Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yijun Yin, Yanjun Tong, Hailin Yang, Shoushuai Feng
Summary: The MarR family, as multiple antibiotic resistance regulators, is associated with the resistance of organisms to unfavorable conditions. MarR family extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)-associated transcriptional regulator (EpsR(Ac)) was closely associated with copper resistance in Acidithiobacillus caldus (A. caldus). EpsR(Ac) negatively regulates its own gene expression, while Cu(II) mitigates this negative effect.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Fanny Nazaret, Genevieve Alloing, Karine Mandon, Pierre Frendo
Summary: The relationship between plants and associated soil microorganisms plays a crucial role in ecosystem functioning. This review focuses on MarR-like transcriptional regulators and their mechanisms of plant-signal perception, including how they help bacteria cope with the rhizosphere and plant endosphere, regulate the beneficial functions of Plant-Growth-Promoting Bacteria, and regulate the virulence of phytopathogenic bacteria.
Article
Plant Sciences
Hanmei Liu, Yongbin Wang, Lijun Liu, Bin Wei, Xieqin Wang, Qianlin Xiao, Yangping Li, Babatope Samuel Ajayo, Yubi Huang
Summary: This study identified 202 bHLH encoding genes in the maize genome, and found that the ZmICE1 gene is expressed in maize filling endosperm and is co-expressed with 14 starch biosynthesis genes. Comparative analyses revealed that the gene structures and protein domains of the ICE subfamily were conserved between monocots and dicots. Functional experiments showed that ZmICE1 has transcriptional activation activity and is localized in the nucleus. It was also found that ZmICE1 can directly bind to the promoters of ZmSSIIa and ZmGBSSI, positively regulating the expression of ZmSSIIa and inhibiting the expression of ZmGBSSI.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Karolina Kotecka, Adam Kawalek, Kamil Kobylecki, Aneta Agnieszka Bartosik
Summary: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a dangerous pathogen for immunocompromised patients due to its antibiotic resistance, adaptability, and genetic plasticity. Through the study of PA3458, a MarR-type transcriptional regulator in P. aeruginosa, it was found that PA3458 plays a role in regulating the expression of stress response genes, specifically involved in osmoprotection, essential for bacterial adaptation in high osmolarity environments.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xiao Wang, Lanyi Xu, Qimiao Xu, Kexin Wang, Lu Xu, Yinhu Jiang, Siqiong Xu, Qing Hong, Jian He, Jiguo Qiu
Summary: This study investigated the degradation and regulatory characteristics of Picolinic acid (PA) by a soil bacterium Bordetella petrii strain MY10. The deletion of picRMY10 gene shortened the lag phase of PA degradation. Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) revealed that PicRMY10 bound to the promoter regions of picA, picB, picC, and picRMY10. Key amino acid residues R19, Q22, and V73 played crucial roles in the regulation of PicRMY10. The study provides new insights into the biodiversity of regulatory mechanisms of PA biodegradation by bacteria in nature.
INTERNATIONAL BIODETERIORATION & BIODEGRADATION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Asma S. Khelifa, Cecilia Guillen Sanchez, Kevin M. Lesage, Ludovic Huot, Thomas Mouveaux, Pierre Pericard, Nicolas Barois, Helene Touzet, Guillemette Marot, Emmanuel Roger, Mathieu Gissot
Summary: Khelifa et al. identified a key transcriptional regulator, TgAP2IX-5, in the model Apicomplexan Toxoplasma gondii, which controls the timing of daughter cell emergence and regulates the expression of necessary transcription factors for completion of the budding cycle. Additionally, TgAP2IX-5 acts as a limiting factor by promoting the inhibition of the differentiation pathway, ensuring the continuation of asexual proliferation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Julie M. Garlick, Steven M. Sturlis, Paul A. Bruno, Joel A. Yates, Amanda L. Peiffer, Yejun Liu, Laura Goo, LiWei Bao, Samantha N. De Salle, Giselle Tamayo-Castillo, Charles L. Brooks, Sofia D. Merajver, Anna K. Mapp
Summary: Inhibitors of transcriptional protein-protein interactions have high value for both tools and therapeutic applications. This study demonstrates that norstictic acid, a depsidone natural product, blocks Med25-transcriptional activator PPIs through an alternative binding site, providing opportunities for inhibitor discovery in challenging proteins with structurally dynamic loops.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
S. Mauran, N. T. Perera, I. C. Perera
Summary: The study found that in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the transcriptional regulator MxyR encoded by gene mxyR interacts specifically with its upstream intergenic region mxyO, and this binding is influenced by specific carbohydrate ligands. This interaction alters the conformation of the DNA binding helix alpha 4, rendering the transcriptional regulator incompatible with binding to its cognate DNA, thereby allowing genes such as xylanase to be transcribed.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Huangwei Xu, Guanhua Xuan, Huaiwei Liu, Yongzhen Xia, Luying Xun
Summary: Sulfane sulfur is a common signal in bacteria, involved in sulfur metabolism and activation of antibiotic resistance genes. Some members of the MarR family can sense cellular sulfane sulfur to activate gene expression.
