Review
Microbiology
Rachit Gupta, Junhua Yuan, Pushkar P. Lele
Summary: The evolution of the bacterial flagellum allowed bacteria to move and develop a chemotaxis network to seek favorable chemical environments. The chemotaxis network detects chemical stimuli and controls flagellar functions. The flagellar motor can also detect mechanical stimuli, adapt its structure and function, and trigger a transition from planktonic to surface-associated lifestyles. Recent research has found a link between the flagellar motor's response to mechanical stimuli and chemotaxis output.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Victoria Palma, Maria Soledad Gutierrez, Orlando Vargas, Raghuveer Parthasarathy, Paola Navarrete
Summary: Bacterial motility is a common characteristic that can be studied through various methods, with three-dimensional imaging being advantageous in microscopic approaches. Understanding bacterial motility is also important for studying bacterial-host interactions.
Article
Microbiology
Elena E. Ganusova, Lam T. Vo, Tanmoy Mukherjee, Gladys Alexandre
Summary: This study investigates the roles of different CheY homologs in bacterial chemotaxis, revealing their impact on swimming, swarming, attachment to surfaces, and biofilm formation. The findings demonstrate that these CheY proteins play distinct roles in these processes.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jonathan D. Partridge
Summary: The survival and successful spread of many bacterial species depend on their mode of motility, and swarming is a distinct form of collective motility where a dense group of bacteria use flagella to move across solid surfaces. Surface environments present unique challenges due to higher friction/tension and inadequate hydration, and bacteria have developed various mechanisms to overcome these challenges. In addition to enabling bacteria to colonize new terrains without bulk liquid, swarming also provides faster speeds and enhanced antibiotic resistance to the collective, contributing to the dissemination and pathogenicity of different bacterial species.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anjali Doshi, Marian Shaw, Ruxandra Tonea, Soonhee Moon, Rosalia Minyety, Anish Doshi, Andrew Laine, Jia Guo, Tal Danino
Summary: Bacteria naturally self-organize into durable macroscale patterns on solid surfaces via swarming motility. Researchers engineered Proteus mirabilis to modify pattern features and developed quantitative approaches to decoding, demonstrating the ability to record dynamic environmental changes. This work expands the framework for engineering emergent microbial behaviors.
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Xiaolin Liu, Anna Roujeinikova, Karen M. Ottemann
Summary: FliL is a protein found in the flagellar motor of bacteria. It was previously unclear what role it plays. However, through reanalyzing studies on FliL, scientists discovered that the presence or absence of different regions of the protein affects motility. The N-terminal region is found to have a negative effect on motor function, and its removal allows normal motility.
Article
Biology
Weijie Chen, Neha Mani, Hamid Karani, Hao Li, Sridhar Mani, Jay X. Tang
Summary: In this study, by confining bacterial movement in circular microwells, it was found that swarming bacteria and planktonic bacteria exhibited different collective motion patterns within a specific size range. The observation of 'rafting behavior' of swarming bacteria upon dilution suggests a potential mechanism for the differences in motion patterns. The experimental design using PDMS microchip disk arrays enabled the observation of bacterial swarming on murine intestinal surface, providing a new method for characterizing bacterial swarming in complex environments.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ixchell Y. Sedillo-Torres, alvaro O. Hernandez-Rangel, Yolanda Gomez-y-Gomez, Daniel Cortes-Avalos, Blanca Estela Garcia-Perez, Juan C. Villalobos-Rocha, Cesar H. Hernandez-Rodriguez, Luis Gerardo Zepeda-Vallejo, Paulina Estrada-de los Santos, Maria Elena Vargas-Diaz, Jose Antonio Ibarra
Summary: An organic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. containing hibiscus acid was found to inhibit motility and reduce the secretion of virulence factors in Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Typhimurium. The compound was not toxic to eukaryotic cells and could reduce the invasion of Salmonella Typhimurium in epithelial cells. Initial studies suggested that the mode of action of hibiscus acid might involve the disruption of membrane proton balance.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cynthia Alias-Villegas, Francisco Fuentes-Romero, Virginia Cuellar, Pilar Navarro-Gomez, Maria J. Soto, Jose-Maria Vinardell, Sebastian Acosta-Jurado
Summary: Bacteria can spread on surfaces to colonize new environments. Flavonoids and bacterial transcriptional activator NodD have an impact on the surface motility of Sinorhizobium fredii HH103.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Marek Bogacz, Faiha M. El Abbar, Claudia A. Cox, Jiaqi Li, Jarred S. Fiedler, Lynn K. H. Tran, Paul M. H. Tran, C. Luke Daugherty, Kate H. Blake, Zhirui Wang, Parastoo Azadi, Stuart A. Thompson
Summary: The study identified the FliW binding site on CsrA in Campylobacter jejuni and found that specific mutations (V51A and N55A) significantly decreased FliW binding. These mutations, as well as the conservation of certain residues in bacterial species, suggest a potential regulation mechanism by FliW in bacterial CsrA proteins.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Panmei Jiang, Yingxiang Ye, Jian Liu, Fangbin Wang
Summary: This study shows that the antidiabetic drug metformin may pose a concern as an emerging pollutant in natural ecosystems. It was found that metformin promotes bacterial surface aggregation by reducing swimming motility, which is mediated by flagella. The decrease in swimming motility is caused by a decrease in the proton motive force. These findings highlight the pronounced effect of metformin on flagellated bacterial motility associated with surface sensing and aggregation.
JOURNAL OF BASIC MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elena A. Zehr, Antonina Roll-Mecak
Summary: Two separate studies have reported high-resolution structures of the almost complete central apparatus, providing insights into the mechanism of ciliary beating and advancing our molecular understanding of cilia architecture and function.
NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marko Nedeljkovic, Diego Emiliano Sastre, Eric John Sundberg
Summary: The bacterial flagellum is a complex nanomachine that propels bacteria through liquids, playing critical roles in survival, reproduction, and pathogenicity. Additionally, flagellins have potential as adjuvants in vaccine development.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Dominika Trzilova, Mercedes A. H. Warren, Nicole C. Gadda, Caitlin L. Williams, Rita Tamayo
Summary: C. difficile exhibits heterogeneity in swimming motility and toxin production through phase variation by site-specific DNA recombination. The ability of C. difficile to phase vary flagella and toxins influences colonization and disease development, indicating that the phenotypic variants generated by flagellar switch inversion have distinct capacities for causing disease.
Article
Microbiology
Yunjie Chang, Hui Xu, Md A. Motaleb, Jun Liu
Summary: Researchers have discovered a multiprotein collar complex in Lyme disease spirochetes, which exhibits remarkable structural plasticity to accommodate the highly curved membrane and generate the high torque necessary for spirochete motility.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Florian Rossmann, Susanne Brenzinger, Carina Knauer, Anja K. Doerrich, Sebastian Bubendorfer, Ulrike Ruppert, Gert Bange, Kai M. Thormann
MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2015)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jan S. Schuhmacher, Florian Rossmann, Felix Dempwolff, Carina Knauer, Florian Altegoer, Wieland Steinchen, Anja K. Doerrich, Andreas Klingl, Milena Stephan, Uwe Linne, Kai M. Thormann, Gert Bange
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2015)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alvaro Banderas, Mihaly Koltai, Alexander Anders, Victor Sourjik
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2016)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicholas M. Thomson, Florian M. Rossmann, Josie L. Ferreira, Teige R. Matthews-Palmer, Morgan Beeby, Mark J. Pallen
TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Florian M. Rossmann, Morgan Beeby
ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D-STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Microbiology
Florian M. Rossmann, Tim Rick, Devid Mrusek, Lasse Sprankel, Anja K. Doerrich, Tabea Leonhard, Sebastian Bubendorfer, Volkhard Kaever, Gert Bange, Kai M. Thormann
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marco J. Kuehn, Felix K. Schmidt, Nicola E. Farthing, Florian M. Rossmann, Bina Helm, Laurence G. Wilson, Bruno Eckhardt, Kai M. Thormann
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2018)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Josie L. Ferreira, Forson Z. Gao, Florian M. Rossmann, Andrea Nans, Susanne Brenzinger, Rohola Hosseini, Amanda Wilson, Ariane Briegel, Kai M. Thormann, Peter B. Rosenthal, Morgan Beeby
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Florian M. Rossmann, Isabelle Hug, Matteo Sangermani, Urs Jenal, Morgan Beeby
MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Mihaly Koltai, Vincent Noel, Andrei Zinovyev, Laurence Calzone, Emmanuel Barillot
BMC BIOINFORMATICS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vitan Blagotinsek, Meike Schwan, Wieland Steinchen, Devid Mrusek, John C. Hook, Florian Rossmann, Sven A. Freibert, Hanna Kratzat, Guillaume Murat, Dieter Kressler, Roland Beckmann, Morgan Beeby, Kai M. Thormann, Gert Bange
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Luca Csabai, David Fazekas, Tamas Kadlecsik, Mate Szalay-Beko, Balazs Bohar, Matthew Madgwick, Dezso Modos, Marton Olbei, Lejla Gul, Padhmanand Sudhakar, Janos Kubisch, Oyebode James Oyeyemi, Orsolya Liska, Eszter Ari, Bernadette Hotzi, Viktor A. Billes, Eszter Molnar, Laszlo Foldvari-Nagy, Kitti Csalyi, Amanda Demeter, Nora Papai, Mihaly Koltai, Mate Varga, Katalin Lenti, Illes J. Farkas, Denes Tuerei, Peter Csermely, Tibor Vellai, Tamas Korcsmaros
Summary: SignaLink3 is a value-added knowledge-base that provides manually curated data on signaling pathways for humans and three major animal model organisms, integrating gene expression data and subcellular localization information to allow more accurate tissue- or compartment-specific pathway interaction analysis. The data is freely available for download in widely used formats, such as CSV, PSI-MI TAB or SQL.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
David Hodgson, Mihaly Koltai, Fabienne Krauer, Stefan Flasche, Mark Jit, Katherine E. Atkins
Summary: This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of Nirsevimab intervention programs in England and Wales, indicating that they have the potential to be a cost-effective approach for preventing and treating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in infants.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Mihaly Koltai, Fabienne Krauer, David Hodgson, Edwin van Leeuwen, Marina Treskova-Schwarzbach, Mark Jit, Stefan Flasche
Summary: The study found that COVID-19 mitigation measures in the UK halted the circulation of RSV in the 2020/21 season, leading to an early off-season resurgence in 2021. Increased dependence of infection susceptibility on immunity from previous exposure further amplified the size of the off-season epidemic.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Mihaly Koltai, Jocelyn Moyes, Bryan Nyawanda, Joyce Nyiro, Patrick K. Munywoki, Stefano Tempia, Xiao Li, Marina Antillon, Joke Bilcke, Stefan Flasche, Philippe Beutels, D. James Nokes, Cheryl Cohen, Mark Jit
Summary: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes a significant burden of acute lower respiratory infection in children under 5 years, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Maternal vaccine (MV) and next-generation monoclonal antibody (mAb) candidates have shown effectiveness in reducing RSV disease. Original hospital-based data from South Africa and Kenya suggest that interventions against RSV disease may be more cost-effective than previously estimated.