Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Ishpriya Sharma, Congling Chen, Drashti Daraji, James R. Horn, Timothy J. Hagen
Summary: Methionine aminopeptidases (MetAp) are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of the N-terminal methionine residue from nascent proteins, and they are attractive targets for drug discovery. In the search for anti-rickettsial agents, 12 compounds that inhibit the activity of RpMetAp1 were discovered from screening 400 compounds, with IC50 values ranging from 800 nM to 22 μM. These compounds from different chemical series can be used as leads for discovering more potent and efficacious anti-rickettsial agents.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Carmen Lopez, Mingfeng Cao, Zhanyi Yao, Zengyi Shao
Summary: The study highlights the importance of plasmid stability for gene expression and the relevance of cargo dependency in plasmid stability. It reveals the unique structure of ARSs from Yarrowia lipolytica, with a previously unannotated spacer playing a critical role in plasmid behavior.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Alhumaidi B. Alabbas
Summary: In this study, the crystal structure of R. prowazekii MetAP was used for virtual screening of drug libraries, resulting in the identification of three potential lead molecules that showed strong binding to the enzyme. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the stability of the docked complexes. Free energy analysis indicated the potential of these compounds as antibacterial agents. Additionally, the compounds were predicted to have favorable properties in terms of toxicity and mutagenicity. These findings provide important insights for further research on the anti-MetAP activity of these compounds in treating R. prowazekii infections.
SAUDI PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jiao Li, Xin Song, Zhiqiang Xiong, Guangqiang Wang, Yongjun Xia, Yijin Yang, Lianzhong Ai
Summary: In this study, the CRISPR system of B. animalis AR668 was successfully established, and genes 0348 and 0208 were effectively knocked out. The impact of different homology arms and fragments on the knockout efficiency of the system was explored. Additionally, an innovative inducible plasmid curing system for bifidobacteria was established. This study contributes significantly to the genetic modification and functional mechanism analysis of bifidobacteria.
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Jenifer Turco
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of IFN-gamma and R. prowazekii on murine endothelial cells, and found that IFN-gamma pretreatment followed by infection led to cell damage. Evidence suggests that pore formation and osmotic lysis may be involved in this cellular injury.
TROPICAL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Barbara Bourgade, James Millard, Christopher M. Humphreys, Nigel P. Minton, M. Ahsanul Islam
Summary: This study demonstrates the significance of a replicating shuttle vector for genetic and metabolic engineering in industrially important M. thermoacetica. The vector was successfully applied for non-native ethanologenesis, allowing ethanol production in this organism.
FERMENTATION-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Ariba Khan, Muhammad Hassan Khanzada, Kanwal Khan, Khurshid Jalal, Reaz Uddin
Summary: Rickettsia prowazekii is a gram-negative coccobacillus responsible for epidemic typhus. Advancements in bioinformatics and computational biology have accelerated the development of effective vaccine designs. In this study, genomic analysis and reverse vaccinology were used to identify potential vaccine targets, such as the outer membrane protein R. Further evaluation through in vitro or in vivo immunoassays is recommended to assess the efficacy of the newly designed vaccine.
