journal
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38262273/posttranslational-modifications-in-bacteria-during-phage-infection
#21
REVIEW
Hannelore Longin, Nand Broeckaert, Vera van Noort, Rob Lavigne, Hanne Hendrix
During phage infection, both virus and bacteria attempt to gain and/or maintain control over critical bacterial functions, through a plethora of strategies. These strategies include posttranslational modifications (PTMs, including phosphorylation, ribosylation, and acetylation), as rapid and dynamic regulators of protein behavior. However, to date, knowledge on the topic remains scarce and fragmented, while a more systematic investigation lies within reach. The release of AlphaFold, which advances PTM enzyme discovery and functional elucidation, and the increasing inclusivity and scale of mass spectrometry applications to new PTM types, could significantly accelerate research in the field...
January 22, 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38246125/biological-and-bioinformatic-tools-for-the-discovery-of-unknown-phage-host-combinations
#22
REVIEW
Jennifer Mahony
The field of microbial ecology has been transformed by metagenomics in recent decades and has culminated in vast datasets that facilitate the bioinformatic dissection of complex microbial communities. Recently, attention has turned from defining the microbiota composition to the interactions and relationships that occur between members of the microbiota. Within complex microbiota, the identification of bacteriophage-host combinations has been a major challenge. Recent developments in artificial intelligence tools to predict protein structure and function as well as the relationships between bacteria and their infecting bacteriophages allow a strategic approach to identifying and validating phage-host relationships...
January 20, 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38237429/role-of-vertical-and-horizontal-microbial-transmission-of-antimicrobial-resistance-genes-in-early-life-insights-from-maternal-infant-dyads
#23
REVIEW
Manuel Bernabeu, Elena Cabello-Yeves, Eduard Flores, Anna Samarra, Joanna Kimberley Summers, Alberto Marina, M Carmen Collado
Early life represents a critical window for metabolic, cognitive and immune system development, which is influenced by the maternal microbiome as well as the infant gut microbiome. Antibiotic exposure, mode of delivery and breastfeeding practices modulate the gut microbiome and the reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Vertical and horizontal microbial gene transfer during early life and the mechanisms behind these transfers are being uncovered. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the current knowledge on the transfer of antibiotic resistance in the mother-infant dyad through vertical and horizontal transmission and to highlight the main gaps and challenges in this area...
January 17, 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38232492/host-range-and-cell-recognition-of-archaeal-viruses
#24
REVIEW
Emine Rabia Sensevdi, Zaloa Aguirre Sourrouille, Tessa Ef Quax
Archaea are members of a separate domain of life that have unique properties, such as the composition of their cell walls and the structure of their lipid bilayers. Consequently, archaeal viruses face different challenges to infect host cells in comparison with viruses of bacteria and eukaryotes. Despite their significant impact on shaping microbial communities, our understanding of infection processes of archaeal viruses remains limited. Several receptors used by archaeal viruses to infect cells have recently been identified...
January 16, 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38219421/group-a-streptococcus-interactions-with-the-host-across-time-and-space
#25
REVIEW
Stephanie Guerra, Christopher LaRock
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) has a fantastically wide tissue tropism in humans, manifesting as different diseases depending on the strain's virulence factor repertoire and the tissue involved. Activation of immune cells and pro-inflammatory signaling has historically been considered an exclusively host-protective response that a pathogen would seek to avoid. However, recent advances in human and animal models suggest that in some tissues, GAS will activate and manipulate specific pro-inflammatory pathways to promote growth, nutrient acquisition, persistence, recurrent infection, competition with other microbial species, dissemination, and transmission...
January 13, 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38217927/the-enigmatic-epitranscriptome-of-bacteriophages-putative-rna-modifications-in-viral-infections
#26
REVIEW
Nadiia Pozhydaieva, Maik Wolfram-Schauerte, Helene Keuthen, Katharina Höfer
RNA modifications play essential roles in modulating RNA function, stability, and fate across all kingdoms of life. The entirety of the RNA modifications within a cell is defined as the epitranscriptome. While eukaryotic RNA modifications are intensively studied, understanding bacterial RNA modifications remains limited, and knowledge about bacteriophage RNA modifications is almost nonexistent. In this review, we shed light on known mechanisms of bacterial RNA modifications and propose how this knowledge might be extended to bacteriophages...
January 12, 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38215548/the-human-vaginal-microbiota-from-clinical-medicine-to-models-to-mechanisms
#27
REVIEW
Samantha Ottinger, Clare M Robertson, Holly Branthoover, Kathryn A Patras
The composition of the vaginal microbiota is linked to numerous reproductive health problems, including increased susceptibility to infection, pregnancy complications, and impaired vaginal tissue repair; however, the mechanisms contributing to these adverse outcomes are not yet fully defined. In this review, we highlight recent clinical advancements associating vaginal microbiome composition and function with health outcomes. Subsequently, we provide a summary of emerging models employed to identify microbe-microbe interactions contributing to vaginal health, including metagenomic sequencing, multi-omics approaches, and advances in vaginal microbiota cultivation...
