Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nilgun Ozdemir
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the structure and properties of microbial EPS-NOC219 produced by Enterococcus faecalis NOC219, a strain with high EPS yield isolated from yogurt, and to explore its potential for industrial applications. The results showed that the NOC219 strain contains specific genes and the EPS-NOC219 structure consists of glucose, galactose, and fructose units. The EPS-NOC219 exhibited thickening properties, high heat stability, pseudoplastic flow behavior, and high antioxidant and antibiofilm activities.
APPLIED BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jinglin Yue, Mingxi Hua, Nan Chen, Jiarui Li, Xinzhe Liu, Ang Duan, Huizhu Wang, Pengcheng Du, Chengbo Rong, Duo Yang, Chen Chen
Summary: In this study, we investigated the genomic differences between colonizing and infecting Enterococcus faecalis. We found that the fsr quorum-sensing system played a crucial role in promoting invasive blood infections. Additionally, fsr was associated with enhanced biofilm formation and serum resistance ability in E. faecalis.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Piotr Henryk Malecki, Pawel Mitkowski, Elzbieta Jagielska, Karolina Trochimiak, Stephane Mesnage, Izabela Sabala
Summary: The M23 family members, such as lysostaphin or LytM, are well-characterized glycyl-glycine hydrolases. Enzymes like EnpA(CD) from Enterococcus faecalis exhibit a broad specificity for cleaving D,L peptide bonds. The substrate-binding groove architecture and specificity of M23 enzymes suggest that they prefer peptides with short side chains or alternating chirality of amino acids.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Priyanka Bajaj, Kavyashree Manjunath, Raghavan Varadarajan
Summary: This study generated a comprehensive site-saturation mutagenesis library to study the protein binding sites in the CcdB toxin-antitoxin system. High-throughput strategies, coupled with genetic screens, were deployed to predict the structural and functional determinants of proteins. The study revealed the importance of certain residues in antitoxin binding and rejuvenating CcdB from the CcdB-Gyrase complex, even in the absence of structural information.
Article
Microbiology
Pourya Gholizadeh, Mohammad Aghazadeh, Reza Ghotaslou, Mohammad Ahangarzadeh Rezaee, Tahereh Pirzadeh, Longzhu Cui, Shinya Watanabe, Hadi Feizi, Hiva Kadkhoda, Hossein Samadi Kafil
Summary: The study showed a negative correlation between CRISPR-Cas loci and antibiotic resistance in Enterococcus faecalis isolates, indicating that CRISPR-Cas systems may contribute to limiting the development and evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
ANNALS OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND ANTIMICROBIALS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Noelle C. Bryan, Francois Lebreton, Michael Gilmore, Gary Ruvkun, Maria T. Zuber, Christopher E. Carr
Summary: Enterococcus faecalis isolates from the International Space Station were analyzed for their potential impact on astronaut health through pangenomic and functional analyses. The study revealed that current resources are insufficient to distinguish pathogenic strains from commensal phenotypes accurately. The reliance on experimental evaluation of genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of clinically relevant microorganisms is necessary.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ilias Apostolakos, Markella Tsigkrimani, Spiros Paramithiotis, Marios Mataragas
Summary: Enterococci have probiotic effects and can be used in fermented dairy products, but certain strains can cause nosocomial infections. Genomic analysis revealed that Enterococci have similar cellular processes, diverse resistance and virulence genes, and the ability to suppress pathogens and evade bacteriophages.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Karl Oldberg, Magnus Rasmussen
Summary: This prospective study investigated the incidence of persistent bacteremia with Enterococcus faecalis, revealing that 10% of 50 episodes had positive control blood culture. The majority of cases with persistent bacteremia also had complicated focal infections.
DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vanessa Wiltsie, Skye Travis, Madeline R. Shay, Zachary Simmons, Patrick Frantom, Matthew K. Thompson
Summary: Enterococcus faecium is a leading cause of hospital-acquired vancomycin resistant enterococci infections, with the FosB enzyme exhibiting unexpected substrate selectivity as a Mn2+-dependent L-cysteine transferase. The structural and functional characterization of FosB(Ef) may aid in the development of inhibitors to enhance the efficacy of fosfomycin.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Georgios E. Premetis, Angeliki Stathi, Anastassios C. Papageorgiou, Nikolaos E. Labrou
Summary: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, especially Enterococcus faecium, pose a significant threat to public health. In this study, a potential peptidoglycan-degrading enzyme (PDE), EfAmi1, was identified in the E. faecium genome. EfAmi1 showed strong lytic and antimicrobial activities against clinically isolated bacterial pathogens. The crystal structure of the N-terminal amidase-2 domain in EfAmi1 was determined, revealing its potential as a promising new antimicrobial agent in the post-antibiotic era.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jiwon Yeon, Sujung Oh, Eunha Hwang, Eunhee Kim, Yangmee Kim
Summary: Enterococcus faecalis has shown high antibiotic resistance recently, possibly due to the high thermostability of its proteins. The structure of EfAcpA, an acyl carrier protein essential for fatty acid synthesis, was investigated using NMR spectroscopy. EfAcpA was found to have three α-helices and a long α2α3 loop, contributing to its high thermostability. Furthermore, specific protein-protein interactions between EfAcpA and EfKAS III were identified, which may provide insights for designing PPI inhibitors targeting fatty acid synthesis in E. faecalis to overcome antibacterial resistance.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Zilong Deng, Binbin Lin, Fan Liu, Wanghong Zhao
Summary: Refractory apical periodontitis (RAP) is a persistent oral infectious disease that cannot be cured after repeated root canal therapies. The predominant pathogen involved in RAP is Enterococcus faecalis, which has evolved multiple strategies to cause persistent intraradicular and extraradicular infections. This article reviews the crucial role of E. faecalis in the pathogenesis of RAP and discusses potential prevention and treatment strategies.
JOURNAL OF ORAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Melissa R. Cruz, Shane Cristy, Shantanu Guha, Giuseppe Buda De Cesare, Elena Evdokimova, Hiram Sanchez, Dominika Borek, Pedro Miramon, Junko Yano, Paul L. Fidel, Alexei Savchenko, David R. Andes, Peter J. Stogios, Michael C. Lorenz, Danielle A. Garsin
Summary: The authors present the crystal structure of the bacteriocin EntV secreted by Enterococcus faecalis and characterize its antifungal properties in various in vitro and in vivo assays.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Rajanikant Panda, Aurore Thibaut, Ane Lopez-Gonzalez, Anira Escrichs, Mohamed Ali Bahri, Arjan Hillebrand, Gustavo Deco, Steven Laureys, Olivia Gosseries, Jitka Annen, Prejaas Tewarie, Muireann Irish
Summary: Understanding the recovery of consciousness and its underlying mechanisms is of crucial importance in basic neuroscience and medicine. This study used a time-resolved functional connectivity framework to explore the repertoire of functional network states as potential markers of consciousness, comparing patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and minimally conscious state (MCS). The findings suggest a reduction in functional network repertoire and metastability in UWS patients, supporting the role of time-resolved thalamo-cortical connections and metastability in the recovery of consciousness.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chiara Ciaccio, Andrea Coletta, Massimo Coletta
Summary: The molecular mechanism of O-2 binding to hemoglobin has been critically reviewed in this paper, providing detailed insights into the process of O-2 uptake and release in the lungs and tissues. The relevance of structural-functional relationships in O-2 binding is emphasized, particularly in poorly vascularized tissues such as the retina, and strategies for optimizing oxygen supply to these tissues are briefly discussed.
MOLECULAR ASPECTS OF MEDICINE
(2022)