Molecular Biology and Physiology
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyAn Intragenic Recombination Event Generates a Snf4-Independent Form of the Essential Protein Kinase Snf1 in Candida albicansGenomic alterations, including different types of recombination events, facilitate the generation of genetically altered variants and enable the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans to adapt to stressful conditions encountered in its human host. Here, we show that a specific recombination event between two 8-bp direct repeats within the coding sequence of the SNF1...
Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologymSphere of Influence: Start with an Interesting Biological PhenomenonTeresa O'Meara works in the field of functional genomics of Candida albicans, with a focus on host-pathogen interactions. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how papers entitled "Systematic Screens of a Candida albicans Homozygous Deletion Library Decouple Morphogenetic Switching...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA Heat Shock Protein 48 (HSP48) Biomolecular Condensate Is Induced during Dictyostelium discoideum DevelopmentDuring cellular stress, many microbes undergo a transition to a dormant state. This includes the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum that transitions from a unicellular amoeba to a multicellular fruiting body upon starvation. In this work, we identify heat shock protein 48 (HSP48) as a chaperone that is induced during development. We also show that HSP48 forms a...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGenome Editing of Babesia bovis Using the CRISPR/Cas9 SystemBabesia bovis is the most virulent cause of bovine babesiosis worldwide. The disease consequences are death, abortion, and economical loss due to reduced milk and meat production. Available vaccines are not effective, treatment options are limited, and emergence of drug and acaricide resistance has been reported from different regions. There is an urgent need to...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe AGC Kinase SsAgc1 Regulates Sporisorium scitamineum Mating/Filamentation and PathogenicityThe AGC signaling pathway represents a conserved distinct signaling pathway in regulation of fungal differentiation and virulence, while it has not been identified or characterized in the sugarcane smut fungus Sporisorium scitamineum. In this study, we identified a PAS domain-containing AGC kinase, SsAgc1, in S. scitamineum. Functional analysis revealed that SsAgc1 plays a regulatory role on the fungal dimorphic switch...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRobust Transcriptional Response to Heat Shock Impacting Diverse Cellular Processes despite Lack of Heat Shock Factor in MicrosporidiaWe do not fully understand why some fungal species are able to grow at temperatures approaching mammalian body temperature. Nosema ceranae, a microsporidium, is a type of fungal parasite that infects honey bees and grows optimally at the colony temperature of 35°C despite possessing cellular machinery for responding to heat stress that is notably simpler than that of...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTitrating Gene Function in the Human Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans through Poly-Adenosine Tract InsertionInvestigating a protein’s functional importance at the whole-organism level usually involves altering its expression level or its specific activity and observing the consequences with respect to physiology or phenotype. Several approaches designed to partially or completely abolish the function of a gene, including its deletion from the genome and the use of systems that facilitate conditional expression, have been widely applied....
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGenomewide Profiling of the Enterococcus faecalis Transcriptional Response to Teixobactin Reveals CroRS as an Essential Regulator of Antimicrobial ToleranceTeixobactin is a new antimicrobial with no known mechanisms of resistance. Understanding how resistance could develop will be crucial to the success and longevity of teixobactin as a new potent antimicrobial. Antimicrobial tolerance has been shown to facilitate the development of resistance, and we show that E. faecalis is intrinsically tolerant to teixobactin at high...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPhotocatalytic Protein Damage by Silver Nanoparticles Circumvents Bacterial Stress Response and Multidrug ResistanceAlthough silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are well known for their antibacterial properties, the mechanism by which they kill bacterial cells remains a topic of debate. In this study, we uncovered the bactericidal mechanism of AgNPs, which is induced by light. We tested the efficacy of AgNPs against a panel of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens as well as Escherichia coli...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyFunctional Analyses of Cytokinesis Regulators in Bloodstream Stage Trypanosoma brucei Parasites Identify Functions and Regulations Specific to the Life Cycle StageThe early divergent protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent of sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle in sub-Saharan Africa. This parasite has a complex life cycle by alternating between the insect vector and the mammalian hosts and proliferates by binary cell fission. The control of cell division in trypanosomes appears to be distinct...