Molecular Biology and Physiology
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRoles of the Transcription Factors Sfl2 and Efg1 in White-Opaque Switching in a/α Strains of Candida albicansMore than 95% of Candida albicans strains isolated from humans are MTLa/α, and approximately a third of these can undergo the white-to-opaque transition. Therefore, besides being a requirement for MTL-homozygous strains to mate, the opaque phenotype very likely plays a role in the commensalism and pathogenesis of nonmating, a...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyComprehensive Identification of Fim-Mediated Inversions in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli with Structural Variation Detection Using Relative EntropyUTI is a common ailment that affects more than half of all women during their lifetime. The leading cause of UTIs is UPEC, which relies on type 1 pili to colonize and persist within the bladder during infection. The regulation of type 1 pili is remarkable for an epigenetic mechanism in which a section of DNA containing a promoter is inverted. The inversion mechanism relies on what are thought to be dedicated recombinase genes; however,...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPyrophosphate Stimulates the Phosphate-Sodium Symporter of Trypanosoma brucei Acidocalcisomes and Saccharomyces cerevisiae VacuolesAcidocalcisomes, first described in trypanosomes and known to be present in a variety of cells, have similarities with S. cerevisiae vacuoles in their structure and composition. Both organelles share a Na+/Pi symporter involved in Pi release to the cytosol, where it is needed for biosynthetic reactions. Here we show that PPi...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyExtracellular Vesicle-Mediated RNA Release in Histoplasma capsulatumExtracellular vesicles (EVs) play important roles in cellular communication and pathogenesis. The RNA molecules in EVs have been implicated in a variety of processes. EV-associated RNA classes have recently been described in pathogenic fungi; however, only a few reports of studies describing the RNAs in fungal EVs are available. Improved knowledge of EV-associated RNA will contribute to the understanding of their role during infection....
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyOXA-48-Mediated Ceftazidime-Avibactam Resistance Is Associated with Evolutionary Trade-OffsThe recent introduction of novel β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combinations like ceftazidime-avibactam has increased our ability to treat infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, including carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales. However, the increasing number of cases of reported resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam is a concern. OXA-48 is a carbapenemase that has no significant effect on ceftazidime,...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyProximity Staining Using Enzymatic Protein Tagging in DiplomonadsThe function of many proteins is intrinsically related to their cellular location. Novel methods for ascertainment of the ultrastructural location of proteins have been introduced in recent years, but their implementation in protists has so far not been readily realized. Here, we present an optimized proximity labeling protocol using the APEX system in the salmon pathogen ...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCRISPR Interference for Rapid Knockdown of Essential Cell Cycle Genes in Lactobacillus plantarumL. plantarum is an important bacterium for applications in food and health. Deep insights into the biology and physiology of this species are therefore necessary for further strain optimization and exploitation; however, the functions of essential genes in the bacterium are mainly unknown due to the lack of accessible genetic tools. The CRISPRi system developed here...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGlu-108 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rad51 Is Critical for DNA Damage-Induced Nuclear FunctionRad51-mediated homologous recombination is the major mechanism for repairing DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair in cancer cells. Thus, regulating Rad51 activity could be an attractive target. The sequential assembly and disassembly of Rad51 to the broken DNA ends depend on reversible protein-protein interactions. Here, we discovered that a dynamic interaction with molecular chaperone Hsp90 is one such regulatory event that governs the...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA Novel Protocol for the Isolation of Fungal Extracellular Vesicles Reveals the Participation of a Putative Scramblase in Polysaccharide Export and Capsule Construction in Cryptococcus gattiiExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are fundamental components of the physiology of cells from all kingdoms. In pathogenic fungi, they participate in important mechanisms of transfer of antifungal resistance and virulence, as well as in immune stimulation and prion transmission. However, studies on the functions of fungal EVs are still limited by the lack of efficient methods for isolation of these compartments. In this study, we developed an...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyFunctionally Related Genes Cluster into Genomic Regions That Coordinate Transcription at a Distance in Saccharomyces cerevisiaeThe two-dimensional, physical positioning of genes along a chromosome can impact proper transcriptional regulation throughout a genomic region. The transcription of neighboring genes is correlated in a genome-wide manner, which is a characteristic of eukaryotes. Many coregulated gene families can be found clustered with another member of the same set—which can result in adjacent gene coregulation of the pair. Due to the myriad gene...