Article
Cell Biology
Dakota L. Jones, Jeffrey A. Meridew, Patrick A. Link, Merrick T. Ducharme, Katherine L. Lydon, Kyoung M. Choi, Nunzia Caporarello, Qi Tan, Ana Maria Diaz Espinosa, Yuning Xiong, Jeong-Heon Lee, Zhenqing Ye, Huihuang Yan, Tamas Ordog, Giovanni Ligresti, Xaralabos Varelas, Daniel J. Tschumperlin
Summary: The study showed that higher matrix stiffness significantly increased chromatin accessibility, with genomic loci related to fibroblast phenotype being in close proximity. Motif analysis suggested ZNF416 as a potential mediator of fibroblast stiffness responses, and ChIP-seq analysis confirmed ZNF416's occupancy in profibrotic genes.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Evan O. Paull, Alvaro Aytes, Sunny J. Jones, Prem S. Subramaniam, Federico M. Giorgi, Eugene F. Douglass, Somnath Tagore, Brennan Chu, Alessandro Vasciaveo, Siyuan Zheng, Roel Verhaak, Cory Abate-Shen, Mariano J. Alvarez, Andrea Califano
Summary: Using a network-based approach, 407 master regulator proteins were identified to canalize individual cancer samples into 112 transcriptionally distinct tumor subtypes. These proteins were organized into 24 pan-cancer master regulator block modules regulating key cancer hallmarks and predictive of patient outcome. Genomic alterations were predicted to induce aberrant MR activity, providing insight into mechanisms linking tumor genetics and transcriptional identity.
Article
Microbiology
Angelica Pellegrini, Germana Lentini, Agata Fama, Andrea Bonacorsi, Viola Camilla Scoffone, Silvia Buroni, Gabriele Trespidi, Umberto Postiglione, Davide Sassera, Federico Manai, Giampiero Pietrocola, Arnaud Firon, Carmelo Biondo, Giuseppe Teti, Concetta Beninati, Giulia Barbieri
Summary: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is able to switch from a harmless commensal to a pathogen responsible for neonatal meningitis. This study investigates the role of CodY, a global transcriptional regulator, in GBS virulence. Deletion of codY reduces the ability of the mutant strain to cause infections in animal models. CodY controls gene expression related to amino acid transport and metabolism, as well as surface proteins and virulence factors. Its activity is dependent on the availability of branched-chain amino acids.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Noam Kadouri, Tal Givony, Shir Nevo, Joschka Hey, Shifra Ben Dor, Golda Damari, Bareket Dassa, Jan Dobes, Dieter Weichenhan, Marion Bahr, Michelle Paulsen, Rebecca Haffner-Krausz, Marcus A. Mall, Christoph Plass, Yael Goldfarb, Jakub Abramson
Summary: This study reveals the importance of FOXN1 in the development of thymic epithelial cells and hair follicle cells, and identifies key regulatory regions and transcription factors involved in its expression.
