Article
Plant Sciences
Minji Seo, Ji-Young Lee
Summary: Xylem development in Arabidopsis root apical meristem involves a complex interplay between plant hormone signaling and transcription factors. AHL4, a member of the AT-hook family TFs, regulates xylem differentiation by mediating intercellular movement of signaling molecules. Domain swapping analysis identified three distinct protein modules in AHL4: the PPC domain for protein-protein interactions, the N-terminus for DNA-binding activity in xylem development regulation, and the C-terminus for intercellular mobility. Characterizing these modules in AHL4 enhances understanding of regulatory complexity and evolution of intercellular mobility in AHL4 and related proteins.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonathan J. Knowlton, Daniel Gestaut, Boxue Ma, Gwen Taylor, Alpay Burak Seven, Alexander Leitner, Gregory J. Wilson, Sreejesh Shanker, Nathan A. Yates, B. V. Venkataram Prasad, Ruedi Aebersold, Wah Chiu, Judith Frydman, Terence S. Dermody
Summary: The TRiC chaperonin plays a crucial role in folding and assembly of the reovirus sigma 3 capsid protein, interacting with a network of chaperones including prefoldin. This study sheds light on the molecular dynamics of sigma 3 folding and establishes a biological function for TRiC in virus assembly, while also providing structural and functional insights into how TRiC and prefoldin participate in protein complex assembly.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Jiangtao Chen, Huan Zhu, Rong Wang, Xiangbin Su, Zongcai Ruan, Yufeng Pan, Qionglin Peng
Summary: Protein phosphorylation plays a crucial role in sexual development and behavior. This study identified 13 kinases involved in sexual development in Drosophila, with PKA and CASK promoting female sexual behavior. Understanding how kinases regulate neuronal development and physiology provides insights into the robustness of sexual behaviors.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wei Huang, Yue He, Renwang Jiang, Zixin Deng, Feng Long
Summary: Cardiotonic steroids (CTSs) are important drugs for treating heart failure. Glycosylation of CTSs plays a significant role in their pharmacological applications. Plant steroid 3-O-glycosyltransferase (S3GT) is a tool to achieve CTS glycosylation, but a S3GT with both substrate and sugar donor promiscuity is still unidentified. This study identified and characterized a plant S3GT, UGT74AN2, and revealed the molecular basis for CTS glycosylation. Additionally, an engineered variant of UGT74AN2 with enhanced sugar donor promiscuity was constructed.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cansu Kuecuekkoese, Asli Aras Taskin, Adinarayana Marada, Tilman Brummer, Sven Dennerlein, Friederike-Nora Voegtle
Summary: The mitochondrial proteome is mainly built and maintained through the import of nuclear-encoded precursor proteins, utilizing N-terminal presequences as targeting signals. Knockout of the PreP gene causes defects in mitochondrial function, oxidative phosphorylation, and changes in the nuclear expression of stress response genes. This reveals a crucial role of PreP in precursor processing and maintenance of a functional organellar proteome in human mitochondria.
Article
Microbiology
Deborah Kang, Hyeong-In Ham, Seung-Hwan Lee, Yong-Joon Cho, Yeon-Ran Kim, Chang-Kyu Yoon, Yeong-Jae Seok
Summary: Research systematically analyzed the PTS components of F. prausnitzii in the human colon, identifying 16 genes encoding putative PTS components and determining the components responsible for phosphotransfer reactions and sugar-specific PTS components, providing insights into how F. prausnitzii outcompetes other bacterial species in the human intestine.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Pengyu Zong, Jianlin Feng, Zhichao Yue, Yunfeng Li, Gongxiong Wu, Baonan Sun, Yanlin He, Barbara Miller, Albert S. Yu, Zhongping Su, Jia Xie, Yasuo Mori, Bing Hao, Lixia Yue
Summary: Enhanced excitotoxicity mediated by TRPM2-NMDAR coupling is identified as a novel mechanism underlying neuronal death in ischemic stroke, providing a potential therapeutic target.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andres Miguel-Arribas, Jorge Val-Calvo, Cesar Gago-Cordoba, Jose M. Izquierdo, David Abia, Ling Juan Wu, Jeff Errington, Wilfried J. J. Meijer
