Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yan Zhang, Xiaojie Song, Cheng Chen, Lin Liu, Yangyang Xu, Ning Zhang, Weidong Huang, Jun Zheng, Wensu Yuan, Le Tang, Zhi Lin
Summary: In this study, a new toxin-antitoxin system was identified in Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria. The structure of this system was determined, revealing its action mechanism. This research provides a structural basis for understanding the molecular mechanisms employed by human pathogens.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aftab Nadeem, Raghavendra Nagampalli, Eric Toh, Athar Alam, Si Lhyam Myint, Thomas Heidler, Mitesh Dongre, Nikola Zlatkov, Hudson Pace, Fouzia Bano, Anders Sjostedt, Marta Bally, Bernt Eric Uhlin, Sun Nyunt Wai, Karina Persson
Summary: MakA protein is part of a gene cluster in Vibrio cholerae, along with other proteins forming a tripartite cytolytic toxin that is toxic to both red blood cells and human colon carcinoma cells. This previously unrecognized toxin may contribute to fitness and virulence potential in different host environments and organisms.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hyun-Jong Eun, Jooyeon Lee, Su-Jin Kang, Bong-Jin Lee
Summary: Toxin and Antitoxin systems are crucial for bacterial survival against harsh environments like antibiotic treatments, with the VapBC system being the most abundant among them in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The VapBC43 system, related to vancomycin treatment response, features a structure where a single VapB43 molecule binds to a VapC43 dimer. Despite lacking conserved acidic residues, VapC43 exhibits ribonuclease activity, and its structural information may aid in developing inhibitors for use as adjuvants in vancomycin therapy against M. tuberculosis.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xiaojie Song, Zhi Lin, Wensu Yuan
Summary: Toxin-antitoxin (TA) genetic modules, composed of stable toxins and less stable antitoxins, are widely found in bacterial chromosomes and mobile genetic elements. These modules play critical roles in the virulence and persistence of pathogenic bacteria.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Donghyun Lee, Hunseok Choi, Seonghyeon Son, Jonghyun Bae, Jayun Joo, Dong Wook Kim, Eun Jin Kim
Summary: The expression of virulence genes in Vibrio cholerae is regulated by the ToxR regulon, which is triggered by environmental stimuli during infection in the human small intestine. This study investigates the induction of virulence gene expression under laboratory culture conditions through two point mutations in the toxT gene. The findings suggest that the regulation of virulence gene expression may be more complex than previously thought, involving factors beyond the ToxR regulon.
Article
Microbiology
Mahendra Singh, N. Rupesh, Shashi Bhushan Pandit, Kausik Chattopadhyay
Summary: In this study, it was found that curcumin can neutralize the membrane-damaging activity of VCC, making it a potential inhibitor of this powerful bacterial toxin. Curcumin binds to VCC and reduces its ability to attack cell membranes, while the soluble extract of curcumin generated by heat treatment weakens the pore-forming activity of VCC.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Jialin Wu, Yutao Liu, Wendi Li, Fan Li, Ruiying Liu, Hao Sun, Jingliang Qin, Xiaohui Feng, Di Huang, Bin Liu
Summary: This study systematically investigates the influence of MerR family regulators on intestinal colonization of V. cholerae. The researchers found that MlrA significantly promotes the colonization capacity of V. cholerae in the host intestine by directly enhancing the expression of the important virulence factor tcpA. Furthermore, they revealed that mlrA is activated by anaerobic signals in the small intestine of the host through Fnr during infection. These findings provide insights into a MlrA-mediated virulence regulation pathway in V. cholerae, allowing it to sense environmental signals and activate virulence gene expression.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Milena Jaskolska, David W. Adams, Melanie Blokesch
Summary: Horizontal gene transfer is a key driver of bacterial evolution, facilitated by mobile genetic elements such as plasmids and bacteriophages. This study identifies two conserved plasmid defence systems in Vibrio cholerae, responsible for the ongoing cholera pandemic. These systems rapidly eliminate small plasmids and defend against bacteriophage infection. Additionally, they increase the burden of large conjugative plasmids, leading to a fitness disadvantage for plasmid-carrying cells. These findings explain the rarity of plasmids in pandemic strains and have implications for understanding antibiotic resistance plasmid dissemination and the evolution of pandemic V. cholerae.
