Microbial Primer: Cooperation in bacteria
Published in Microbiology
The growth and success of many bacteria appear to rely on a stunning range of cooperative behaviours. But what is cooperation and how is it studied?
Microbial Primer: An introduction to biofilms – what they are, why they form and their impact on built and natural envir...
Published in Microbiology
Biofilms are complex communities of microbes that are bound by an extracellular macromolecular matrix produced by the residents. Biofilms are the predominant form of microbial life in the natural environment and although they are the leading cause of chronic infections, they are equally deeply connected to our ability to bioremediate waste and toxi...
The putative role of the epipeptide EpeX in Bacillus subtilis intra-species competition.
Published in Microbiology (Reading, England)
Bacteria engage in competitive interactions with neighbours that can either be of the same or different species. Multiple mechanisms are deployed to ensure the desired outcome and one tactic commonly implemented is the production of specialised metabolites. The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis uses specialized metabolites as part of its in...
Rhodococcus rhodochrous IEGM 1360, an Effective Biocatalyst of C3 Oxidative Transformation of Oleanane Triterpenoids
Published in Microbiology
The optimal conditions for C3 oxidative biotransformation of 1.0 g/L pentacyclic triterpenoids oleanolic (OA) and glycyrrhetinic (GA) acids were determined using the resting cells of Rhodococcus rhodochrous IEGM 1360 from the Regional Specialised Collection of Alkanotrophic Microorganisms. Resting cell suspensions (OD600 2.6, pH 8.0, and OD600 2.2,...
The type-VI secretion system of the beneficial symbiont Vibrio fischeri.
Published in Microbiology (Reading, England)
The mutualistic symbiosis between the Hawaiian bobtail squid Euprymna scolopes and the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri is a powerful experimental system for determining how intercellular interactions impact animal-bacterial associations. In nature, this symbiosis features multiple strains of V. fischeri within each adult animal, which indicates th...
Triclosan-resistant small-colony variants of Staphylococcus aureus produce less capsule, less phenol-soluble modulins, a...
Published in Microbiology
In recent work we identified genes that confer the slow-growing and antibiotic-resistant small-colony variant (SCV) form of Staphylococcus aureus , as associated with the amount of capsule the bacteria produce. In this study we isolated a triclosan-resistant SCV (tr-SCV) and demonstrated that it produces significantly less capsule, an effect that a...
The Sinorhizobium meliloti NspS-MbaA system affects biofilm formation, exopolysaccharide production and motility in resp...
Published in Microbiology
We previously showed that specific polyamines (PAs) present in the extracellular environment markedly affect extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production, biofilm formation and motility in Sinorhizobium meliloti Rm8530. We hypothesized that extracellular PA signals were sensed and transduced by the NspS and MbaA proteins, respectively, which are h...
Transmembrane substrates of type three secretion system injectisomes
Published in Microbiology
The type three secretion system injectisome of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens injects virulence proteins, called effectors, into host cells. Effectors of mammalian pathogens carry out a range of functions enabling bacterial invasion, replication, immune suppression and transmission. The injectisome secretes two translocon proteins that insert in...
Transcriptional organization and regulation of the Pseudomonas putida K1 type VI secretion system gene cluster
Published in Microbiology
The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is an antimicrobial molecular weapon that is widespread in Proteobacteria and offers competitive advantages to T6SS-positive micro-organisms. Three T6SSs have recently been described in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 and it has been shown that one, K1-T6SS, is used to outcompete a wide range of phytopathogens, protect...
A putative xanthine dehydrogenase is critical for Borrelia burgdorferi survival in ticks and mice.
Published in Microbiology (Reading, England)
Borrelia burgdorferi is a pathogenic bacterium and the causative agent of Lyme disease. It is exposed to reactive oxygen species (ROS) in both the vertebrate and tick hosts. While some mechanisms by which B. burgdorferi ameliorates the effects of ROS exposure have been studied, there are likely other unknown mechanisms of ROS neutralization that co...
