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Spotlight
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MinireviewAfter the Fact(or): Posttranscriptional Gene Regulation in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7To adapt to ever-changing environments, pathogens quickly alter gene expression. This can occur through transcriptional, posttranscriptional, or posttranslational regulation.
Research Articles
Research Article | SpotlightFluorescence-Based Detection of Natural Transformation in Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumanniiAntibiotic resistance is a pressing global health concern with the rise of multiple and panresistant pathogens. The rapid and unfailing resistance to multiple antibiotics of the nosocomial agent Acinetobacter baumannii, notably to carbapenems, prompt to understand the mechanisms behind acquisition of new antibiotic resistance genes. Natural transformation, one of the...
Research ArticleCross Talk among Transporters of the Phosphoenolpyruvate-Dependent Phosphotransferase System in Bacillus subtilisThe phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) not only is a carbohydrate uptake system in B. subtilis but also plays an important role in sensing the nutrient fluctuation in the medium. This sensing system enables the cells to respond to these fluctuations properly. The PTS transporters have a pivotal role in this sensing system since they are...
Research ArticleThe Chaperone Activities of DsbG and Spy Restore Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis in the elyC Mutant by Preventing Envelope Protein AggregationPeptidoglycan biosynthesis is a dynamic and well-controlled pathway. The molecular assembly of PG and the regulatory pathways ensuring its maintenance are still not well understood. Here we studied the newly discovered Escherichia coli factor ElyC, which is important for PG biosynthesis at low temperatures. We revealed an important protein-folding defect in the Δ...
Research ArticleRickettsia Lipid A Biosynthesis Utilizes the Late Acyltransferase LpxJ for Secondary Fatty Acid AdditionLipopolysaccharide (LPS) triggers an inflammatory response through the TLR4-MD2 receptor complex and inflammatory caspases, a process mediated by the lipid A moiety of LPS. Species of Rickettsia directly engage both extracellular and intracellular immunosurveillance, yet little is known about rickettsial lipid A. Here, we demonstrate that the alternative lipid A...
Research Article | SpotlightRedirection of Metabolism in Response to Fatty Acid Kinase in Staphylococcus aureusThe fatty acid kinase, FakA, of Staphylococcus aureus plays several important roles in the cell. FakA is important for the activation of the SaeRS two-component system and secreted virulence factors like α-hemolysin. However, the contribution of FakA to cellular metabolism has not been explored. Here, we highlight the metabolic consequence of removal of FakA from the...
Research ArticleIdentification of Different Putative Outer Membrane Electron Conduits Necessary for Fe(III) Citrate, Fe(III) Oxide, Mn(IV) Oxide, or Electrode Reduction by Geobacter sulfurreducensGram-negative metal-reducing bacteria utilize electron conduits, chains of redox proteins spanning the outer membrane, to transfer electrons to the extracellular surface. Only one pathway for electron transfer across the outer membrane of Geobacter sulfurreducens has been linked to Fe(III) reduction. However,...
Research ArticleCoherent Feedforward Regulation of Gene Expression by Caulobacter σT and GsrN during Hyperosmotic StressBacteria inhabit diverse niches and must adapt their physiology to constant environmental fluctuations. A major response to environmental perturbation is to change gene expression. Caulobacter and other alphaproteobacteria initiate a complex gene expression program known as the general stress response (GSR) under conditions including oxidative stress, osmotic stress,...
Research Article | SpotlightMore than Rotating Flagella: Lipopolysaccharide as a Secondary Receptor for Flagellotropic Phage 7-7-1Flagellotropic bacteriophages belong to the tailed-phage order Caudovirales, the most abundant phages in the virome. While it is known that these viruses adhere to the bacterial flagellum and use flagellar rotation to reach the cell surface, their infection mechanisms are poorly understood. Characterizing flagellotropic-phage–host interactions is crucial to...
Research ArticleInhibition of the Protein Phosphatase CppA Alters Development of Chlamydia trachomatisChlamydia is a significant cause of disease in humans, including sexually transmitted infections, the ocular infection trachoma, and pneumonia. Despite the critical roles of protein phosphatases in bacterial physiology, their function in pathogenesis is less clear. Our findings demonstrate that CppA, a broad-specificity type 2C protein phosphatase (PP2C), is critical...
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