Article
Biology
Aftab Nadeem, Alexandra Berg, Hudson Pace, Athar Alam, Eric Toh, Jorgen Aden, Nikola Zlatkov, Si Lhyam Myint, Karina Persson, Gerhard Grobner, Anders Sjostedt, Marta Bally, Jonas Barandun, Bernt Eric Uhlin, Sun Nyunt Wai
Summary: This study reveals a novel tubulation mechanism of an alpha-pore-forming toxin protein and a new mode of action by a secreted bacterial toxin. This protein is able to disrupt host cell membranes by forming tube-like structures under acidic conditions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tatsuaki Kurata, Chayan Kumar Saha, Jessica A. Buttress, Toomas Mets, Tetiana Brodiazhenko, Kathryn J. Turnbull, Ololade F. Awoyomi, Sofia Raquel Alves Oliveira, Steffi Jimmy, Karin Ernits, Maxence Delannoy, Karina Persson, Tanel Tenson, Henrik Strahl, Vasili Hauryliuk, Gemma C. Atkinson
Summary: Toxin-antitoxin gene pairs are widespread in microorganisms and bacteriophages, acting as regulatory switches. A computational tool called FlaGs was used to analyze the conservation of genomic neighborhoods and uncover previously unknown diversity in TA operons. The poorly characterized antitoxin domain DUF4065 was found to be widely distributed and capable of neutralizing toxins with multiple different folds. Experimental validation confirmed the neutralizing activity of nine PanA-neutralized TA pairs, including a novel nucleotide cyclase toxin. Panacea-containing antitoxins were found to form complexes with their cognate toxins, indicating a direct neutralization mechanism. Directed evolution also demonstrated the evolutionary plasticity of the PanA antitoxin domain.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Eizo Takahashi, Sadayuki Ochi, Tamaki Mizuno, Daichi Morita, Masatomo Morita, Makoto Ohnishi, Hemanta Koley, Moumita Dutta, Goutam Chowdhury, Asish K. Mukhopadhyay, Shanta Dutta, Shin-Ichi Miyoshi, Keinosuke Okamoto
Summary: Three NAG vibrio strains isolated from pond water in Kolkata, India were found to potentially possess virulence factors that can induce severe syndrome, indicating a possible risk of future epidemics caused by these virulent NAG vibrios.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Fabian Rivera-Chavez, Bradley T. Meader, Sinan Akosman, Vuk Koprivica, John J. Mekalanos
Summary: Vibrio cholerae uses its toxin to cause cholera, but a study found that a compound called benzopyrimido-pyrrolo-oxazinedione (BPO-27) can inhibit the toxin-induced symptoms, protecting mice from diarrhea and death. BPO-27 also suppresses the replication and survival of V. cholerae in the gut.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yu-Chuan Chiu, Min-Chi Yeh, Chun-Hsiung Wang, Yu-An Chen, Hsiang Chang, Han-You Lin, Meng-Chiao Ho, Shih-Ming Lin
Summary: This study reveals the crucial role of calcium ions in the activation and oligomerization of Vc alpha HL, providing important insights into its regulatory mechanisms and the development of therapeutic strategies.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Peter H. Culviner, Isabel Nocedal, Sarah M. Fortune, Michael T. Laub
Summary: A global analysis of 9 endoribonuclease toxins from E. coli revealed that these toxins use low-information cleavage motifs to cut a significant proportion of mRNAs and inhibit ribosome biogenesis, disrupting translation.
Article
Microbiology
Madhumanti Halder, Suvajit Saha, Subham Mookerjee, Anup Palit
Summary: This study compared and analyzed the differences between V.mimicus and V.cholerae in terms of virulence genes, antibiotic susceptibility, resistance genes, and other factors. It found that V.mimicus has similar epidemic potential and may become an emerging pathogen. The apomorphic strains of both species were unique to the inland sites.
