Latest Articles
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Zinc Finger Protein Mig1 Regulates Mitochondrial Function and Azole Drug Susceptibility in the Pathogenic Fungus Cryptococcus neoformansFungal pathogens of humans are difficult to treat, and there is a pressing need to identify new targets for antifungal drugs and to obtain a detailed understanding of fungal proliferation in vertebrate hosts. In this study, we examined the roles of the regulatory proteins Mig1 and HapX in mitochondrial function and antifungal drug susceptibility in the fungus Cryptococcus...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologySSTAR, a Stand-Alone Easy-To-Use Antimicrobial Resistance Gene PredictorWhole-genome sequencing (WGS) is quickly becoming a routine method for identifying genes associated with antimicrobial resistance (AR). However, for many microbiologists, the use and analysis of WGS data present a substantial challenge. We developed SSTAR, software with a graphical user interface that enables the identification of known AR genes from WGS and has the unique capacity to easily detect new variants of known AR genes,...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPprA Protein Is Involved in Chromosome Segregation via Its Physical and Functional Interaction with DNA Gyrase in Irradiated Deinococcus radiodurans BacteriaD. radiodurans is one of the most radiation-resistant organisms known. This bacterium is able to cope with high levels of DNA lesions generated by exposure to extreme doses of ionizing radiation and to reconstruct a functional genome from hundreds of radiation-induced chromosomal fragments. Here, we identified partners of PprA, a radiation-induced Deinococcus...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCharacterization of Two Dinoflagellate Cold Shock Domain ProteinsDinoflagellate transcriptomes contain cold shock domain proteins as the major component of the proteins annotated as transcription factors. We show here that the major family of cold shock domain proteins in the dinoflagellate Lingulodinium do not bind specific sequences, suggesting that transcriptional control is not a predominant mechanism for regulating gene expression in this group of protists.
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionEfficacy of T-705 (Favipiravir) in the Treatment of Infections with Lethal Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome VirusSevere fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), caused by SFTS virus (SFTSV), is a recently identified emerging viral infectious disease. Despite the medical importance of this disease, there are currently neither vaccines nor effective therapeutics for SFTS. T-705, which is a pyrazine derivative, has shown broad antiviral activity against various RNA viruses. The present study demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, the...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAntibiotic-Induced Alterations of the Gut Microbiota Alter Secondary Bile Acid Production and Allow for Clostridium difficile Spore Germination and Outgrowth in the Large IntestineAntibiotics alter the gastrointestinal microbiota, allowing for Clostridium difficile infection, which is a significant public health problem. Changes in the structure of the gut microbiota alter the metabolome, specifically the production of secondary bile acids. Specific bile acids are able to initiate C...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRadicicol-Mediated Inhibition of Topoisomerase VIB-VIA Activity of the Human Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparumIn this study we characterize topoisomerase VI from Plasmodium falciparum using genetic and biochemical approaches. We use various inhibitors and identify radicicol as a specific inhibitor of its decatenation activity. We establish a very simple and economical biochemical assay system that can be exploited to screen inhibitors of PfTopoVI.
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionProteomic Analyses of Chlorhexidine Tolerance Mechanisms in Delftia acidovorans BiofilmsDelftia acidovorans has been associated with a number of serious infections, including bacteremia, empyema, bacterial endocarditis, and ocular and urinary tract infections. It has also been linked with a variety of surface-associated nosocomial infections. Biofilm-forming antimicrobial-resistant D. acidovorans strains have also been isolated, including ones...
Opinion/Hypothesis | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyModel for the Controlled Synthesis of O-Antigen Repeat Units Involving the WaaL Ligase
Observation | Applied and Environmental ScienceMetagenomic Evidence for the Presence of Comammox Nitrospira-Like Bacteria in a Drinking Water SystemNitrification plays an important role in regulating the concentrations of inorganic nitrogen species in a range of environments, from drinking water and wastewater treatment plants to the oceans. Until recently, aerobic nitrification was considered to be a two-step process involving ammonia-oxidizing bacteria or archaea and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. This process requires close cooperation between these two functional guilds for...