Actinobacteria
Perspective | Applied and Environmental ScienceCryptic or Silent? The Known Unknowns, Unknown Knowns, and Unknown Unknowns of Secondary MetabolismMicrobial natural products, particularly those produced by filamentous Actinobacteria, underpin the majority of clinically used antibiotics. Unfortunately, only a few new antibiotic classes have been discovered since the 1970s, which has exacerbated fears of a postapocalyptic world in which antibiotics have lost their utility. Excitingly, the genome sequencing revolution painted an entirely new picture, one in which an average...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyDeciphering the Rules Underlying Xenogeneic Silencing and Counter-Silencing of Lsr2-like Proteins Using CgpS of Corynebacterium glutamicum as a ModelIn actinobacteria, Lsr2-like nucleoid-associated proteins function as xenogeneic silencers (XS) of horizontally acquired genomic regions, including viral elements, virulence gene clusters in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and genes involved in cryptic specialized metabolism in Streptomyces species. Consequently, a detailed mechanistic understanding of Lsr2...
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 ArticleMicrodiversity of an Abundant Terrestrial Bacterium Encompasses Extensive Variation in Ecologically Relevant Traits
Despite the plummeting costs of sequencing, characterizing the fine-scale genetic diversity of a microbial community—and interpreting its functional importance—remains a challenge. Indeed, most studies, particularly studies of soil, assess community composition at a broad genetic level by classifying diversity into taxa (OTUs) defined by 16S rRNA sequence similarity. However, these classifications potentially obscure variation in traits...
- Research ArticleKisameet Glacial Clay: an Unexpected Source of Bacterial Diversity
Identifying and characterizing the resident microbial populations (bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi) is key to understanding the ecology, chemistry, and homeostasis of virtually all sites on Earth. The Kisameet Bay deposit in British Columbia, Canada, holds a novel glacial clay with a history of medicinal use by local indigenous people. We previously showed that it has potent activity against a variety of antibiotic-resistant...