Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alejandro Otero-Bravo, Zakee L. Sabree
Summary: Nutritional symbioses between bacteria and insects are diverse and prevalent, leading to a considerable reduction in symbiont genome size. Stink bugs serve as an example of long-term nutritional symbiosis with convergent genome reduction events, from free-living bacteria to host-dependent symbionts. This system provides a unique opportunity to study convergent genome evolution of symbiosis.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Physiology
Maria Carmela Di Rosa, Francesca Guarino, Stefano Conti Nibali, Andrea Magri, Vito De Pinto
Summary: Mitochondrial porins, also known as VDACs, are molecules forming pores in the outer mitochondrial membranes, regulating metabolic flux between cytosol and mitochondria. The specific functions of different isoforms, especially in yeast cells, are still not well understood, despite the evolutionary conservation of VDAC proteins across species.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Jialin Zhou, Martin Jung, Kai S. Dimmer, Doron Rapaport
Summary: In this study, we investigated the biogenesis of multi-span proteins in the mitochondrial outer membrane. Our findings suggest that the targeting specificity and efficiency of these proteins are influenced by their length, as well as the behavior of the membrane. Additionally, cytosolic proteins do not significantly contribute to the biogenesis process.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Leanne Marsay, Christina Dold, Gavin K. Paterson, Yuko Yamaguchi, Jeremy P. Derrick, Hannah Chan, Ian M. Feavers, Martin C. J. Maiden, David Wyllie, Adrian Hill, Andrew J. Pollard, Christine S. Rollier
Summary: Adenoviral vectored vaccines can induce cellular and antibody responses against viruses, parasites, and intracellular pathogens. However, while these vaccines can generate strong and persistent antigen-specific antibodies, they fail to produce bactericidal antibodies, potentially due to the inability of bacterial outer membrane antigens produced in eukaryote cells to present the necessary epitopes.
JOURNAL OF INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
David R. Cameron, Melissa Pitton, Simone Oberhaensli, Katja Schlegel, Guy Prod'hom, Dominique S. Blanc, Stephan M. Jakob, Yok-Ai Que
Summary: This study aimed to genetically and phenotypically characterize Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates collected during an outbreak of infection in a burn ICU. The results demonstrated the evolution of pathoadaptive genes and adaptive phenotypic traits in response to the burn environment. High-level carbapenem resistance evolved rapidly in parallel with increased antibiotic consumption during the outbreak.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Liliana Medina-Aparicio, Sarahi Rodriguez-Gutierrez, Javier E. Rebollar-Flores, Angel G. Martinez-Batallar, Blanca D. Mendoza-Mejia, Eira D. Aguirre-Partida, Alejandra Vazquez, Sergio Encarnacion, Edmundo Calva, Ismael Hernandez-Lucas
Summary: This study reveals that the CRISPR-Cas system acts hierarchically on OmpR to control the synthesis of outer membrane proteins in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. The expression of different porins is affected differently in mutants lacking specific genes.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Michael Biggel, Sophia Johler, Tim Roloff, Sarah Tschudin-Sutter, Stefano Bassetti, Martin Siegemund, Adrian Egli, Roger Stephan, Helena M. B. Seth-Smith
Summary: This study developed a bioinformatic tool called PorinPredict to predict defects in the outer membrane porin OprD of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which are strongly associated with reduced carbapenem susceptibility. PorinPredict relies on a database of OprD variants and can identify inactivating mutations in the coding or promoter region. The tool was validated against P. aeruginosa genomes and showed a high correlation between OprD loss and meropenem nonsusceptibility, regardless of the presence of carbapenemases.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Daniel Scheller, Christian Twittenhoff, Franziska Becker, Marcel Holler, Franz Narberhaus
Summary: The study found evidence for a temperature-modulated RNA structure in the 5'-untranslated region of the OmpA transcript, supporting the hypothesis that melting of the RNA structure relieves translational repression. This allows for increased translation of the transcript at higher temperatures, with biochemical experiments showing that melting of the RNA structure permits ribosome binding to the 5'-UTR.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Kentaro Usui, Haruki Yamamoto, Takao Oi, Mitsutaka Taniguchi, Hitoshi Mori, Yuichi Fujita
Summary: This study demonstrated that extracellular vesicles mediate the secretion of Pchlide in YFC2 cells grown in the dark. Pchlide fractions were isolated using sucrose density gradient centrifugation, and mass spectrometry analysis revealed the presence of porin isoforms, TolC, and FG-GAP repeat-containing protein in the fractions, which are localized in the outer membrane.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rik Dhar, Alexander M. Bowman, Brunojoel Hatungimana, Joanna S. G. Slusky
Summary: In protein evolution, diversification is often driven by genetic duplication. However, a computational study suggests that another evolutionary mechanism involving a transition from loops to hairpins can lead to an increase in the number of strands in outer membrane proteins.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vipin Singh Rana, Chrysoula Kitsou, J. Stephen Dumler, Utpal Pal
Summary: Tick-transmitted bacterial pathogens have robust immune evasion strategies to counteract host responses and ensure successful persistence or transmission. Study on these strategies in Lyme disease spirochetes and rickettsial or tularemia agents can improve our understanding of tick-borne diseases and contribute to prevention development.
TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuvasri Genji Srinivasulu, Anbu Mozhi, Nirmal Goswami, Qiaofeng Yao, Jianping Xie
Summary: Nanomaterial-based antimicrobial photodynamic therapy shows promise in eradicating drug-resistant bacterial biofilms. This study presents a new nanocomposite design that generates higher levels of reactive oxygen species and effectively kills bacteria. Furthermore, the nanocomposite exhibits improved penetration and elimination of biofilms, demonstrating the efficacy of a synergistic killing mechanism.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY FRONTIERS
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Ruopeng Cai, Hewen Deng, Jinming Song, Lei Zhang, Rihong Zhao, Zhimin Guo, Xinxin Zhang, Hao Zhang, Tian Tian, Yalu Ji, Kun Shi, Jianming Li, Naichao Diao, Wenyu Han, Jingmin Gu, Rui Du
Summary: This study reveals the limited fitness costs of phage-resistant mutant K. pneumoniae with porin deficiency and provides a reference for the design and development of drugs to inhibit bacterial metabolic rewiring and increase fitness costs.
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Shahab Shahryari, Mahbubeh Talaee, Kamahldin Haghbeen, Lorenz Adrian, Hojatollah Vali, Hossein Shahbani Zahiri, Kambiz Akbari Noghabi
Summary: The study identified and characterized an OmpA protein from Acinetobacter sp. SA01 with promising applications in biotechnology, demonstrating its emulsifying capacity and role in maintaining cellular homeostasis under oxidative stress. The expression of SA01-OmpA was found to be influenced by oxidative stress rather than nutritional requirements, indicating its potential as a target in treating multidrug-resistant strains.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Meixue Yao, Xiaohan Guo, Xiling Wu, Qiongqiong Bai, Mingjun Sun, Dehui Yin
Summary: This study evaluated the efficiency of different combinations of Brucella major outer membrane proteins (omps) in serodiagnosis for brucellosis. The results showed that the omp25/omp31/BP26 combination had the best diagnostic effectiveness for human brucellosis. The combination of omp31/BP26 was the most effective for diagnosing brucellosis in goat and cattle.
INFECTION AND DRUG RESISTANCE
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Roland Benz, Claudio Piselli, Cezarela Hoxha, Cornelia Koy, Michael O. Glocker, Michel R. Popoff
Summary: Clostridium perfringens produces a variety of toxins, with one virulent toxin cCPB2 forming highly active cation-selective channels, leading to necrotizing enterocolitis. Further research is exploring the biological activity and phylogenetic relationship of cCPB2 and other toxins.
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Vinaya Kumar Golla, Claudio Piselli, Ulrich Kleinekathoefer, Roland Benz
Summary: This study investigates the permeation of fosfomycin through OprP and OprO channels in Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria using electrophysiology and molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that fosfomycin has higher binding affinity to OprP and OprO compared to fosmidomycin, and that arginine residues and lysine residue clusters play an important role in fosfomycin permeation. This study provides molecular insights on improving antibiotic permeation into Gram-negative bacteria, particularly resistant P. aeruginosa strains.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Thomas Edwards, Eva Heinz, Jon van Aartsen, Alex Howard, Paul Roberts, Caroline Corless, Alice J. Fraser, Christopher T. Williams, Issra Bulgasim, Luis E. Cuevas, Christopher M. Parry, Adam P. Roberts, Emily R. Adams, Jenifer Mason, Alasdair T. M. Hubbard
Summary: This study investigates the genetic diversity and resistance mechanisms of Escherichia coli strains with phenotypic resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam but susceptibility to third-generation cephalosporins. The findings reveal a wide range of sequence types and plasmids, as well as diverse resistance mechanisms associated with this phenotype.