IMMUNOLOGIC RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Khalid El Karkouri, Eric Ghigo, Didier Raoult, Pierre-Edouard Fournier
Summary: The evolution and diversity of Rickettsia species were analyzed using pangenomic meta-analysis. Different groups and adaptive trajectories were identified, and lateral gene transfers were observed. The study provides a global evolutionary genomic view of intracellular Rickettsia.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Robin Koehler, Ismath Sadhir, Sean M. Murray
Summary: Fluorescent microscopy is a primary method for studying DNA organization in cells. However, the variability and low signal/noise often encountered in live-cell imaging make quantitative measurements challenging. In this study, we introduce *Track, an inference method that accurately tracks replicating intracellular particles like DNA loci, while considering missing, merged, and spurious detections. *Track enables accurate prediction of particle copy numbers and replication timing, leading to new insights into plasmid copy number control and the volume dependence of bacterial chromosome replication initiation. By facilitating accurate tracking of DNA loci, *Track can contribute to uncovering the mechanistic principles of chromosome organization and dynamics in various systems.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Yong Qi, Lele Ai, Jun Jiao, Junhu Wang, Deping Wu, Pengcheng Wang, Guoyu Zhang, Yong Qin, Cheng Hu, Ruichen Lv, Nianhong Lu, Changqiang Zhu, Yingqing Mao, Rui Qi, Yuexi Li, Weilong Tan
Summary: This study provides important epidemiological data on the prevalence of SFGR in ticks in Jiangsu province, Eastern China. The identification and characterization of Candidatus R. principis and Candidatus R. jingxinensis emphasize the need for attention and prevention of SFGR.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Ilaria Pascucci, Elisa Antognini, Cristina Canonico, Marco Giuseppe Montalbano, Alessandro Necci, Alessandra di Donato, Martina Moriconi, Benedetto Morandi, Giulia Morganti, Silvia Crotti, Stefano Gavaudan
Summary: The spotted fever group of Rickettsiae is a heterogeneous group of Rickettsiae transmitted by ticks, causing similar diseases in humans. A recent study in Italy using molecular diagnostic techniques found multiple different Rickettsia species, previously not considered pathogenic, associated with human disease. This study aimed to investigate the presence of different Rickettsia species in an area where no information was available.
Article
Microbiology
Sonia Santibanez, Aranzazu Portillo, Valvanera Ibarra, Paula Santibanez, Luis Metola, Concepcion Garcia-Garcia, Ana M. Palomar, Cristina Cervera-Acedo, Jorge Alba, Jose R. Blanco, Jose A. Oteo
Summary: In recent decades, a tick-borne rickettsial syndrome called DEBONEL has emerged in Europe. This study investigated the etiology of DEBONEL agents in a specific area and found that the most common agent is 'Ca. R. rioja'. No other microorganisms were found in samples where Rickettsia was undetected.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Yana Igolkina, Vera Rar, Elena Krasnova, Eugenia Filimonova, Artem Tikunov, Tamara Epikhina, Nina Tikunova
Summary: This study aimed to determine the etiologic agents of tick-borne rickettsioses in Western Siberia during three epidemiological seasons. The findings showed that Rickettsia raoultii is a common agent of tick-borne rickettsioses in Novosibirsk Province, and DNA from Rickettsia aeschlimannii and Rickettsia slovaca was found in clinical samples of patients in the Russian Federation for the first time.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Zheng Gui, Hao Cai, Dong-Dong Qi, Shun Zhang, Shao-Yin Fu, Jing-Feng Yu, Xiao-Yan Si, Ting Cai, Rui Mao
Summary: This study reveals the genetic diversity and population structure of Rickettsia in D. nuttalli in Inner Mongolia, and identifies two different species. The results show that Rickettsia has high genetic disparity and can adapt to different environments. There is low genetic differentiation between populations and no geographically differentiated structure.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Dejin Dong, Xinyi Wang, Hong Zong, Xinyao Lu, Bin Zhuge
Summary: This paper focuses on the limitation of improving industrial strains, particularly exogenous gene expression, due to the lack of available episomal plasmids. Candida glycerinogenes, an industrial strain without episomal plasmids, was used as the research subject. GFP-based plasmids containing autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) from different sources were constructed and analyzed. Among them, the panARS from Kluyveromyces lactis showed the best performance for constructing episomal plasmids. The dual-ARS plasmid +PPARS2 with double different ARSs exhibited significant improvement in transformation efficiency, fluorescence intensity, and copy number. Moreover, the versatility of the constructed episomal plasmids was demonstrated by expressing the exogenous gene CrGES. Overall, the successful construction of episomal plasmids will greatly facilitate genetic engineering research and industrial applications of C. glycerinogenes, providing a feasible approach for creating episomal plasmids for other industrial strains.
JOURNAL OF BIOSCIENCE AND BIOENGINEERING
(2023)