ARCHIVES OF MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sergio Martinez-Rodriguez, Mayte Conejero-Muriel, Jose Antonio Gavira
ARCHIVES OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
(2019)
Article
Microbiology
David Martin-Mora, Alvaro Ortega, Miguel A. Matilla, Sergio Martinez-Rodriguez, Jose A. Gavira, Tino Krell
Article
Biophysics
Marusa Prolic-Kalinsek, Pieter De Bruyn, Dukas Jurenas, Laurence Van Melderen, Remy Loris, Alexander N. Volkov
BIOMOLECULAR NMR ASSIGNMENTS
(2020)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Gabriela Garcia-Rodriguez, Ariel Talavera Perez, Albert Konijnenberg, Frank Sobott, Jan Michiels, Remy Loris
ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F-STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sergio Martinez-Rodriguez, Pablo Soriano-Maldonado, Jose Antonio Gavira
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gal Horesh, Cinzia Fino, Alexander Harms, Matthew J. Dorman, Leopold Parts, Kenn Gerdes, Eva Heinz, Nicholas R. Thomson
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
Cinzia Fino, Martin Vestergaard, Hanne Ingmer, Fabien Pierrel, Kenn Gerdes, Alexander Harms
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Jose A. Gavira, Isaac Rodriguez-Ruiz, Sergio Martinez-Rodriguez, Shibom Basu, Sebastien Teychene, Andrew A. McCarthy, Christoph Mueller-Dieckman
ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D-STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Raquel Fernandez-Penas, Cristobal Verdugo-Escamilla, Sergio Martinez-Rodriguez, Jose A. Gavira
Summary: The study focused on the preparation of reinforced cross-linked lipase crystals using a commercial detergent additive, demonstrating high stability and activity in aqueous solution and hexane. Bulk crystallization was carried out in agarose media, allowing for the production of crystals suitable for a continuous flow chromatographic column. Three-dimensional models of the commercial lipase with and without phosphate were determined at resolutions of 2.0 and 1.7 Å, respectively.
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Thomas Prossliner, Kenn Gerdes, Michael Askvad Sorensen, Kristoffer Skovbo Winther
Summary: Ribosome hibernation is a universal translation stress response found in bacteria and plant plastids, where hibernation factors protect ribosomes, maintaining their integrity and preventing degradation under low carbon starvation conditions.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Correction
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Thomas Prossliner, Kenn Gerdes, Michael Askvad Sorensen, Kristoffer Skovbo Winther
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Crystallography
Sergio Martinez-Rodriguez, Rafael Contreras-Montoya, Jesus M. Torres, Luis alvarez de Cienfuegos, Jose Antonio Gavira
Summary: L-proline amide hydrolase is a rarely described enzyme with hydrolytic activity towards amino acid amides, making it a potential biocatalyst. This study reports the characterization and X-ray structure analysis of L-proline amide hydrolase from Pseudomonas syringae.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Jose Antonio Gavira, Ana Camara-Artigas, Jose Luis Neira, Jesus M. Torres de Pinedo, Pilar Sanchez, Esperanza Ortega, Sergio Martinez-Rodriguez
Summary: This study presents an in-depth structural analysis of wild-type Sinorhizobium (Ensifer) meliloti COSe (SmeCOSe) and its C54S active-site mutant. The binding mode of this enzyme to its reaction products and a substrate-like compound is revealed for the first time. The structures confirm the importance of the C-terminal extension in enzyme activity and demonstrate the role of specific residues in ligand binding and conformational rearrangements.
ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D-STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Correction
Microbiology
Cinzia Fino, Martin Vestergaard, Hanne Ingmer, Fabien Pierrel, Kenn Gerdes, Alexander Harms
Retraction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elsa Germain, Mohammad Roghanian, Kenn Gerdes, Etienne Maisonneuve
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2019)