Pol Nadal
United Kingdom University of Liverpool
Published in 2019
- Genetic manipulation allows in vivo tracking of the life cycle of the son-killer symbiont, Arsenophonus nasoniae, and reveals patterns of host invasion, tropism and pathology
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symbiosisArsenophonusNasoniamale-killing - Authors: Nadal-Jimenez P, Griffin JS, Davies L, Frost CL, Marcello M, Hurst GDD
- Journal: Environmental Microbiology
- Description:
- In this manuscript, we reveal the life cycle of a male-killing bacterial endosymbiont (Arsenophonus nasoniae) using a GFP-labelled strain. We provide data on how the bacterium passes from generation to generation repeating an infective cycle where infected mother wasps will inject house fly pupae with a venom solution containing the bacterium prior to laying their eggs. After hatching, wasp larvae consume the fly pupae while in parallel ingesting the bacterium. A. nasoniae then travels through the larvae gut and manages to cross the gut barrier, establishing itself in the reproductive organs of the wasp pupae to initiate a new transmission cycle.
Published in 2017
- Signal Integration in Quorum Sensing Enables Cross-Species Induction of Virulence in Pectobacterium wasabiae
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Quorum sensingpectobacteriumErwinia - Authors: Nadal-Jimenez P, Valente, RS, Carvalho AFP, Vieira FJD and Xavier KB.
- Journal: MBio
- Description:
- In this manuscript, we analysed the AHL and Gac/Rsm cell-cell signalling networks of Pectobacterium spp. My work led to the discovery of a unique intrinsic relationship between these two cell-cell signalling networks in this bacterial genus, revealing that the architecture of bacterial signalling networks has evolved different hierarchies to adapt to distinct environmental cues. Additionally, we demonstrated that ExpR2, an AHL-receptor of broader signal specificity previously thought to be redundant to ExpR1, is responsible for the linkage between both cell-cell signalling networks. The architecture of these signalling networks allows Pectobacterium spp. not only to regulate gene expression according to its own cell density (intraspecies communication), but to that of other bacteria (interspecies communication) to orchestrate together a coordinated virulence response.
Published in 2014
- Deinococcus radiodurans can interfere with quorum sensing by producing an AHL-acylase and an AHL- lactonase
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DeinococcusQuorum sensingQuorum quenching - Authors: Koch G, Nadal-Jimenez P, Cool RH, Quax WJ
- Journal: FEMS Microbiology Letters
- Description:
- The work here presented reveals how certain bacteria, in this case, Deinococcus radiodurans, possess both acylases and lactonases capable of degrading acyl-homoserine lactones, the major communicating molecules of Gram-negative bacteria. This finding reveals that bacteria possess multiple ways to disrupt the virulence systems of competing bacteria.
Published in 2014
- Assessing Pseudomonas virulence with nonmammalian host: Galleria mellonella
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PseudomonasGalleriaQuorum sensing - Authors: Koch G, Nadal-Jimenez P, Cool RH, Quax WJ
- Journal: Methods in Molecular Biology
- Description:
- The use of mammalian models is one of the most common ways to assess virulence and the treatment effectiveness of many pharmaceuticals. Here, we demonstrate that a non-mammalian host as Galleria mellonella is an interesting alternative at least for the initial experimental phases thus reducing the need of mammals.
Published in 2014
- PvdP is a tyrosinase that drives maturation of the pyoverdine chromophore in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
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Pseudomonaspyoverdinesiderophorestyrosinase - Authors: Nadal-Jimenez P, Koch G, Reis CR, Muntendam R, Raj H, Jeronimus-Stratingh CM, Cool RH, Quax WJ
- Journal: Journal of Bacteriology
- Description:
- This work revealed the function of PvdP, a tyrosinase responsible for the formation of the fluorescent Fe3-binding chromophore of pyoverdine, the major siderophore in Pseudomonas aeruginosa involved in virulence and survival. PvdP is the tyrosinase with the largest substrate found to date.
Published in 2014
- Reducing virulence of the human pathogen Burkholderia by altering the substrate specificity of the quorum-quenching acylase PvdQ
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Burkholderiaquorum quenchingacylaserational mutagenesis - Authors: Koch G, Nadal-Jimenez P, Reis CR, Muntendam R, Bokhove M, Melillo E, Dijkstra BW, Cool RH, Quax WJ
- Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Description:
- In this work, we demonstrate how a quorum-quenching acylase effective in reducing virulence in some bacteria can be altered to increase its specificity range or to target an alternative group of pathogens. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we transformed PvdQ into an effective anti-Burkholderia treatment.
Published in 2012
- The acylase PvdQ has a conserved function among fluorescent Pseudomonas spp.
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quorum sensingquorum quenchingacylasePseudomonas - Authors: Koch G, Nadal-Jimenez P et al.
- Journal: Environmental Microbiology Reports
- Description:
- PvdQ is an acylase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa with a dual function, both as quorum quencher and as part of the pyoverdine biogenesis pathway. Here, we characterised the PvdQ homologues from two other fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. and an additional P. aeruginosa strain verifying that these functions are conserved.
Published in 2012
- The multiple signaling systems regulating virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
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Quorum sensingPseudomonassignalling pathways - Authors: Nadal-Jimenez P, Koch G, Thompson JA, Xavier KB, Cool RH, Quax WJ
- Journal: Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
- Description:
- This is the first review where all the cell-cell signalling networks of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa are compiled. I discuss here the most studied networks, as well as minor networks that are often disregarded but play important roles in the full virulence cascade of this pathogen.
Published in 2010
- The quorum-quenching N-acyl homoserine lactone acylase PvdQ is an Ntn-hydrolase with an unusual substrate-binding pocket
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Quorum sensingQuorum quenchingPseudomonasacylase - Authors: Bokhove M, Nadal Jimenez P, Quax WJ and Dijkstra BW.
- Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Description:
- Here we revealed the structure of PvdQ. This was the first quorum-quenching acylase structure solved and set the basis for the future work to alter the specificity of its substrates. The mechanism of action of this enzyme constitutes an exquisite opportunity for future work on the fight against bacterial infections.
Published in 2009
- The role of PvdQ in Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence under iron limiting conditions
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Pseudomonasacylasequorum quenchingsiderophore - Authors: Nadal Jimenez P, Koch G, Papaioannou E, Wahjudi M, Krzeslak J, Coenye T, Cool RH, Quax WJ
- Journal: Microbiology
- Description:
- In this manuscript we show how under iron limiting conditions, the acylase PvdQ is naturally expressed to participate in the biosynthesis of the siderophore pyoverdine. In addition, using a pvdQ mutant, we demonstrate that PvdQ is also required for biofilm formation, thus contributing to virulence under these conditions.