Research – Page 9 – Microbial Cell

Research Articles

Basal level of ppGpp coordinates <i>Escherichia coli</i> cell heterogeneity and ampicillin resistance and persistence

Basal level of ppGpp coordinates Escherichia coli cell heterogeneity and ampicillin resistance and persistence

Paulina Katarzyna Grucela¹ and Yong Everett Zhang¹

The universal stringent response alarmone ppGpp (guanosine penta and tetra phosphates) plays a crucial role in various aspects of fundamental cell physiology (e.g., cell growth rate, cell size) and thus bacterial tolerance to and survival of external stresses, including antibiotics. In tihs study, we discuss the fundamental role of basal level of ppGpp in regulating cell homogeneity and ampicillin persistence.

Investigation of the acetic acid stress response in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> with mutated H3 residues

Investigation of the acetic acid stress response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with mutated H3 residues

Nitu Saha¹, Swati Swagatika¹ and Raghuvir Singh Tomar¹

Yeast cells respond to acetic acid in diverse ways. Here, we have elucidated the deleterious effects of acetic acid on different histone mutants

The coenzyme B<sub>12</sub> precursor 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole is a flavin antagonist in <i>Salmonella</i>

The coenzyme B₁₂ precursor 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole is a flavin antagonist in Salmonella

Lahiru Malalasekara¹ and Jorge C. Escalante-Semerena^1,*

Here we investigated why 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole (DMB) inhibits in S. Typhimurium. Briefly, we determined that the structural similarities of the substituted benzene ring of DMB with the isoalloxazine moiety of flavins is responsible for the deleterious effects of this CoB12 precursor.

GFP fusions of Sec-routed extracellular proteins in Staphylococcus aureus reveal surface-associated coagulase in biofilms

Dominique C. S. Evans^1,2,#, Amanda B. Khamas^1,#, Lisbeth Marcussen¹, Kristian S. Rasmussen³, Janne K. Klitgaard³, Birgitte H. Kallipolitis³, Janni Nielsen¹, Daniel E. Otzen¹, Mark C. Leake^2,4 and Rikke L. Meyer^1,5

We show that msfGFP can be used to generate extracellular fluorescent fusion proteins in S. aureus, applicable for proteins that are secreted through the Sec pathway. When fused to coagulase, msfGFP did not hinder the biological function, and the fusion protein localised to the fibrin pseudocapsule surrounding clusters of S. aureus cells.

TL-532, a novel specific Toll-like receptor 3 agonist rationally designed for targeting cancers: discovery process and biological characterization

Sylvain Thierry¹, Sarah Maadadi¹, Aurore Berton¹, Laura Dimier¹, Clémence Perret¹, Nelly Vey¹, Saïd Ourfali², Mathilde Saccas¹, Solène Caron¹, Mathilde Boucard-Jourdin¹, Marc Colombel³, Bettina Werle¹ and Marc Bonnin¹

In the present study, we identified a new family of TLR3 agonists that activates myeloid cells, triggers the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in both myeloid and cancer cells, and induces apoptosis specifically in cancer cells.

Acetate modulates the inhibitory effect of Lactobacillus gasseri against the pathogenic yeasts Candida albicans and Candida glabrata

Nuno A. Pedro^1,2, Gabriela Fontebasso^1,2, Sandra N. Pinto^1,2, Marta Alves³ and Nuno P. Mira^1,2

The results herein described advance the design of new anti-Candida therapies based on probiotics, in particular, those based on vaginal lactobacilli species, helping to reduce the significant burden that infections caused by Candida have today in human health.

D-Serine reduces the expression of the cytopathic genotoxin colibactin

Jennifer C. Hallam^1,#, Sofia Sandalli^1,#, Iris Floria¹, Natasha C. A. Turner¹, Min Tang-Fichaux², Eric Oswald^2,3, Nicky O’Boyle^1,4 and Andrew J. Roe¹

Sensing and responding to environmental cues and signalling molecules is crucial for bacterial survival. In this study we have identified a D-amino acid that has a strong regulatory effect on the pks genomic island which encodes for biosynthesis genes for the genotoxic compound colibactin.

A modular cloning (MoClo) toolkit for reliable intracellular protein targeting in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Pavel Simakin^1,#, Christian Koch^1,# and Johannes M. Herrmann¹

In this study, we describe an advanced Molecular cloning toolkit that is designed for the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and optimized for the targeting of proteins of interest to specific cellular compartments.

The role of invariant surface glycoprotein 75 in xenobiotic acquisition by African trypanosomes

Alexandr Makarov¹, Jakub Began^2,†, Ileana Corvo Mautone^1,3, Erika Pinto¹, Liam Ferguson¹, Martin Zoltner^1,4, Sebastian Zoll² and Mark C. Field^1,5

By CRISPR/Cas9 knockout and biophysical analysis, we show here that the invariant surface glycoprotein 75 directly binds the the century-old drug suramin and mediates uptake of additional naphthol-related compounds, making this glycoprotein a conduit for entry of at least one structural class of trypanocidal compounds.

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Chromosome-condensed G1 phase yeast cells are tolerant to desiccation stress

November 26, 2021

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is capable of surviving extreme water loss for a long time. However, less is known about the mechanism of its desiccation tolerance. In this study, we revealed that in an exponential culture, all desiccation tolerant yeast cells were in G1 phase and had condensed chromosomes. (...)

Detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its first variants in fourplex real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR assays

November 25, 2021

The early diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections is required to identify and isolate contagious patients to prevent further transmission of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we present a multitarget real-time TaqMan reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) assay for the quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 and some of its circulating variants harboring mutations that give the virus a selective advantage. Seven different primer-probe sets that included probes containing locked nucleic acid (LNA) nucleotides were designed to amplify specific wild-type and mutant sequences in Orf1ab, Envelope (E), Spike (S), and Nucleocapsid (N) genes (...)

Forced association of SARS-CoV-2 proteins with the yeast proteome perturb vesicle trafficking

October 27, 2021

This work demonstrates that the yeast Synthetic Physical Interactions method is a rapid way to identify potential functions of ectopic viral proteins.

Airborne bacteria in show caves from Southern Spain

July 26, 2021

This study analyzes the factors conditioning the diversity of airborne bacteria recorded in three Andalusian show caves, subjected to different managements.

Landscapes and bacterial signatures of mucosa-associated intestinal microbiota in Chilean and Spanish patients with inflammatory bowel disease

June 18, 2021

This study investigates the landscapes and alterations of mucosa-associated intestinal microbiota in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, which cause chronic inflammation of the gut, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Genome, transcriptome and secretome analyses of the antagonistic, yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium pullulans to identify potential biocontrol genes

June 8, 2021

This study highlights the value of a sequential approach starting with genome mining and consecutive transcriptome and secretome analyses in order to identify a limited number of potential target genes for detailed, functional analyses in Aureobasidium pullulans.

Barcode sequencing and a high-throughput assay for chronological lifespan uncover ageing-associated genes in fission yeast

May 10, 2021

This work presents two approaches to study chronological lifespan (CLS) for medium- to high-throughput applications, a method for Bar-seq to identify mutants showing altered CLS and a novel medium-throughput colony-forming units assay that can be largely automated by robotics.