transcriptional regulation
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionCould Dampening Expression of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae mtrCDE-Encoded Efflux Pump Be a Strategy To Preserve Currently or Resurrect Formerly Used Antibiotics To Treat Gonorrhea?The emergence of gonococcal strains resistant to past or currently used antibiotics is a global public health concern, given the estimated 78 million infections that occur annually. The dearth of new antibiotics to treat gonorrhea demands that alternative curative strategies be considered to counteract antibiotic resistance expressed by gonococci. Herein, we show that decreased expression of a drug efflux pump that participates in...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceA Central Small RNA Regulatory Circuit Controlling Bacterial Denitrification and N2O EmissionsN2O is an important greenhouse gas and a major cause of ozone depletion. Denitrifying bacteria play vital roles in the production and consumption of N2O in many environments. Complete denitrification consists of the conversion of a soluble N-oxyanion, nitrate (NO3-), to an inert gaseous N-oxide, dinitrogen (N2). Incomplete denitrification can occur if conditions are prohibitive, for...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) Modulates Encystation in Entamoeba via Stage-Specific Expression of the NF-YB and NF-YC SubunitsThe human parasite Entamoeba histolytica is an important pathogen with significant global impact and is a leading cause of parasitic death in humans. Since only the cyst form can be transmitted, blocking encystation would prevent new infections, making the encystation pathway an attractive target for the development of new drugs. Identification of the genetic signals...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyEnterococcus faecalis Encodes an Atypical Auxiliary Acyl Carrier Protein Required for Efficient Regulation of Fatty Acid Synthesis by Exogenous Fatty Acids...AcpB homologs are encoded by many, but not all, lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillales), including many members of the human microbiome. The mechanisms regulating fatty acid synthesis by exogenous fatty acids play a key role in resistance of these bacteria to those antimicrobials targeted at fatty acid synthesis enzymes. Defective regulation can increase resistance to such inhibitors and also reduce pathogenesis.
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyAtrR Is an Essential Determinant of Azole Resistance in Aspergillus fumigatusAspergillus fumigatus is the major filamentous fungal pathogen in humans. Infections associated with A. fumigatus are often treated with azole drugs, but resistance to these antifungal agents is increasing. Mortality from aspergillosis associated with azole-resistant fungi is extremely high....
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyBldC Delays Entry into Development To Produce a Sustained Period of Vegetative Growth in Streptomyces venezuelaeUnderstanding the mechanisms that drive bacterial morphogenesis depends on the dissection of the regulatory networks that underpin the cell biological processes involved. Recently, Streptomyces venezuelae has emerged as an attractive model system for the study of morphological differentiation in Streptomyces. This has led to significant progress in...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPAS Domain Protein Pas3 Interacts with the Chromatin Modifier Bre1 in Regulating Cryptococcal MorphogenesisFor the ubiquitous environmental pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, the morphological transition from yeast to filament confers resistance to natural predators like soil amoeba and is an integral differentiation event to produce infectious spores. Interestingly, filamentation is immuno-stimulatory and attenuates cryptococcal virulence in a mammalian host. Consistently...
- Research ArticleDefining the DNA Binding Site Recognized by the Fission Yeast Zn2Cys6 Transcription Factor Pho7 and Its Role in Phosphate Homeostasis
Fungi respond to phosphate starvation by inducing the transcription of a set of phosphate acquisition genes that comprise a phosphate regulon. Pho7, a member of the Zn2Cys6 family of fungal transcription regulators, is the central player in the phosphate starvation response in fission yeast. The present study identifies a 12-nucleotide Pho7 DNA binding motif [5′-TCG(G/C)(A/T)xxTTxAA] in the promoters of phosphate-...