MICROBIAL GENOMICS
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Shannon Quek, Louise Cerdeira, Claire L. Jeffries, Sean Tomlinson, Thomas Walker, Grant L. Hughes, Eva Heinz
Summary: This study identified two high-density Wolbachia strains in two Anopheles mosquito species, providing possibilities for using these endosymbionts to block the transmission of malaria parasites. Genomic analysis revealed that both strains retained key metabolic and transport pathways, as well as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) factor genes.
MICROBIAL GENOMICS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rhiannon A. E. Logan, Shannon Quek, Joseph N. Muthoni, Anneliese von Eicken, Laura E. Brettell, Enyia R. Anderson, Marcus E. N. Villena, Shivanand Hegde, Grace T. Patterson, Eva Heinz, Grant L. Hughes, Edward Patterson
Summary: The study confirms the maternal transmission of Cell fusing agent virus (CFAV) and also demonstrates the highly efficient paternal transmission. Horizontal transmission of CFAV was observed, aided by the evaluation of the pupal infection status before mating with an infected individual. This study provides valuable information on the transmission routes of CFAV and suggests the potential use of male or female mosquito releases to control pathogenic arboviruses.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
David J. Williams, Patrick A. D. Grimont, Adrian Cazares, Francine Grimont, Elisabeth Ageron, Kerry A. Pettigrew, Daniel Cazares, Elisabeth Njamkepo, Francois-Xavier Weill, Eva Heinz, Matthew T. G. Holden, Nicholas R. Thomson, Sarah J. Coulthurst
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the genus Serratia, revealing population structure, ecological niche correlation, and different patterns of gene flow. The research also highlights the diversity of Serratia in terms of genome, phenotype, and plasmids. Overall, this work offers an important framework for understanding the emergence of clinical and other lineages of Serratia.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Claudio Piselli, Vinaya Kumar Golla, Roland Benz, Ulrich Kleinekathoefer
Summary: This study focuses on the characterization of the lysine cluster in OprO, a porin protein in the outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The importance of lysine residues in ion conductance and phosphate ion flow was demonstrated through experiments and simulations. The results suggest that an improved understanding of lysine residues and ion mobility could lead to the development of more effective antibiotics for P. aeruginosa.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Jennah E. Dharamshi, Stephan Koestlbacher, Max E. Schoen, Astrid Collingro, Thijs J. G. Ettema, Matthias Horn
Summary: Extensive gene gain through horizontal gene transfer played a crucial role in the evolution of Chlamydiae, a bacterial phylum composed of obligate animal and protist endosymbionts. Contrary to expectations, genome analysis revealed significant gene gain within Chlamydiae, suggesting that metabolic complexity can increase during endosymbiont evolution. These findings provide additional insights into the evolutionary trajectories of symbionts across different organisms.
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Justin Maire, Kshitij Tandon, Astrid Collingro, Allison van de Meene, Katarina Damjanovic, Cecilie Ravn, Sophie Stephenson, Gayle K. Philip, Matthias Horn, Neal E. Cantin, Linda L. Blackall, Madeleine J. H. van Oppen
Summary: In this study, coral cell-associated microbial aggregates (CAMAs) were comprehensively characterized, revealing the presence of Endozoicomonas and Simkania bacteria. Endozoicomonas may colonize and aggregate with the host coral using secretion systems and/or pili and potentially provide vitamins. Simkania, on the other hand, may obtain acetate and heme from neighboring Endozoicomonas. This research provides detailed insights into coral endosymbionts, improving our understanding of coral physiology and health, and offering important knowledge for coral reef conservation in the face of climate change.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Joseph M. Lewis, Madalitso Mphasa, Rachel Banda, Mathew A. Beale, Jane Mallewa, Catherine Anscome, Allan Zuza, Adam P. Roberts, Eva Heinz, Nicholas R. Thomson, Nicholas A. Feasey
Summary: This study investigated ESBL-producing E. coli colonizing adults in Blantyre, Malawi to assess bacterial diversity and AMR determinants. The results showed that 37% of the Malawian isolates did not cluster with isolates from other countries, indicating local transmission. Additionally, a globally distributed carbapenemase-carrying plasmid was found in a single isolate. The study concludes that as carbapenem use increases, there is a risk of rapid proliferation of carbapenem resistance in E. coli in Malawi, highlighting the importance of antimicrobial stewardship and genomic surveillance.