Summary: This study describes a novel bipartite antitermination system, named conAn, prevalent among conjugative elements from Gram-positive bacteria. The system consists of a large RNA element exerting antitermination and a protein serving as a processivity factor. In addition to allowing coordinated expression of long operons, these systems also enable differential gene expression within an operon and may contribute to strict regulation of conjugation genes by minimizing the effects of spurious transcription.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Zhou Song, Lei Zuo, Cui Li, Yiming Tian, Hongning Wang
Summary: Copper ions can significantly accelerate the conjugative transfer of SXT/R391 ICE, enhancing DNA transfer between bacteria, with the production of ROS and cell membrane permeability playing critical roles, and influencing the expression of related genes.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fernando Valenzuela-Gomez, Ignacio Arechaga, Elena Cabezon
Summary: Bacterial conjugation is the main mechanism for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes. In this study, nanopore technology was used to investigate the unfolding states of the relaxase-DNA complex during translocation. The unfolding pathway of the relaxase depends on the tyrosine residue involved in conjugative DNA binding. This study provides new insights for applying nanopore sensing to study protein secretion.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Christine K. Rummel, Miriam Gagliardi, Ruhel Ahmad, Alexander Herholt, Laura Jimenez-Barron, Vanessa Murek, Liesa Weigert, Anna Hausruckinger, Susanne Maidl, Barbara Hauger, Florian J. Raabe, Christina Fuerle, Lucia Trastulla, Gustavo Turecki, Matthias Eder, Moritz J. Rossner, Michael J. Ziller
Summary: This study conducted variant-to-function mapping in disease-relevant neural cell types to investigate the role of genetic variants in schizophrenia. By integrating multiple datasets, the functional variants were linked to target genes, biological processes, and alterations in neuronal physiology, providing insights into the context-dependent molecular processes modulated by schizophrenia-associated genetic variation.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Guosheng Zhang, Jiping Chen, Weiying Li
Summary: This study found that plasmid RP4 can promote bacterial colonization on microplastics, potentially due to the synthesis of conjugative pili proteins and intracellular ATP. Nanoalumina was found to promote bacterial colonization, while free nitrous acid inhibited bacterial colonization.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Virology
Nisha Asok Kumar, Sreenath Muraleedharan Suma, Umerali Kunnakkadan, Joydeep Nag, Reshma Koolaparambil Mukesh, Douglas S. Lyles, John Bernet Johnson
Summary: This study found that VSV infection resulted in down-regulation of CD46 protein, but not CD55, and the mRNA of RCAs was significantly down-regulated by VSV, but with a delay in the case of CD55. Immunoblot analysis showed an equal distribution ratio of CD55 and CD46 relative to viral proteins in the progeny virion harvested at specific time intervals.
Review
Plant Sciences
Lei Qin, Xintong Wu, Hang Zhao
Summary: Plant architecture is a combination of traits that are important for capturing light energy and adapting to the environment. LIGULELESS1 (LG1), a key gene involved in leaf angle and flower development, plays a crucial role in regulating plant growth. Understanding the gene regulatory functions of LG1, particularly its relationship with genes related to leaf angle, can lead to precise control of plant phenotypes and increased crop yield.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Diana Mahdessian, Anthony J. Cesnik, Christian Gnann, Frida Danielsson, Lovisa Stenstrom, Muhammad Arif, Cheng Zhang, Trang Le, Fredric Johansson, Rutger Shutten, Anna Backstrom, Ulrika Axelsson, Peter Thul, Nathan H. Cho, Oana Carja, Mathias Uhlen, Adil Mardinoglu, Charlotte Stadler, Cecilia Lindskog, Burcu Ayoglu, Manuel D. Leonetti, Fredrik Ponten, Devin P. Sullivan, Emma Lundberg
Summary: The study comprehensively mapped spatial and temporal variations among individual human cell proteomes across the cell cycle, revealing that approximately one-fifth of the human proteome displays cell-to-cell variability. The researchers identified hundreds of proteins with previously unknown associations with mitosis and the cell cycle, and found evidence suggesting that some of these proteins have oncogenic functions.