SCIENCE IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuan-Chao Lou, Hsuan-Yu Huang, Hsin-Hong Yeh, Wei-Hung Chiang, Chinpan Chen, Kuen-Phon Wu
Summary: This study reports the structure of a bacterial PmrA-dependent transcription activation complex, which reveals that RNAPH interacts with the C-terminal DNA-binding domain of PmrA via electrostatic interactions and reorients the DBD, resulting in a dynamic TAC conformation. In vivo assays show that substitution of the DNA-recognition residue eliminates its transcriptional activity, while variants with altered RNAPH-interacting residues result in enhanced transcriptional activity. These findings suggest the importance of both PmrA recognition-induced DNA distortion and promoter escape in its transcriptional activation.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ying Liu, Sabir Khan, Panpan Wu, Bowen Li, Lanlan Liu, Jingshu Ni, Hongxia Zhang, Ketao Chen, Hang Wu, Buchang Zhang
Summary: The study identified a novel TetR-family transcriptional regulator, SACE_0303, correlated with erythromycin production in Sac. erythraea. It was found to positively regulate erythromycin biosynthesis by directly repressing a MarR-family regulator and indirectly stimulating erythromycin biosynthetic and resistance genes. This research provides insight into the regulatory network of TFRs and offers a strategy for enhancing antibiotic production in industrial actinomycetes.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Janko Sattler, Janina Noster, Anne Brunke, Georg Plum, Pia Wiegel, Oliver Kurzai, Jacques F. Meis, Axel Hamprecht
Summary: In this study, two commercially available PCR assays were used to detect C. auris, with AurisID showing reliable detection but potential false positives with related species, while Fungiplex Candida Auris RUO demonstrated higher sensitivity and better specificity for C. auris detection.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chunlei Jiao, Sahil Sharma, Gaurav Dugar, Natalia L. Peeck, Thorsten Bischler, Franziska Wimmer, Yanying Yu, Lars Barquist, Christoph Schoen, Oliver Kurzai, Cynthia M. Sharma, Chase L. Beisel
Summary: The study found that tracrRNA hybridizing with cellular RNAs can lead to the formation of new crRNAs capable of guiding DNA targeting by Cas9. Reprogrammed tracrRNAs linking the presence of RNA of interest to DNA targeting were used in the LEOPARD diagnostic platform, allowing simultaneous detection of RNAs from different viruses in one test.
Article
Microbiology
Sofia Siscar-Lewin, Toni Gabaldon, Alexander M. Aldejohann, Oliver Kurzai, Bernhard Hube, Sascha Brunke
Summary: Loss or inactivation of antivirulence genes is an adaptive strategy in pathogen evolution. Candida glabrata has evolved to increase azole resistance and survive in phagocytes by positively selecting for mitochondrial DNA polymerase CgMip1. Deletion of CgMIP1 triggers a petite phenotype, enhancing resistance to antifungals and immune defenses, potentially contributing to the rise in infections caused by C. glabrata.
Article
Microbiology
Daniel Loos, Lu Zhang, Christine Beemelmanns, Oliver Kurzai, Gianni Panagiotou
Summary: A web server dedicated to the comprehensive analysis of the human mycobiome has been developed, demonstrating its utility on large scale datasets and showing differences in fungal communities between human skin and soil sites using publicly available ITS samples.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Janina Noster, Martin B. Koeppel, Marie Desnos-Olivier, Maria Aigner, Oliver Bader, Karl Dichtl, Stephan Goettig, Andrea Haas, Oliver Kurzai, Arthur B. Pranada, Yvonne Stelzer, Grit Walther, Axel Hamprecht
Summary: Magnusiomyces clavatus and Magnusiomyces capitatus are emerging yeasts with intrinsic resistance to many commonly used antifungal agents. Identification and susceptibility testing of these yeasts are challenging. This study found that M. clavatus was the most common species causing bloodstream infections, and it had lower resistance to voriconazole. Gradient tests showed low agreement and should not be used for susceptibility testing of Magnusiomyces spp.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Letter
Respiratory System
Philipp Koehler, Saskia von Stillfried, Jorge Garcia Borrega, Frieder Fuchs, Jon Salmanton-Garcia, Fabian Pult, Boris Boell, Dennis A. Eichenauer, Alexander Shimabukuro-Vornhagen, Oliver Kurzai, Peter Boor, Matthias Kochanek, Oliver A. Cornely
EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Tamara Zoran, Bastian Seelbinder, Philip Lewis White, Jessica Sarah Price, Sabrina Kraus, Oliver Kurzai, Joerg Linde, Antje Haeder, Claudia Loeffler, Goetz Ulrich Grigoleit, Hermann Einsele, Gianni Panagiotou, Juergen Loeffler, Sascha Schaeuble
Summary: Despite available diagnostic tests and recent advances, the diagnosis of pulmonary invasive aspergillosis (IPA) remains challenging. This study identified potential host molecular candidates indicating IPA in patients post allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) through a longitudinal case-control pilot study. The results suggest that considering the human immune response during Aspergillus infection could improve the accuracy of IPA diagnostic tools.
Article
Microbiology
Frieder Fuchs, Alexander Maximilian Aldejohann, Ada Marie Hoffmann, Grit Walther, Oliver Kurzai, Axel G. Hamprecht
Summary: The antifungal activity of nitroxoline was assessed in yeasts from urinary tract infections, and the results showed that nitroxoline is highly effective against various Candida species, regardless of resistance to other antifungal agents.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Review
Dermatology
Alexander Maximilian Aldejohann, Miriam Wiese-Posselt, Petra Gastmeier, Oliver Kurzai
Summary: Candida auris is a yeast pathogen that exhibits multi-drug resistance and is easily transmitted in hospital settings. Effective containment requires a multi-disciplinary approach and interventions vary depending on patient colonization/infection and the presence of transmission or outbreaks.
