Molecular Biology and Physiology
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyStreptococcus gordonii Type I Lipoteichoic Acid Contributes to Surface Protein BiogenesisDiscovered over a half-century ago, lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is an abundant polymer found on the surface of Gram-positive bacteria. Although LTA is essential for the survival of many Gram-positive species, knowledge of how LTA contributes to bacterial physiology has remained elusive. Recently, LTA-deficient strains have been generated in some Gram-positive species, including the human oral commensal...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySiz2 Prevents Ribosomal DNA Recombination by Modulating Levels of Tof2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiaeThe genes that encode rRNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are organized as multiple repeats. The repetitive nature and heavy transcription of this region make it prone to DNA breaks. DNA breaks could lead to recombination, which could result in either loss or gain of repeats with detrimental consequences to the cell. Multiple mechanisms operate to maintain the stability...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRegulatory Mechanism of the Atypical AP-1-Like Transcription Factor Yap1 in Cryptococcus neoformansThe human meningitis fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans, contains the atypical yeast AP-1-like protein Yap1. Yap1 lacks an N-terminal cysteine-rich domain (n-CRD), which is present in other fungal Yap1 orthologs, but has a C-terminal cysteine-rich domain (c-CRD). However, the role of c-CRD and its regulatory mechanism remain unknown. Here, we report that Yap1 is...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyKinesin-5 Is Dispensable for Bipolar Spindle Formation and Elongation in Candida albicans, but Simultaneous Loss of Kinesin-14 Activity Is LethalCandida albicans is one of the most prevalent fungal pathogens of humans and can infect a broad range of niches within its host. This organism frequently acquires resistance to antifungal agents through rapid generation of genetic diversity, with aneuploidy serving as a particularly important adaptive mechanism. This paper describes an investigation of the sole...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyLeishIF4E1 Deletion Affects the Promastigote Proteome, Morphology, and InfectivityLeishmania parasites are the causative agents of a broad spectrum of diseases. The parasites migrate between sand-fly vectors and mammalian hosts, adapting to changing environments by driving a regulated program of gene expression, with translation regulation playing a key role. The leishmanias encode six different paralogs of eIF4E, the cap-binding translation initiation factor. Since these vary in function, expression profile...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyLoss of O-Linked Protein Glycosylation in Burkholderia cenocepacia Impairs Biofilm Formation and Siderophore Activity and Alters Transcriptional RegulatorsProtein glycosylation is increasingly recognized as a common posttranslational protein modification in bacterial species. Despite this commonality, our understanding of the role of most glycosylation systems in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis is incomplete. In this work, we investigated the effect of the disruption of O-linked glycosylation in the opportunistic pathogen...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMapping the Global Network of Extracellular Protease Regulation in Staphylococcus aureusThe complex regulatory role of the proteases necessitates very tight coordination and control of their expression. While this process has been well studied, a major oversight has been the consideration of proteases as a single entity rather than as 10 enzymes produced from four different promoters. As such, in this study, we comprehensively characterized the regulation of each protease promoter, discovering vast differences in the way...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPacBio Amplicon Sequencing Method To Measure Pilin Antigenic Variation Frequencies of Neisseria gonorrhoeaeDiversity generation systems are used by many unicellular organism to provide subpopulations of cell with different properties that are available when needed. We have developed a method using the PacBio DNA sequencing technology and a custom computer program to analyze the pilin antigenic variation system of the organism that is the sole cause of the sexually transmitted infection, gonorrhea.
Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologymSphere of Influence: the Power of Yeast Genetics Still Going Strong!Felipe Santiago-Tirado studies the cell biology of cryptococcal infections.
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCharacterization of the Self-Resistance Mechanism to Dityromycin in the Streptomyces Producer StrainThe World Health Organization has identified antimicrobial resistance as a substantial threat to human health. Because of the emergence of pathogenic bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics worldwide, there is a need to identify the mode of action of antibiotics and to unravel the basic mechanisms responsible for drug resistance. Antibiotic producers’ microorganisms can protect themselves from the toxic effect of the drug using...