Table of Contents
Spotlight
Minireview
MinireviewIf You Eat It or Secrete It, They Will Grow: the Expanding List of Nutrients Utilized by Human Gut BacteriaIn order to persist, successful bacterial inhabitants of the human gut need to adapt to changing nutrient conditions, which are influenced by host diet and a variety of other factors. For members of the Bacteroidetes and several other phyla, this has resulted in the diversification of a variety of enzyme-based systems that equip them to sense and utilize carbohydrate-based nutrients from host, diet, and bacterial origins.
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Research Articles
Research ArticleRole of the N- and C-Terminal Regions of FliF, the MS Ring Component in the Vibrio Flagellar Basal BodyThe bacterial flagellum is a supramolecular architecture involved in cell motility. At the base of the flagella, a rotary motor that begins to construct an MS ring in the cytoplasmic membrane comprises 34 transmembrane proteins (FliF).
Research ArticleRegulated Cleavage of Glycan Strands by the Murein Hydrolase SagB in Staphylococcus aureus Involves a Direct Interaction with LyrA (SpdC)Peptidoglycan is assembled on the trans side of the plasma membrane from lipid II precursors into glycan chains that are cross-linked at stem peptides. In S. aureus, SagB, a membrane-associated N-acetylglucosaminidase, cleaves polymerized glycan chains to their physiological length.
Research Article | SpotlightSite-Directed Cross-Linking Identifies the Stator-Rotor Interaction Surfaces in a Hybrid Bacterial Flagellar MotorThe bacterial flagellum is a unique organelle that functions as a rotary motor. The interaction between the stator and rotor is indispensable for stator assembly into the motor and the generation of motor torque.
Research ArticleEffect of Membrane Potential on Entry of Lactoferricin B-Derived 6-Residue Antimicrobial Peptide into Single Escherichia coli Cells and Lipid VesiclesBacterial cells have a membrane potential (Δφ), but the effect of Δφ on the action of cell-penetrating peptide-type antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is not clear. Here, we investigated the effect of Δφ on the action of a fluorescent probe-labeled AMP derived from lactoferricin B, Rh-LfcinB(4–9).
Research ArticleStress-Induced Block in Dicarboxylate Uptake and Utilization in Salmonella enterica Serovar TyphimuriumBacteria have evolved to sense and respond to their environment to maximize their chance of survival. By studying differences in the responses of pathogenic bacteria and closely related nonpathogens, we can gain insight into what environments they encounter inside of an infected host.
Research Article | SpotlightIdentification of Potential Regulatory Domains within the MreC and MreD Components of the Cell Elongation MachineryCell shape in bacteria is largely determined by the cell wall structure that surrounds them. The multiprotein machine called the Rod system (elongasome) has long been implicated in rod shape determination in bacilli.
Research ArticleThe Coxiella burnetii QpH1 Plasmid Is a Virulence Factor for Colonizing Bone Marrow-Derived Murine MacrophagesAll C. burnetii isolates carry one of four large, conserved, autonomously replicating plasmids or a plasmid-like chromosomally integrated sequence. The plasmid is a candidate virulence factor of unknown function.
Research ArticleFormaldehyde-Responsive Proteins TtmR and EfgA Reveal a Trade-off between Formaldehyde Resistance and Efficient Transition to Methylotrophy in Methylorubrum extorquensAll organisms produce formaldehyde as a by-product of enzymatic reactions and as a degradation product of metabolites. The ubiquity of formaldehyde in cellular biology suggests all organisms have evolved mechanisms of mitigating formaldehyde toxicity.
Research ArticleImpact of Activation of the Neotrehalosadiamine/Kanosamine Biosynthetic Pathway on the Metabolism of Bacillus subtilisAutoinducers enable bacteria to sense cell density and to coordinate collective behavior. NTD/kanosamine is an autoinducer produced by B. subtilis and several close relatives, although its physiological function remains unknown.
Research ArticleStructural Insight into the Role of the PAS Domain for Signal Transduction in Sensor Kinase BvgSThe whooping cough agent Bordetella pertussis colonizes the human respiratory tract by using virulence factors coregulated by the sensory transduction system BvgAS. BvgS is a model for a family of sensor kinase proteins, some of which are found in important bacterial pathogens.
Research ArticleInactivation of the Pta-AckA Pathway Impairs Fitness of Bacillus anthracis during Overflow MetabolismB. anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, is a highly pathogenic, spore-forming bacterium that causes acute, life-threatening disease in both humans and livestock. A greater understanding of the metabolic determinants governing the fitness of B. anthracis is essential for the development of...
Research Article | SpotlightEloR Interacts with the Lytic Transglycosylase MltG at Midcell in Streptococcus pneumoniae R6Bacterial cell division has been a successful target for antimicrobial agents for decades. How different pathogens regulate cell division is, however, poorly understood.
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