Antibiosis
- Research ArticleGut Symbiont Bacteroides fragilis Secretes a Eukaryotic-Like Ubiquitin Protein That Mediates Intraspecies Antagonism
We are just beginning to understand some of the important interactions that occur between microbes of the human gut microbiota that dictate the composition and abundance of its constituent members. The ability of one member to produce molecules that directly kill a coresident member has been shown among minor gut species and is just starting to be studied in the abundant Bacteroides species. Here, we show that some strains of...
- Research ArticleDisarming Fungal Pathogens: Bacillus safensis Inhibits Virulence Factor Production and Biofilm Formation by Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans
Pathogenic fungi are estimated to contribute to as many human deaths as tuberculosis or malaria. Two of the most common fungal pathogens, Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans, account for up to 1.4 million infections per year with very high mortality rates. Few antifungal drugs are available for treatment, and development of novel therapies is complicated by the need for pathogen-specific targets. Therefore,...
- Research ArticleCdiA Effectors Use Modular Receptor-Binding Domains To Recognize Target Bacteria
CdiB/CdiA two-partner secretion proteins mediate interbacterial competition through the delivery of polymorphic toxin domains. This process, known as contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI), requires stable interactions between the CdiA effector protein and specific receptors on the surface of target bacteria. Here, we localize the receptor-binding domain to the central region of E. coli CdiA. Receptor-binding domains vary...