Latest Articles
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyVersatility of Biofilm Matrix Molecules in Staphylococcus epidermidis Clinical Isolates and Importance of Polysaccharide Intercellular Adhesin Expression during High Shear StressStaphylococcus epidermidis is a leading cause of infections related to biomaterials, mostly due to their ability to form biofilm. Biofilm accumulation mechanisms vary, including those that are dependent on specific proteins, environmental DNA (eDNA), or polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA). We found that those isolates obtained from high-shear environments,...
Resource Report | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceDNA from Dust: Comparative Genomics of Large DNA Viruses in Field Surveillance SamplesDespite both clinical and laboratory data that show increased virulence in field isolates of MDV-1 over the last half century, we do not yet understand the genetic basis of its pathogenicity. Our knowledge of genome-wide variation between strains of this virus comes exclusively from isolates that have been cultured in the laboratory. MDV-1 isolates tend to lose virulence during repeated cycles of replication in the laboratory, raising...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionDivergent Isoprenoid Biosynthesis Pathways in Staphylococcus Species Constitute a Drug Target for Treating Infections in Companion AnimalsDrug-resistant Staphylococcus species are a major concern in human and veterinary medicine. There is a need for new antibiotics that exhibit a selective effect in treating infections in companion and livestock animals and that would not be used to treat human bacterial infections. We have identified fosmidomycin as an antibiotic that selectively targets certain Staphylococcus species that are often encountered in skin...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyDifferent Regulations of ROM2 and LRG1 Expression by Ccr4, Pop2, and Dhh1 in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cell Wall Integrity PathwayWe find here that Ccr4, Pop2, and Dhh1 modulate the levels of mRNAs for specific Rho1 regulators, Rom2 and Lrg1. In budding yeast, Rho1 activity is tightly regulated both temporally and spatially. It is anticipated that Ccr4, Pop2, and Dhh1 may contribute to the precise spatiotemporal control of Rho1 activity by regulating expression of its regulators temporally and spatially. Our finding on the roles of the components of the Ccr4-Not...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyRescue of the 1947 Zika Virus Prototype Strain with a Cytomegalovirus Promoter-Driven cDNA CloneThe study of ZIKV, which has become increasingly important with the recent association of this virus with microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome, would benefit from an efficient strategy to genetically manipulate the virus. This work describes a model system to produce infectious virus in cell culture. We created a plasmid carrying the prototype 1947 Uganda MR766 ZIKV genome that both was stable in bacteria and could produce high...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceGenome Diversity, Recombination, and Virulence across the Major Lineages of ParacoccidioidesCharacterization of genetic differences between lineages of the dimorphic human-pathogenic fungus Paracoccidioides can identify changes linked to important phenotypes and guide the development of new diagnostics and treatments. In this article, we compared genomes of 31 diverse isolates representing the major lineages of Paracoccidioides spp. and completed the first annotated genome sequences for the PS3 and PS4...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologySingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Regulator-Encoding Genes Have an Additive Effect on Virulence Gene Expression in a Vibrio cholerae Clinical IsolateCholera, an infectious disease of the small intestine caused by the aquatic bacterium Vibrio cholerae, often results in vomiting and acute watery diarrhea. If left untreated or if the response is too slow, the symptoms can quickly lead to extreme dehydration and ultimately death of the patient. Recent anecdotal evidence of cholera patients suffering from increasingly...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSystematic Search for Evidence of Interdomain Horizontal Gene Transfer from Prokaryotes to Oomycete LineagesHorizontal gene transfer (HGT) is the nonvertical inheritance of genetic material by transfer between different species. HGT is an important evolutionary mechanism for prokaryotes and in some cases is responsible for the spread of antibiotic resistance from resistant to benign species. Genome analysis has shown that examples of HGT are not as frequent in eukaryotes, but when they do occur they may have important evolutionary...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionZinc Pyrithione Improves the Antibacterial Activity of Silver Sulfadiazine OintmentTopical antimicrobial ointments ostensibly mitigate bacterial wound disease and reliance on systemic antibiotics. Yet studies have called into question the therapeutic benefits of several traditional topical antibacterials, accentuating the need for improved next-generation antimicrobial ointments. Yet the development of such agents consisting of a new chemical entity is a time-consuming and expensive proposition. Considering that drug...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyBiochemical Characterization of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus HelicaseCoronaviruses are known to cause a wide range of diseases in humans and animals. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a novel coronavirus discovered in 2012 and is responsible for acute respiratory syndrome in humans in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and the United States of America. Helicases are motor proteins that catalyze the processive separation of double-stranded nucleic acids into two single-...