MICROBIAL GENOMICS
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Tamara Halter, Stephan Koestlbacher, Thomas Rattei, Frederik Hendrickx, Alejandro Manzano-Marin, Matthias Horn
Summary: This study explores a unique system where the dwarf spider Oedothorax gibbosus is co-infected with multiple endosymbionts, including Wolbachia, 'Candidatus Tisiphia', Cardinium, and Rhabdochlamydia. Through genome sequencing, the researchers reconstructed these endosymbiont genomes and analyzed their interactions and evolutionary relationships with the spider host.
MICROBIAL GENOMICS
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Gilbert Greub, Trestan Pillonel, Patrik M. Bavoil, Nicole Borel, Lee Ann Campbell, Deborah Dean, Scott Hefty, Matthias Horn, Servaas A. Morre, Scot P. Ouellette, Yvonne Pannekoek, Mirja Puolakkainen, Peter Timms, Raphael Valdivia, Daisy Vanrompay
Summary: The International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP) rejected the proposal to use gene sequences as type for naming prokaryotes in 2020. Instead, the Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes Described from Sequence Data (SeqCode), which considers genome sequences as type material for naming species, was published in 2022. The taxonomy subcommittee for the phylum Chlamydiae (Chlamydiota) within ICSP believes that using gene sequences as type would be beneficial for the classification of difficult-to-culture microorganisms such as chlamydiae and other intracellular bacteria. They recommend registering new names of uncultured prokaryotes in the SeqCode registry.
NEW MICROBES AND NEW INFECTIONS
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Astrid Collingro, Stephan Koestlbacher, Alexander Siegl, Elena R. Toenshoff, Frederik Schulz, Susan O. Mitchell, Thomas Weinmaier, Thomas Rattei, Duncan J. Colquhoun, Matthias Horn
Summary: Chlamydia, including human and animal pathogens like Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia psittaci, are a diverse group of ancient obligate intracellular bacteria. Comparative genome analysis has been used to study the evolutionary transition of chlamydiae from symbionts in eukaryotes to pathogens in humans. However, genome sequence data for many chlamydial lineages are still missing, limiting our understanding of their evolutionary history. Thus, the genome sequence of the fish pathogen Candidatus Clavichlamydia salmonicola provides valuable information for studying the evolution of chlamydial virulence mechanisms.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Salvador Espada-Hinojosa, Clarissa Karthauser, Abhishek Srivastava, Lukas Schuster, Teresa Winter, Andre Luiz de Oliveira, Frederik Schulz, Matthias Horn, Stefan Sievert, Monika Bright
Summary: This study reveals the impact of strict host dependence on genome evolution and host adaptation of a bacterial ectosymbiont. Thiobius has a smaller genome, reduced metabolic capabilities, and fewer functional traits compared to its free-living relative ODIII6. The differences in functional capabilities at the gene, metabolic pathway, and trait levels between Thiobius and ODIII6 illustrate adaptations to different environmental conditions.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Tamara Halter, Stephan Koestlbacher, Astrid Collingro, Barbara S. Sixt, Elena R. Toenshoff, Frederik Hendrickx, Rok Kostanjsek, Matthias Horn
Summary: The study investigates the Rhabdochlamydiaceae family, a large and diverse group of chlamydial bacteria that mainly inhabit freshwater and soil environments. The research reveals distinct niches for members of the Rhabdochlamydiaceae, suggesting intermediate stages of adaptation from protist hosts to vertebrate hosts. The study also uncovers genome size reduction and transposase-mediated gene inactivation as a mechanism of genome streamlining during host adaptation.
ISME COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)