Article
Microbiology
Isabel Sorg, Christoph Schmutz, Yun-Yueh Lu, Katja Fromm, Lena K. Siewert, Alexandra Bogli, Kathrin Strack, Alexander Harms, Christoph Dehio
CELL HOST & MICROBE
(2020)
Article
Cell Biology
Sophie Bleves, Jorge E. Galan, Matxalen Llosa
CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Arantza Basauri, Cristina Gonzalez-Fernandez, Marcos Fallanza, Eugenio Bringas, Raul Fernandez-Lopez, Laura Giner, Gabriel Moncalian, Fernando de la Cruz, Inmaculada Ortiz
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Lorena Gonzalez-Montes, Irene del Campo, M. Pilar Garcillan-Barcia, Fernando de la Cruz, Gabriel Moncalian
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Paula Iruzubieta, Juan M. Medina, Raul Fernandez-Lopez, Javier Crespo, Fernando de la Cruz
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2020)
Editorial Material
Genetics & Heredity
Susana Brom, Elisabeth Grohman, Matxalen Llosa
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Santiago Redondo-Salvo, Raul Fernandez-Lopez, Raul Ruiz, Luis Vielva, Maria de Toro, Eduardo P. C. Rocha, M. Pilar Garcillan-Barcia, Fernando de la Cruz
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
Sara Samperio, Dolores L. Guzman-Herrador, Rigoberto May-Cuz, Maria Cruz Martin, Miguel A. alvarez, Matxalen Llosa
Summary: By using bacterial conjugation as a new tool, genetic modifications have been successfully introduced into many biotechnologically relevant laboratory and wild type lactobacilli, including other genera for which no transformation protocol was previously reported. The study also serendipitously discovered transconjugants in researcher-contaminant Staphylococcus epidermidis.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Jose F. Delgado-Blas, Cristina M. Ovejero, Sophia David, Natalia Montero, William Calero-Caceres, M. Pilar Garcillan-Barcia, Fernando de la Cruz, Maite Muniesa, David M. Aanensen, Bruno Gonzalez-Zorn
Summary: The study found that bacteria in wastewater are more resistant to antibiotics and primarily adapt through a diverse set of plasmids, whereas bacteria in rivers mainly adapt through chromosomal changes.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Santiago Redondo-Salvo, Roger Bartomeus-Penalver, Luis Vielva, Kaitlin A. Tagg, Hattie E. Webb, Raul Fernandez-Lopez, Fernando de la Cruz
Summary: Plasmids play a key role in spreading antibiotic resistance, virulence, and other adaptive traits in bacteria. COPLA is a bioinformatic tool that offers a universal, species-independent method for plasmid classification based on average nucleotide identity metrics, helping geneticists and microbiologists quickly classify plasmids. The automated pipeline implemented by COPLA successfully assigned a significant portion of unclassified plasmids to known plasmid taxonomic units (PTUs), with a large fraction representing novel PTUs.
BMC BIOINFORMATICS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Carolina Palencia-Gandara, Maria Getino, Gabriel Moyano, Santiago Redondo, Raul Fernandez-Lopez, Bruno Gonzalez-Zorn, Fernando de la Cruz
Summary: Inhibiting plasmid conjugation is a proposed strategy to combat the spread of antibiotic resistance. The synthetic fatty acid 2-HDA has been shown to significantly lower the frequency of plasmid conjugation in controlled environments, demonstrating its potential for clinical and environmental applications in preventing antibiotic resistance propagation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Charles Coluzzi, Maria Pilar Garcillan-Barcia, Fernando de la Cruz, Eduardo P. C. Rocha
Summary: Conjugation drives the horizontal transfer of adaptive traits across prokaryotes, and the evolution of plasmid mobility is frequent and shapes the patterns of gene flow in bacteria and the ecology of plasmids.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Hattie E. Webb, Kaitlin A. Tagg, Justin Y. Kim, Elizabeth A. Miller, Timothy J. Johnson, Arancha Penil-Celis, Fernando de la Cruz, Jason P. Folster
Summary: This study provides five Salmonella Reading reference genomes collected from US patients between 2016 and 2018, offering important data for further investigation of the outbreak linked to raw turkey products.
MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Hattie E. Webb, Justin Y. Kim, Kaitlin A. Tagg, Fernando de la Cruz, Arancha Penil-Celis, Beth Tolar, Zachary Ellison, Colin Schwensohn, Joshua Brandenburg, Megin Nichols, Jason P. Folster
Summary: This study reports 18 Salmonella Hadar genomes from samples collected from patients in the United States between 2014 and 2020, addressing the lack of reference genomes for this serotype.
MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Dolores L. Guzman-Herrador, Andrea Fernandez-Gomez, Matxalen Llosa
Summary: Bacterial secretion systems play a crucial role in the selective exchange of macromolecules between bacteria and their environment, which is important for processes like horizontal gene transfer and virulence. Type III, IV and VI secretion systems have the potential to be used as customized injectors due to their ability to inject substrates into human cells. Understanding substrate recognition and engineering secretion signals are necessary to achieve this. Recent advances have allowed for the engineering of secretion signals to accomplish translocation of heterologous substrates by T3SS, and to a lesser extent, T4SS and T6SS into human cells.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)