Molecular Biology and Physiology
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyConvergence between Regulation of Carbon Utilization and Catabolic Repression in Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhousThe conditions affecting catabolic regulation in X. dendrorhous are complex and suggest the presence of an alternative mechanism of regulation. The repressors Mig1, Cyc8, and Tup1 are essential elements for the regulation of the use of glucose and other carbon sources. All play different roles but, depending on the growth conditions, can work in convergent,...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMolecular Mechanisms of Phosphate Stress Activation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum Sensing SystemsIt is not fully understood how phosphate deficiency could influence the virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa through modulation of the bacterial QS systems. This report presents a systemic investigation on the impact of phosphate depletion on the hierarchy of quorum sensing systems of P. aeruginosa....
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPseudohyphal Growth of the Emerging Pathogen Candida auris Is Triggered by Genotoxic Stress through the S Phase CheckpointCandida auris is a newly emerged fungal pathogen of humans. This species was first reported in 2009 when it was identified in an ear infection of a patient in Japan. However, despite intense interest in this organism as an often multidrug-resistant fungus, there is little knowledge about its cellular biology. During infection of human patients, fungi are able to...
Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologymSphere of Influence: Comprehensive Genetic AnalysisJason M. Peters works in the fields of antibiotic resistance and biofuel production. In this mSphere of Influence article, he reflects on how the paper “A global genetic interaction network maps a wiring diagram of cellular function” by Costanzo et al. (Science 353:aaf1420, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf1420) has impacted his work by highlighting the power of gene networks...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyFactors and Conditions That Impact Electroporation of Clostridioides difficile StrainsUnderstanding the underlying biology of pathogens is essential to develop novel treatment options. To drive this understanding, genetic tools are essential. In recent years, the genetic toolbox available to Clostridioides difficile researchers has expanded significantly but still requires the conjugal transfer of DNA from a donor strain into...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMetabolic Reprogramming in the Opportunistic Yeast Candida albicans in Response to HypoxiaA critical aspect of cell fitness is the ability to sense and adapt to variations in oxygen levels in their local environment. Candida albicans is an opportunistic yeast that is the most prevalent human fungal pathogen. While hypoxia is the predominant condition that C. albicans encounters in most...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTrypanosoma brucei RAP1 Has Essential Functional Domains That Are Required for Different Protein InteractionsTrypanosoma brucei causes human African trypanosomiasis and regularly switches its major surface antigen, VSG, to evade the host immune response. VSGs are expressed from subtelomeres in a monoallelic fashion. TbRAP1, a telomere protein, is essential for cell viability and VSG monoallelic expression and suppresses VSG switching. Although TbRAP1 has...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyLaboratory Evolution Experiments Help Identify a Predominant Region of Constitutive Stable DNA Replication InitiationThe bacterium E. coli can replicate its DNA even in the absence of the molecules that are required for canonical replication initiation. This often requires the formation of RNA-DNA hybrid structures and is referred to as constitutive stable DNA replication (cSDR). Where on the chromosome does cSDR initiate? We answer this question using laboratory evolution...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTrypanosoma brucei Pex13.2 Is an Accessory Peroxin That Functions in the Import of Peroxisome Targeting Sequence Type 2 Proteins and Localizes to Subdomains of the GlycosomeTrypanosoma brucei causes human African trypanosomiasis and a wasting disease called Nagana in livestock. Current treatments are expensive, toxic, and difficult to administer. Because of this, the search for new drug targets is essential. T. brucei has glycosomes that are essential to parasite...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMorphology and Transcriptome Analysis of Nosema bombycis Sporoplasm and Insights into the Initial Infection of MicrosporidiaOnce awoken from dormancy, the cellular matter of microsporidia is delivered directly into the host cell cytoplasm through the polar tube. This means that the microsporidia are difficult to study biologically in their active state without a contaminating signal from the host cell. Sporoplasm is a cell type of microsporidia in vitro, but relatively little attention has been paid to the sporoplasm in the past 150 years due to a...