Publications

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

October 25, 2023

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.

Phospholipases A and Lysophospholipases in protozoan parasites

October 2, 2023

In this review, we summarize the literature on phospholipases and lysophospholipases in several protozoan parasites of medical relevance, and discuss the growing interest for them as potential drug and vaccine targets.

Biofilm tolerance, resistance and infections increasing threat of public health

September 26, 2023

The review explores the role of biofilms in the development of bacterial resistance mechanisms and proposed therapeutic intervention strategies for biofilm related diseases.

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

August 18, 2023

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

August 17, 2023

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.

Yeast gene KTI13 (alias DPH8) operates in the initiation step of diphthamide synthesis on elongation factor 2

August 8, 2023

We show here that apart from its effector role for Elongator-dependent tRNA modification in yeast, Kti13 alias Dph8 also operates in step one of the diphthamide modification pathway.

Caspase 3 exhibits a yeast metacaspase proteostasis function that protects mitochondria from toxic TDP43 aggregates

July 10, 2023

Caspase 3 activation is a hallmark of cell death and there is a strong correlation between elevated protease activity and evolving pathology in neurodegenerative disease, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These results suggest that caspase 3 is not inherently pathogenic, but may act as a compensatory proteostasis factor, to limit TDP-43 protein inclusions and protect organelle function in aggregation related degenerative disease.

Metallothionein Cup1 attenuates nitrosative stress in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

July 10, 2023

Our findings suggest that the yeast metallothionein Cup1 contributes to nitrosative stress tolerance, possibly as a constitutive rather than an inducible defense mechanism.

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

June 28, 2023

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.

Ribose 5-phosphate: the key metabolite bridging the metabolisms of nucleotides and amino acids during stringent response in Escherichia coli?

June 1, 2023

Here we propose the metabolite ribose 5’-phosphate as the key link between nucleotide and amino acid metabolisms and a working model integrating both the transcriptional and metabolic effects of (p)ppGpp on E. coli physiological adaptation during the stringent response.

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