biofilm
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyReassessing the Role of the Type II MqsRA Toxin-Antitoxin System in Stress Response and Biofilm Formation: mqsA Is Transcriptionally Uncoupled from mqsRThere is growing controversy regarding the role of chromosomal toxin-antitoxin systems in bacterial physiology. mqsRA is a peculiar toxin-antitoxin system, as the gene encoding the toxin precedes that of the antitoxin. This system was previously shown to play a role in stress response and biofilm formation. In this work, we identified two promoters specifically driving the constitutive expression of the antitoxin, thereby...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Toxin-Antitoxin MazEF Drives Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Formation, Antibiotic Tolerance, and Chronic InfectionSurgical infections are one of the most common types of infections encountered in a hospital. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen associated with this infection. These infections are resilient and difficult to eradicate, as the bacteria form biofilm, a community of bacteria held together by an extracellular matrix. Compared to bacteria that are...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionProbiotic Yeasts Inhibit Virulence of Non-albicans Candida SpeciesNon-albicans Candida-associated infections have emerged as a major risk factor in the hospitalized and immunecompromised patients. Besides, antifungal-associated complications occur more frequently with these non-albicans Candida species than with C. albicans. Therefore, as an alternative approach to combat these widespread non-albicans Candida...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyEstablishment of Chronic Typhoid Infection in a Mouse Carriage Model Involves a Type 2 Immune Shift and T and B Cell Recruitment to the GallbladderThe existence of chronic typhoid carriers has been in the public eye for over 100 years in part because of the publicity around Typhoid Mary. Additionally, it has been known for decades that the gallbladder is the main site of persistence and recently that gallstones play a key role. Despite this, very little is known about the physiological conditions that allow Salmonella...
Perspective | Host-Microbe BiologyEvolutionary Perspectives on the Moonlighting Functions of Bacterial Factors That Support Actin-Based MotilityVarious bacterial pathogens display an intracellular lifestyle and spread from cell to cell through actin-based motility (ABM). ABM requires actin polymerization at the bacterial pole and is mediated by the expression of bacterial factors that hijack the host cell actin nucleation machinery or exhibit intrinsic actin nucleation properties.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyPseudomonas aeruginosa Increases the Sensitivity of Biofilm-Grown Staphylococcus aureus to Membrane-Targeting Antiseptics and AntibioticsThe thick mucus in the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients predisposes them to frequent, polymicrobial respiratory infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are frequently coisolated from the airways of individuals with CF, as well as from diabetic foot ulcers and other...
Opinion/Hypothesis | Host-Microbe BiologyIs the Potable Water System an Advantageous Preinfection Niche for Bacteria Colonizing the Cystic Fibrosis Lung?People with cystic fibrosis are susceptible to lung infections from a variety of bacteria, a number of which also reside in the potable water system, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Achromobacter...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyFunctional Specialization in Vibrio cholerae Diguanylate Cyclases: Distinct Modes of Motility Suppression and c-di-GMP ProductionCyclic diguanylate monophosphate (c-di-GMP) is a broadly conserved bacterial signaling molecule that affects motility, biofilm formation, and virulence. Although it has been known that high intracellular concentrations of c-di-GMP correlate with motility suppression and biofilm formation, how the 53 predicted c-di-GMP modulators in Vibrio cholerae collectively...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionAntibacterial Properties and Efficacy of a Novel SPLUNC1-Derived Antimicrobial Peptide, α4-Short, in a Murine Model of Respiratory InfectionThe rise of superbugs underscores the urgent need for novel antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have the ability to kill superbugs regardless of resistance to traditional antibiotics. However, AMPs often display a lack of efficacy in vivo. Sequence optimization and engineering are promising but may result in increased host toxicity. We report here the optimization of a novel AMP (α4-short) derived from the...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceIntroducing THOR, a Model Microbiome for Genetic Dissection of Community BehaviorThe manipulation and engineering of microbiomes could lead to improved human health, environmental sustainability, and agricultural productivity. However, microbiomes have proven difficult to alter in predictable ways, and their emergent properties are poorly understood. The history of biology has demonstrated the power of model systems to understand complex problems such as gene expression or development. Therefore, a defined and...