transcriptomics
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAnalysis of the In Vivo Transcriptome of Bordetella pertussis during Infection of MiceIn vitro growth conditions for bacteria do not fully recapitulate the host environment. RNA sequencing transcriptome analysis allows for the characterization of the infection gene expression profiles of pathogens in complex environments. Isolation of the pathogen from infected tissues is critical because of the large amounts of host RNA present in crude lysates of infected organs. A filtration method was developed that enabled...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologycsrB Gene Duplication Drives the Evolution of Redundant Regulatory Pathways Controlling Expression of the Major Toxic Secreted Metalloproteases in Vibrio tasmaniensis LGP32The conserved CsrB sRNAs are an example of sibling sRNAs, i.e., sRNAs which are present in multiple copies in genomes. This report illustrates how new copies arise through gene duplication events and highlights two evolutionary advantages of having such multiple copies: differential regulation of the multiple copies allows integration of different input signals into the regulatory network of which they are parts, and the high redundancy...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionMechanism of High-Level Daptomycin Resistance in Corynebacterium striatumAntimicrobial resistance threatens the efficacy of antimicrobial treatment options, including last-line-of-defense drugs. Understanding how this resistance develops can help direct antimicrobial stewardship efforts and is critical to designing the next generation of antimicrobial therapies. Here we determine how Corynebacterium striatum, a skin commensal and...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyShifts in the Gut Metabolome and Clostridium difficile Transcriptome throughout Colonization and Infection in a Mouse ModelClostridium difficile is a bacterial pathogen of global significance that is a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Antibiotics deplete the indigenous gut microbiota and change the metabolic environment in the gut to one favoring C. difficile growth. Here we used metabolomics and...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySulfide Homeostasis and Nitroxyl Intersect via Formation of Reactive Sulfur Species in Staphylococcus aureusHydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a toxic molecule and a recently described gasotransmitter in vertebrates whose function in bacteria is not well understood. In this work, we describe the transcriptomic response of the major human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus to quantified changes in levels of cellular organic reactive sulfur species, which are effector molecules...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNew Insights into Autoinducer-2 Signaling as a Virulence Regulator in a Mouse Model of Pneumonic PlagueYersinia pestis is the bacterial agent that causes the highly fatal disease plague. The organism represents a significant concern because of its potential use as a bioterror agent, beyond the several thousand naturally occurring human infection cases occurring globally each year. While there has been development of effective antibiotics, the narrow therapeutic window...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTranscriptome Sequencing Reveals Wide Expression Reprogramming of Basal and Unknown Genes in Leptospira biflexa BiofilmsIn this work, we describe the first transcriptome based on RNA-seq technology focused on studying transcriptional changes associated with biofilm growth in a member of the genus Leptospira. As many pathogenic species of this genus can survive inside the host but also persist in environmental water, mostly forming biofilms, identifying the molecular basis of this capacity can impact the understanding of how leptospires are able...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIsolation and Characterization of a Novel Gammaherpesvirus from a Microbat Cell LineBats are of significant interest as reservoirs for zoonotic viral pathogens; however, tools to dissect bat-virus interactions are limited in availability. This study serendipitously identified, in an established bat cell line, a fully replication-competent gammaherpesvirus; determined the complete genome sequence of the virus; and generated a viral transcript map. This virus can replicate in select human and nonhuman primate cell lines...