Article
Immunology
Ana Luisa Andrade-Oliveira, Geovana Lacerda-Rodrigues, Monalessa Fabia Pereira, Ana Cristina Bahia, Ednildo de Alcantara Machado, Ciro Cesar Rossi, Marcia Giambiagi-deMarval
Summary: This study demonstrates the potential of T. molitor larvae as a reliable and cost-effective model for analyzing the virulence of Staphylococcus and exploring the plasmid transfer between S. aureus strains carrying antimicrobial resistance genes. By infecting the larvae, the researchers observed dose-dependent killing curves for different Staphylococcus species and an increase in hemocyte concentration proportional to virulence. The study also showed successful plasmid transfer through conjugation in the larvae.
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
(2023)
Review
Biology
Matthieu Haudiquet, Jorge Moura de Sousa, Marie Touchon, Eduardo P. C. Rocha
Summary: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a driving force in microbial adaptation, but it is controlled by mobile genetic elements (MGEs) whose interests may not align with those of their hosts. The interactions between cells and MGEs, as well as between MGEs themselves, result in complex evolutionary processes that affect gene flow and microbial adaptation.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Razieh Kebriaei, Katherine L. Lev, Rahi M. Shah, Kyle C. Stamper, Dana J. Holger, Taylor Morrisette, Ashlan J. Kunz Coyne, Susan M. Lehman, Michael J. Rybak
Summary: Bacterial biofilms are difficult to eradicate and can complicate infections. Phage+antibiotic combinations (PAC) may be more effective on biofilms than single agents. Our study demonstrated the effectiveness of phage Sb-1 on MRSA biofilms and suggested PAC regimens as adjuncts to antibiotics.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yanyan Xu, Qing Liu, Guoliang Meng, Caihong Dong
Summary: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) plays a crucial role in the evolution of pathogenicity in pathogens. This study focuses on an HGT effector, CcCYT, which enhances the virulence of the mycoparasite Calcarisporium cordycipiticola towards its mushroom host Cordyceps militaris. The study provides functional evidence that HGT is an important driving force for virulence evolution and sheds light on the interaction between mycoparasite and host.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sofia Neto, Ana Vieira, Hugo Oliveira, Begona Espina
Summary: This study successfully established an A. baumannii infection model using tail-injured zebrafish embryos. The model was able to distinguish the most virulent strains from the less virulent ones. Furthermore, using phage therapy, the infection of the most virulent strains was controlled, leading to increased survival rates.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Magdalena Jancheva, Thomas Boettcher
Summary: Bacteriophages have a significant impact on microbial hosts and communities, with the majority being latent prophages integrated into host genomes. Research has found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses a trigger factor to manipulate the lysogenic to lytic switch in Staphylococcus aureus, selectively inducing the production of one prophage. The discovery highlights a noncanonical mechanism controlled by intracellular oxidation levels and provides insights into metabolite-mediated microbe-prophage interactions, paving the way for selective small molecule manipulation of prophage activity.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Bilal Aslam, Muhammad Hussnain Siddique, Abu Baker Siddique, Muhammad Shafique, Saima Muzammil, Mohsin Khurshid, Muhammad Hidayat Rasool, Moeed Ahmad, Tamoor Hamid Chaudhry, Afreenish Amir, Muhammad Salman, Zulqarnain Baloch, Norah A. Alturki, Ahmad Alzamami
Summary: The study found a significant presence of mcr-1 carrying multidrug-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae in clinical specimens. The characterized phage KpnM exhibited lytic activity against these bacteria, offering a promising alternative control strategy.
INFECTION AND DRUG RESISTANCE
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Joshua T. Smith, Cheryl P. Andam
Summary: Members of the genus Staphylococcus have been historically classified into coagulase-positive and coagulase-negative based on the presence of the coagulase protein. While horizontal gene transfer has been well-studied in CoPS species like Staphylococcus aureus, this study sheds light on the importance of these processes in CoNS evolution. CoNS species serve as reservoirs of transferrable genes associated with antimicrobial resistance, with certain species acting as hubs of gene flow and genetic diversity for the entire genus.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Guan-Yu Fang, Xing-Quan Liu, Yu-Jian Jiang, Xiao-Jing Mu, Bing-Wen Huang
Summary: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in activated sludge (AS) bacteria poses a potential risk in the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factor genes (VFGs). Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria are the primary classes involved in gene transfer. Mobile genetic elements play a significant role in the transfer of ARGs and VFGs in AS bacteria.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alfred Fillol-Salom, Jakob T. Rostol, Adaeze D. Ojiogu, John Chen, Gill Douce, Suzanne Humphrey, Jose R. Penades
Summary: This study discovers a important anti-phage system in bacteria called phage-inducible chromosomal islands (PICIs), which can be disseminated intra-and inter-generically by helper phages and provide broad immunity. Results show that phages can mobilize PICI-encoded immunity systems to use them against other mobile genetic elements, which compete with the phages for the same bacterial hosts. This finding has significant implications for phages, bacteria, and horizontal gene transfer control.
