxE in Gram-negative bacteria plays important roles in antibiotic resistance, bacterial virulence, and modulation of the host immune system. Our results demonstrate that in addition to removing the 1-phosphate from lipid A, LpxEs also dephosphorylate undecaprenyl pyrophosphate, an important metabolite for the synthesis of the essential envelope components, peptidoglycan and O-antigen....
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyIntegration of Fungus-Specific CandA-C1 into a Trimeric CandA Complex Allowed Splitting of the Gene for the Conserved Receptor Exchange Factor of CullinA E3 Ubiquitin Ligases in AspergilliAspergillus species are important for biotechnological applications, like the production of citric acid or antibacterial agents. Aspergilli can cause food contamination or invasive aspergillosis to immunocompromised humans or animals. Specific treatment is difficult due to limited drug targets and emerging resistances. The CandA complex regulates, as a receptor...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTad Pili Play a Dynamic Role in Caulobacter crescentus Surface ColonizationBacteria are able to colonize surfaces in environmental, industrial, and medical settings, where they form resilient communities called biofilms. In order to control bacterial surface colonization, microbiologists need to gain a detailed understanding of the processes that bacteria use to live at the liquid-surface interface and that allow them to adhere to and move on surfaces and eventually grow and persist on solid media. To...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Yeast PCNA Unloader Elg1 RFC-Like Complex Plays a Role in Eliciting the DNA Damage CheckpointThe Elg1protein forms an RFC-like complex in charge of unloading PCNA from chromatin during DNA replication and repair. Mutations in the ELG1 gene caused genomic instability in all organisms tested and cancer in mammals. Here we show that Elg1 plays a role in the induction of the DNA damage checkpoint, a cellular response to DNA damage. We show that this defect is due to a defect in the signal amplification process during...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPyruvate Homeostasis as a Determinant of Parasite Growth and Metabolic Plasticity in Toxoplasma gondiiToxoplasma gondii infects almost all warm-blooded animals, and metabolic flexibility is deemed critical for its successful parasitism in diverse hosts. Glucose and glutamine are the major carbon sources to support parasite growth. In this study, we found that Toxoplasma is also competent in utilizing lactate and alanine and, thus, exhibits exceptional...
Author Reply | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyReply to Kaldalu et al., “Reanalysis of Proteomics Results Fails To Detect MazF-Mediated Stress Proteins”