RNA-seq
CommentarymSphere of Influence: Of Mice, Men, and Microbes—How Well Do Experimental Models Recapitulate Human Infection?Chelsie Armbruster studies catheter-associated urinary tract infection and the contribution of microbe-microbe interactions to infection progression and severity. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how two papers, A.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHuman Keratinocyte Response to SuperantigensStaphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes are common human pathogens, causing infections that include the skin. Both pathogens produce a family of secreted toxins called superantigens, which have been shown to be important in human diseases. The first cell types encountered by superantigens...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyTranscriptional Profiling Suggests T Cells Cluster around Neurons Injected with Toxoplasma gondii ProteinsLike other persistent intracellular pathogens, Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite, has evolved to evade the immune system and establish a chronic infection in specific cells and organs, including neurons in the CNS. Understanding T. gondii’s persistence in neurons holds the potential to identify novel, curative drug targets. The work presented here...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyReading between the Lines: Utilizing RNA-Seq Data for Global Analysis of sRNAs in Staphylococcus aureusRegulatory small RNAs (sRNAs) are a class of RNA molecules that are produced in bacterial cells but that typically do not encode proteins. Instead, they perform a variety of critical functions within the cell as RNA. Most bacterial genomes do not include annotations for sRNA genes, and any type of analysis that is performed using a bacterial genome as a reference will therefore overlook data for sRNAs. In this study, we reexamined...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyClbR Is the Key Transcriptional Activator of Colibactin Gene Expression in Escherichia coliThe nonribosomal peptide/polyketide hybrid colibactin can be considered a bacterial virulence factor involved in extraintestinal infection and also a procarcinogen. Nevertheless, and despite its genotoxic effect, colibactin expression can also inhibit bacterial or tumor growth and correlates with probiotic anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Although the biological function of this natural compound has been studied extensively,...
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 | Applied and Environmental ScienceAdventitious Virus Detection in Cells by High-Throughput Sequencing of Newly Synthesized RNAs: Unambiguous Differentiation of Cell Infection from Carryover of Viral Nucleic AcidsThe use of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) to identify viral contamination of biological products is extremely sensitive and provides a broad range of detection. Nevertheless, viral sequences identified can also be inert. Examples include contamination resulting from reagents or the presence of inactivated viruses in animal-derived components of the cell culture medium. We therefore developed a method that relies on the sequencing of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyCombined Transcriptome and Proteome Analysis of Immortalized Human Keratinocytes Expressing Human Papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) Oncogenes Reveals Novel Key Factors and Networks in HPV-Induced CarcinogenesisHuman papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers still remain a big health problem, especially in developing countries, despite the availability of prophylactic vaccines. Although HPV oncogenes have been intensively investigated for decades, a study applying recent advances in RNA-Seq and quantitative proteomic approaches to a precancerous model system with well-defined HPV oncogene expression alongside HPV-negative parental cells has been...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyNewly Identified Nucleoid-Associated-Like Protein YlxR Regulates Metabolic Gene Expression in Bacillus subtilisExpression of genes encoding NAPs is often temporally regulated. According to results from single-cell analysis, the ylxR gene is induced by glucose and expressed in a bistable mode. These characteristics have not previously been reported for NAP gene expression. Transcriptional profiling of the ylxR disruptant revealed a change in the expression levels of approximately 400 genes, including genes for synthesis of 12...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPathways of Pathogenicity: Transcriptional Stages of Germination in the Fatal Fungal Pathogen Rhizopus delemarGermination is key to the growth of many organisms, including fungal spores. Mucormycete spores exist abundantly within the environment and germinate to form hyphae. These spores are capable of infecting immunocompromised individuals, causing the disease mucormycosis. Germination from spore to hyphae within patients leads to angioinvasion, tissue necrosis, and often fatal infections. This study advances our understanding of how spore...