January 11, 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38215547/the-intersection-between-host-pathogen-interactions-and-metabolism-during-vibrio-cholerae-infection
#28
REVIEW
Sedelia R Dominguez, Phillip N Doan, Fabian Rivera-Chávez
Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae), the etiological agent of cholera, uses cholera toxin (CT) to cause severe diarrheal disease. Cholera is still a significant cause of mortality worldwide with about half of all cholera cases and deaths occurring in children under five. Owing to the lack of cost-effective vaccination and poor vaccine efficacy in children, there is a need for alternative preventative and therapeutic strategies. Recent advances in our knowledge of the interplay between CT-induced disease and host-pathogen metabolism have opened the door for investigating how modulation of intestinal metabolism by V...
January 11, 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38309247/the-ins-and-outs-of-brucella-intracellular-journey
#29
REVIEW
María I Marchesini, Juan M Spera, Diego J Comerci
Members of the genus Brucella are the causative agents of brucellosis, a worldwide zoonosis affecting wild and domestic animals and humans. These facultative intracellular pathogens cause long-lasting chronic infections by evolving sophisticated strategies to counteract, evade, or subvert host bactericidal mechanisms in order to establish a secure replicative niche necessary for their survival. In this review, we present recent findings on selected Brucella effectors to illustrate how this pathogen modulates host cell signaling pathways to gain control of the vacuole, promote the formation of a safe intracellular replication niche, alter host cell metabolism to its advantage, and exploit various cellular pathways to ensure egress from the infected cell...
April 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38277901/insights-into-the-role-of-the-respiratory-tract-microbiome-in-defense-against-bacterial-pneumonia
#30
REVIEW
Zoe G Drigot, Sarah E Clark
The respiratory tract microbiome (RTM) is a microbial ecosystem inhabiting different niches throughout the airway. A critical role for the RTM in dictating lung infection outcomes is underlined by recent efforts to identify community members benefiting respiratory tract health. Obligate anaerobes common in the oropharynx and lung such as Prevotella and Veillonella are associated with improved pneumonia outcomes and activate several immune defense pathways in the lower airway. Colonizers of the nasal cavity, including Corynebacterium and Dolosigranulum, directly impact the growth and virulence of lung pathogens, aligning with robust clinical correlations between their upper airway abundance and reduced respiratory tract infection risk...
February 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38039932/unlocking-the-potential-of-optogenetics-in-microbial-applications
#31
REVIEW
Moritz Benisch, Stephanie K Aoki, Mustafa Khammash
Optogenetics is a powerful approach that enables researchers to use light to dynamically manipulate cellular behavior. Since the first published use of optogenetics in synthetic biology, the field has expanded rapidly, yielding a vast array of tools and applications. Despite its immense potential for achieving high spatiotemporal precision, optogenetics has predominantly been employed as a substitute for conventional chemical inducers. In this short review, we discuss key features of microbial optogenetics and highlight applications for understanding biology, cocultures, bioproduction, biomaterials, and therapeutics, in which optogenetics is more fully utilized to realize goals not previously possible by other methods...
February 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38035509/nutritional-control-of-bacterial-dna-replication
#32
REVIEW
Joel Hallgren, Kristina Jonas
All cells must ensure precise regulation of DNA replication initiation in coordination with growth rate and in response to nutrient availability. According to a long-standing model, DNA replication initiation is tightly coupled to cell mass increase in bacteria. Despite controversies regarding this model, recent studies have provided additional support of this idea. The exact molecular mechanisms linking cell growth with DNA replication under different nutrient conditions remain elusive. However, recent studies in Caulobacter crescentus and Escherichia coli have provided insights into the regulation of DNA replication initiation in response to starvation...
February 2024: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38159358/the-ribosome-as-a-small-molecule-sensor
#33
REVIEW
Arunima Bhattacharya, Thibaud T Renault, Cristobal Axel Innis
Sensing small molecules is crucial for microorganisms to adapt their genetic programs to changes in their environment. Arrest peptides encoded by short regulatory open reading frames program the ribosomes that translate them to undergo translational arrest in response to specific metabolites. Ribosome stalling in turn controls the expression of downstream genes on the same messenger RNA by translational or transcriptional means. In this review, we present our current understanding of the mechanisms by which ribosomes translating arrest peptides sense different metabolites, such as antibiotics or amino acids, to control gene expression...