Article
Microbiology
Cristian A. Suarez, Soledad T. Carrasco, Facundo N. A. Brandolisio, Virginia Abatangelo, Carina A. Boncompain, Natalia Peresutti-Bacci, Hector R. Morbidoni
Summary: Epidemiology and virulence studies have revealed that temperate bacteriophages play a crucial role in the evolution of Staphylococcus aureus due to their abundance and genomic diversity. This study focuses on the isolation, genome sequencing, and analysis of 14 bacteriophages from lysogenic S. aureus strains of human and veterinary origin. The findings provide insights into the genetic composition and distinctive features of these bacteriophages, revealing their potential impact on host evolution.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Shihan Weng, Abel Lopez, Sara Saez-Orviz, Ismael Marcet, Pilar Garcia, Manuel Rendueles, Mario Diaz
Summary: The use of antibiotics in the food industry is decreasing due to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, leading to a search for alternative methods such as bacteriophages. Edible gelatine films containing bacteriophages were produced and their effects on various properties were studied. The results showed that the antimicrobial properties of the packaging materials were concentration-dependent, with the method of bacteriophage application playing a crucial role in maximizing their effectiveness.
Article
Microbiology
Xiaobin Gu, Xiuhai Lu, Shudan Lin, Xinrui Shi, Yue Shen, Qingsong Lu, Yiying Yang, Jing Yang, Jiabei Cai, Chunyan Fu, Yongliang Lou, Meiqin Zheng
Summary: This study identified horizontal gene transfer events between Acanthamoeba and amoeba-resisting microorganisms, shedding light on the pathogenic mechanisms of diseases.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Angela V. Lopez-Garcia, Manal AbuOun, Javier Nunez-Garcia, Janet Y. Nale, Edouard E. Gaylov, Preeda Phothaworn, Chutikarn Sukjoi, Parameth Thiennimitr, Danish J. Malik, Sunee Korbsrisate, Martha R. J. Clokie, Muna F. Anjum
Summary: This study characterized the genomic diversity of Salmonella isolates from poultry sources in the UK and Thailand, and found variations in antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence factors. They also identified MDR epidemic clones that may be widespread in poultry and discovered a bacteriophage that effectively controls important clinical serovars of Salmonella.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Dimitrios Skliros, Stavros Droubogiannis, Chrysanthi Kalloniati, Pantelis Katharios, Emmanouil Flemetakis
Summary: Bacteria employ various molecular mechanisms to resist bacteriophages, but some bacterial species can develop resistance through metabolic adaptation strategies. Our study explores how bacteriophage resistance in Vibrio species disrupts quorum sensing cascade and affects bacterial physiology. We found that phage-resistant bacteria downregulate the expression of quorum-sensing regulatory proteins, leading to altered biofilm formation, reduced growth, and reduced virulence.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Laurence Van Melderen, Dukas Jurenas, Abel Garcia-Pino
Article
Microbiology
Frederic Goormaghtigh, Nathan Fraikin, Marta Putrins, Thibaut Hallaert, Vasili Hauryliuk, Abel Garcia-Pino, Andreas Sjodin, Sergo Kasvandik, Klas Udekwu, Tanel Tenson, Niilo Kaldalu, Laurence Van Melderen
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Francois De Mets, Laurence Van Melderen, Susan Gottesman
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2019)
Article
Biophysics
Pieter De Bruyn, San Hadzi, Alexandra Vandervelde, Albert Konijnenberg, Marusa Prolic-Kalinsek, Yann G-J Sterckx, Frank Sobott, Jurij Lah, Laurence Van Melderen, Remy Loris
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Juan Carlos Fragoso-Jimenez, Jonathan Baert, Thai Minh Nguyen, Wenzheng Liu, Hosni Sassi, Frederic Goormaghtigh, Laurence Van Melderen, Paul Gaytan, Georgina Hernandez-Chavez, Alfredo Martinez, Frank Delvigne, Guillermo Gosset
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2019)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dukas Jurenas, Laurence Van Melderen, Abel Garcia-Pino
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2019)
Review
Microbiology
Nathalie Q. Balaban, Sophie Helaine, Kim Lewis, Martin Ackermann, Bree Aldridge, Dan I. Andersson, Mark P. Brynildsen, Dirk Bumann, Andrew Camilli, James J. Collins, Christoph Dehio, Sarah Fortune, Jean-Marc Ghigo, Wolf-Dietrich Hardt, Alexander Harms, Matthias Heinemann, Deborah T. Hung, Urs Jenal, Bruce R. Levin, Jan Michiels, Gisela Storz, Man-Wah Tan, Tanel Tenson, Laurence Van Melderen, Annelies Zinkernagel
NATURE REVIEWS MICROBIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Frederic Goormaghtigh, Laurence Van Melderen
Article
Biophysics
Marusa Prolic-Kalinsek, Pieter De Bruyn, Dukas Jurenas, Laurence Van Melderen, Remy Loris, Alexander N. Volkov
BIOMOLECULAR NMR ASSIGNMENTS
(2020)
Review
Microbiology
Nathan Fraikin, Frederic Goormaghtigh, Laurence Van Melderen
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
Nathan Fraikin, Clothilde J. Rousseau, Nathalie Goeders, Laurence Van Melderen
Article
Microbiology
Gipsi Lima-Mendez, Danillo Oliveira Alvarenga, Karen Ross, Bernard Hallet, Laurence Van Melderen, Alessandro Varani, Michael Chandler
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Dukas Jurenas, Laurence Van Melderen
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
Stephane Pont, Nathan Fraikin, Yvan Caspar, Laurence Van Melderen, Ina Attree, Francois Cretin
Article
Microbiology
Heleen Van Acker, Aurelie Crabbe, Dukas Jurenas, Lisa Ostyn, Andrea Sass, Simon Daled, Maarten Dhaenens, Dieter Deforce, Eline Teirlinck, Herlinde De Keersmaecker, Kevin Braeckmans, Laurence Van Melderen, Tom Coenye