Article
Neurosciences
Leo M. Endres, Marvin Jungblut, Mustafa Divyapicigil, Markus Sauer, Christian Stigloher, Myron Christodoulides, Brandon J. Kim, Alexandra Schubert-Unkmeir
Summary: The study established physiologically relevant mBCSFB models by co-culturing induced pluripotent stem cell-derived BECs or hCMEC/D3 with meningioma-derived LMCs and found that LMC co-culture improved barrier properties of iBECs. These novel models allow for a better understanding of Neisseria meningitidis interaction at the mBCSFB.
FLUIDS AND BARRIERS OF THE CNS
(2022)
Letter
Respiratory System
Isabell Wagenhaeuser, Julia Reusch, Alexander Gabel, Anna Hoehn, Thien-Tri Lam, Giovanni Almanzar, Martina Prelog, Lukas B. Krone, Anna Frey, Alexandra Schubert-Unkmeir, Lars Doelken, Stefan Frantz, Oliver Kurzai, Ulrich Vogel, Nils Petri, Manuel Krone
EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Virology
Julia Reusch, Isabell Wagenhaeuser, Alexander Gabel, Annika Eggestein, Anna Hoehn, Thien-Tri Lam, Anna Frey, Alexandra Schubert-Unkmeir, Lars Doelken, Stefan Frantz, Oliver Kurzai, Ulrich Vogel, Manuel Krone, Nils Petri
Summary: This study assesses factors influencing the levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2-spike IgG after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. It finds that the number of COVID-19 vaccinations is associated with significantly increased antibody levels, and hybrid COVID-19 immunized respondents have higher antibody titers compared to convalescent only healthcare workers. Antibody levels decline with time after the second vaccination. Smoking and higher age are associated with lower antibody levels.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Mycology
Thalline Rafhaella Leite Cordeiro, Grit Walther, Hyang Burm Lee, Thuong Thuong Thi Nguyen, Carlos Alberto Fragoso de Souza, Diogo Xavier Lima, Rafael Jose Vilela de Oliveira, Aristoteles Goes-Neto, Luiz Marcelo Ribeiro Tome, Oliver Kurzai, Kerstin Voigt, Andre Luiz Cabral Monteiro de Azevedo Santiago
Summary: The genus Backusella includes saprobe species commonly isolated from soil and leaf litter, as well as from wood, invertebrates, and toads. Molecular species recognition in Backusella has been based on the ITS and LSU regions, but the gene encoding RNA polymerase II largest subunit (RPB1) was established as a phylogenetic marker. The ITS/LSU and RPB1 trees showed similar topologies. The maximum growth temperature is shown to be a valuable taxonomic feature in Backusella, and two new species, Backusella gigaspora sp. nov. and B. pernambucensis sp. nov., were described based on molecular phylogenetic analyses, morphology, and physiological features (maximum growth temperature).
MYCOLOGICAL PROGRESS
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Isabell Wagenhaeuser, Julia Reusch, Alexander Gabel, Juliane Mees, Helmut Nyawale, Anna Frey, Thien-Tri Lam, Alexandra Schubert-Unkmeir, Lars Doelken, Oliver Kurzai, Stefan Frantz, Nils Petri, Manuel Krone, Lukas B. Krone
Summary: Sleep interacts with immune response; sleep loss reduces vaccine immunogenicity. Mental health and sleep quality do not significantly impact COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity. COVID-19 vaccines do not worsen sleep quality. Results inform clinical practice for recommending COVID-19 booster vaccinations for individuals with mental health and sleep problems.
JOURNAL OF SLEEP RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Enrico Garbe, Nadja Thielemann, Sina Hohner, Animesh Kumar, Slavena Vylkova, Oliver Kurzai, Ronny Martin
Summary: The formation of hyphae is crucial for the virulence of Candida albicans, as it allows for adhesion to and invasion of host cells. This study focused on the ECE1 gene, which encodes a precursor protein that is important for the secretion of the toxic peptide candidalysin. The researchers identified the minimal length of the ECE1 promoter to be 1,500 bp and discovered that the TATA element required for gene expression is located upstream of the start codon. These findings highlight the complex regulatory machinery controlling the expression of the ECE1 gene.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)