December 29, 2023: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38103413/contributions-of-diverse-models-of-the-female-reproductive-tract-to-the-study-of-chlamydia-trachomatis-host-interactions
#34
REVIEW
Forrest C Walker, Isabelle Derré
Chlamydia trachomatis is a common cause of sexually transmitted infections in humans with devastating sequelae. Understanding of disease on all scales, from molecular details to the immunology underlying pathology, is essential for identifying new ways of preventing and treating chlamydia. Infection models of various complexity are essential to understand all aspects of chlamydia pathogenesis. Cell culture systems allow for research into molecular details of infection, including characterization of the unique biphasic Chlamydia developmental cycle and the role of type-III-secreted effectors in modifying the host environment to allow for infection...
December 15, 2023: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38091857/artificial-selection-of-microbial-communities-what-have-we-learnt-and-how-can-we-improve
#35
REVIEW
Joshua L Thomas, Jamila Rowland-Chandler, Wenying Shou
Microbial communities are capable of performing diverse functions with important bioindustrial and medical applications. One approach to improving a community function is to breed new communities by artificially selecting for those displaying high community function ('community selection'). Importantly, community selection can improve the function of interest without needing to understand how the function arises, just like in classical artificial selection of individuals. However, experimental studies of community selection have had varied and largely limited success...
December 12, 2023: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38070462/specialized-biopolymers-versatile-tools-for-microbial-resilience
#36
REVIEW
Jana K Schniete, Thomas Brüser, Marcus A Horn, Natalia Tschowri
Bacteria produce a wide range of specialized biopolymers that can be classified into polysaccharides, polyamides, and polyesters and are considered to fulfill storage functions. In this review, we highlight recent developments in the field linking metabolism of biopolymers to stress and signaling physiology of the producers and demonstrating that biopolymers contribute to bacterial stress resistance and shape structure and composition of microenvironments. While specialized biopolymers are currently the focus of much attention in biotechnology as innovative and biodegradable materials, our understanding about the regulation and functions of these valuable compounds for the producers, microbial communities, and our environment is still very limited...
December 8, 2023: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/38061078/multilayered-regulation-of-amino-acid-metabolism-in-escherichia-coli
#37
REVIEW
Masatoshi Miyakoshi
Amino acid metabolism in Escherichia coli has long been studied and has established the basis for regulatory mechanisms at the transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and posttranslational levels. In addition to the classical signal transduction cascade involving posttranslational modifications (PTMs), novel PTMs in the two primary nitrogen assimilation pathways have recently been uncovered. The regulon of the master transcriptional regulator NtrC is further expanded by a small RNA derived from the 3´UTR of glutamine synthetase mRNA, which coordinates central carbon and nitrogen metabolism...
December 6, 2023: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/37992547/matching-the-%C3%AE-oxidation-gene-repertoire-with-the-wide-diversity-of-fatty-acids
#38
REVIEW
Veronica Schiaffi, Frédéric Barras, Emmanuelle Bouveret
Bacteria can use fatty acids (FAs) from their environment as carbon and energy source. This catabolism is performed by the enzymes of the well-known β-oxidation machinery, producing reducing power and releasing acetyl-CoA that can feed the tricarboxylic acid cycle. FAs are extremely diverse: they can be saturated or (poly)unsaturated and are found in different sizes. The need to degrade such a wide variety of compounds may explain why so many seemingly homologous enzymes are found for each step of the β-oxidation cycle...
November 21, 2023: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/37988810/phou-a-multifaceted-regulator-in-microbial-signaling-and-homeostasis
#39
REVIEW
Seungwoo Baek, Eun-Jin Lee
Inorganic phosphate (Pi) is a fundamental molecule crucial for numerous biological processes, such as ATP synthesis and phospholipid formation. To prevent cellular toxicity, Pi transport is often linked to counterion transport within the bacterium. This review discusses the multifaceted functions of the PhoU protein in bacterial regulation, focusing on its role in coordinating Pi transport with counterions, controlling polyphosphate accumulation, and regulating secondary metabolite biosynthesis and DNA repair...
November 20, 2023: Current Opinion in Microbiology
https://read.qxmd.com/read/37898053/cell-cycle-regulated-apiap2s-and-parasite-development-the-toxoplasma-paradigm
#40
REVIEW
Kourosh Zarringhalam, Sida Ye, Jingjing Lou, Yasaman Rezvani, Marc-Jan Gubbels
The cell division cycle of T. gondii is driven by cyclically expressed ApiAP2 transcription factors (AP2s) that promote gene sets (regulons) associated with specific biological functions. AP2s drive other AP2s, thereby propelling the progressive gene expression waves defining the lytic cycle. AP2s can act as dimers by themselves, in combination with other AP2s (constitutive or cyclical) or in complexes with epigenetic factors. Exit from the cell cycle into either the extracellular state or differentiation into bradyzoites results in major changes in gene expression...
October 26, 2023: Current Opinion in Microbiology
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