gene expression
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyActivation of the Extracytoplasmic Function σ Factor σP by β-Lactams in Bacillus thuringiensis Requires the Site-2 Protease RasPThe discovery of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections has had a dramatic and positive impact on human health. However, shortly after the introduction of a new antibiotic, bacteria often develop resistance. The bacterial cell envelope is essential for cell viability and is the target of many of the most commonly used antibiotics, including β-lactam antibiotics. Resistance to β-lactams is often dependent upon β-lactamases. In...
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 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...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionTranscriptome Assembly and Profiling of Candida auris Reveals Novel Insights into Biofilm-Mediated ResistanceFungal infections represent an important cause of human morbidity and mortality, particularly if the fungi adhere to and grow on both biological and inanimate surfaces as communities of cells (biofilms). Recently, a previously unrecognized yeast, Candida auris, has emerged globally that has led to widespread concern due to the difficulty in treating it with existing...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySystematic Identification, Characterization, and Conservation of Adjacent-Gene Coregulation in the Budding Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiaeThe spatial positioning of genes throughout the genome arrangement can alter their expression in many eukaryotic organisms. Often this results in a genomic context-specific effect on transcription. One example of this is through the clustering of functionally related genes, which results in adjacent-gene coregulation in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySingle-Cell Analysis Reveals Distinct Gene Expression and Heterogeneity in Male and Female Plasmodium falciparum GametocytesMost human deaths that result from malaria are caused by the eukaryotic parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The only form of this parasite that is transmitted to the mosquito is the sexual form, called the gametocyte. The production of mature gametocytes can take up to 2 weeks and results in phenotypically distinct males and females, although what causes this gender-...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTreatment of HIV-Infected Individuals with the Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Panobinostat Results in Increased Numbers of Regulatory T Cells and Limits Ex Vivo Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory ResponsesThe effect of treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitors on the immune system in HIV-infected individuals is not clear. Analysis of results from a clinical trial in which 15 HIV-infected individuals received 12 doses of panobinostat identified a significant impact on both T cell activation status and regulatory T cell suppressive marker expression and a reduced level of monocytic responsiveness to inflammatory stimuli. These changes...
Resource Report | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyDrug-Free Approach To Study the Unusual Cell Cycle of Giardia intestinalisGiardias are among the most commonly reported intestinal protozoa in the world, with infections seen in humans and over 40 species of animals. The life cycle of giardia alternates between the motile trophozoite and the infectious cyst. The regulation of the cell cycle controls the proliferation of giardia trophozoites during an active infection and contains the restriction point for the differentiation of trophozoite to cyst. Here, we...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyDeep Sequencing of RNA from Blood and Oral Swab Samples Reveals the Presence of Nucleic Acid from a Number of Pathogens in Patients with Acute Ebola Virus Disease and Is Consistent with Bacterial Translocation across the GutOur results highlight the identification of an array of pathogens in the blood of patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD). This has not been done before, and the data have important implications for the treatment of patients with EVD, particularly considering antibiotic stewardship. We show that EVD patients who were also infected with Plasmodium, particularly at higher loads, had more adverse outcomes than patients with lower...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyToxoplasma gondii AP2IX-4 Regulates Gene Expression during Bradyzoite DevelopmentToxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite that persists in its host as a transmissible tissue cyst. How the parasite converts from its replicative form to the bradyzoites housed in tissue cysts is not well understood, but the process clearly involves changes in gene expression. Here we report that parasites lacking a cell cycle-regulated transcription factor...