Latest Articles
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTrypanosoma brucei Pex13.2 Is an Accessory Peroxin That Functions in the Import of Peroxisome Targeting Sequence Type 2 Proteins and Localizes to Subdomains of the GlycosomeTrypanosoma brucei causes human African trypanosomiasis and a wasting disease called Nagana in livestock. Current treatments are expensive, toxic, and difficult to administer. Because of this, the search for new drug targets is essential. T. brucei has glycosomes that are essential to parasite...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMAG2, a Toxoplasma gondii Bradyzoite Stage-Specific Cyst Matrix ProteinThis report expands on the list of characterized Toxoplasma gondii cyst matrix proteins. Using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), we have shown that matrix proteins within the cyst matrix are not mainly in a mobile state, providing further evidence of how proteins behave within the cyst matrix. Understanding the proteins expressed during the bradyzoite...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNucleotide Excision Repair Protein Rad23 Regulates Cell Virulence Independent of Rad4 in Candida albicansCandida albicans remains a significant threat to the lives of immunocompromised people. An understanding of the virulence and infection ability of C. albicans cells in the mammalian host may help with clinical treatment and drug discovery. The DNA damage response pathway is closely related to...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyAnalysis of Yeast Killer Toxin K1 Precursor Processing via Site-Directed Mutagenesis: Implications for Toxicity and ImmunityThe killer phenotype in the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae relies on two double-stranded RNA viruses that are persistently present in the cytoplasm. As they carry the same receptor populations as sensitive cells, killer yeast cells need—in contrast to various bacterial toxin producers—a specialized immunity mechanism. The ionophoric killer toxin K1 leads to...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMorphology and Transcriptome Analysis of Nosema bombycis Sporoplasm and Insights into the Initial Infection of MicrosporidiaOnce awoken from dormancy, the cellular matter of microsporidia is delivered directly into the host cell cytoplasm through the polar tube. This means that the microsporidia are difficult to study biologically in their active state without a contaminating signal from the host cell. Sporoplasm is a cell type of microsporidia in vitro, but relatively little attention has been paid to the sporoplasm in the past 150 years due to a...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAcute Sleep-Wake Cycle Shift Results in Community Alteration of Human Gut MicrobiomeCircadian rhythm misalignment due to social jet lag, shift work, early morning starts, and delayed bedtimes is becoming common in our modern society. Disturbances of sleep and the underlying circadian rhythms are related to multiple human diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and cognitive impairments. Given the crucial role of microbiota in the same pathologies as are caused by sleep disturbance, how the gut...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyToxoplasma Cathepsin Protease B and Aspartyl Protease 1 Are Dispensable for Endolysosomal Protein DigestionRoughly one-third of the human population is chronically infected with the intracellular single-celled parasite Toxoplasma gondii, but little is known about how this organism persists inside people. Previous research suggested that a parasite proteolytic enzyme, termed cathepsin protease L, is important for Toxoplasma persistence; however, it remained...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyDegradation of the Incretin Hormone Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) by Enterococcus faecalis Metalloprotease GelEHumans have a complex and interconnected relationship with their gastrointestinal microbiomes, yet our interest in the microbiome tends to focus on overt pathogenic or probiotic activities, leaving the roles that commensal species may have on host physiology and metabolic processes largely unexplored. Commensal organisms in the microbiome produce and secrete many factors that have an opportunity to interact with the gastrointestinal...
Editor's Pick Resource Report | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA Universal, Genomewide GuideFinder for CRISPR/Cas9 Targeting in Microbial GenomesWith the explosion in our understanding of human and environmental microbial diversity, corresponding efforts to understand gene function in these organisms are strongly needed. CRISPR/Cas9 technology has revolutionized interrogation of gene function in a wide variety of model organisms. Efficient CRISPR guide design is required for systematic gene targeting. However, existing tools are not adapted for the broad needs of microbial...
Resource Report | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThree-Dimensional Visualization of APEX2-Tagged Erg11 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Using Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron MicroscopyWith this study, we have validated the use of the APEX2 tag to define the localization of proteins in the model yeast S. cerevisiae. As such, FIB-SEM can identify the exact 3D location of a protein of interest in the cell with nanometer-scale resolution. Such detailed imaging could provide essential information on the elucidation of various biological processes. APEX2...