Latest Articles
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceCore Metabolism Shifts during Growth on Methanol versus Methane in the Methanotroph Methylomicrobium buryatense 5GB1One-carbon compounds such as methane and methanol are of increasing interest as sustainable substrates for biological production of fuels and industrial chemicals. The bacteria that carry out these conversions have been studied for many decades, but gaps exist in our knowledge of their metabolic pathways. One such gap is the difference between growth on methane and growth on methanol. Understanding such metabolism is important, since...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyGenetic Screen in Chlamydia muridarum Reveals Role for an Interferon-Induced Host Cell Death Program in Antimicrobial Inclusion RuptureMultiple obligatory intracellular bacteria in the genus Chlamydia are important pathogens. In humans, strains of C. trachomatis cause trachoma, chlamydia, and lymphogranuloma venereum. These diseases are all associated with extended courses of infection and reinfection that likely reflect the...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyJC Polyomavirus Uses Extracellular Vesicles To Infect Target CellsJC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen that causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a severe and often fatal neurodegenerative disease in immunocompromised or immunomodulated patients. The mechanisms responsible for initiating infection in susceptible cells are not completely known. The major attachment receptor for the virus, lactoseries tetrasaccharide c (LSTc), is paradoxically not expressed on...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceRed- and Blue-Light Sensing in the Plant Pathogen Alternaria alternata Depends on Phytochrome and the White-Collar Protein LreALight controls many processes in filamentous fungi. The study of light regulation in a number of model organisms revealed an unexpected complexity. Although the molecular components for light sensing appear to be widely conserved in fungal genomes, the regulatory circuits and the sensitivity of certain species toward specific wavelengths seem different. In N. crassa,...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyGut Microbiota and Phytoestrogen-Associated Infertility in Southern White RhinocerosSouthern white rhinoceros (SWR) poaching has reached record levels, and captive infertility has rendered SWR assurance populations no longer self-sustaining. Previous work has identified dietary phytoestrogens as a likely cause of this problem. Here, we investigate the role of gut microbiota in this phenomenon by comparing two rhinoceros species to provide the first characterizations of gut microbiomes for any rhinoceros species. To our...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAntigenic Drift of the Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Virus Neuraminidase Results in Reduced Effectiveness of A/California/7/2009 (H1N1pdm09)-Specific AntibodiesThe effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccines against circulating A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses has been modest in recent years, despite the absence of antigenic drift of HA, the primary vaccine component. Human monoclonal antibodies identified antigenic sites in NA that changed early after the new pandemic virus emerged. The reactivity of ferret antisera demonstrated antigenic drift of A(H1N1)pdm09 NA from 2013 onward. Passive transfer of...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyProgrammed Delay of a Virulence Circuit Promotes Salmonella PathogenicityTo accomplish successful infection, pathogens must operate their virulence programs in a precise, time-sensitive, and coordinated manner. A major question is how pathogens control the timing of virulence gene expression during infection. Here we report that the intracellular pathogen Salmonella controls the timing and level of virulence gene expression by using an inhibitory protein, EIIANtr. A DNA binding master...
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 | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA Novel Redox-Sensing Histidine Kinase That Controls Carbon Catabolite Repression in Azoarcus sp. CIBTwo-component signal transduction systems comprise a sensor histidine kinase and its cognate response regulator, and some have evolved to sense and convert redox signals into regulatory outputs that allow bacteria to adapt to the altered redox environment. The work presented here expands knowledge of the functional diversity of redox-sensing kinases to control carbon catabolite repression (CCR), a phenomenon that allows the selective...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionEffects of a Novel Probiotic Combination on Pathogenic Bacterial-Fungal Polymicrobial BiofilmsThe effects of diversity of the gut microbiome on inflammation have centered mainly on bacterial flora. Recent research has implicated fungal species and their interactions with other organisms in the inflammatory process. New ways to restore microbial balance in the gut are being explored. Our goal was to identify beneficial probiotic strains that would antagonize these fungal and bacterial pathogens that are elevated in the inflamed...