Escherichia coli
PhysiologyPhysiological, Genetic, and Transcriptomic Analysis of Alcohol-Induced Delay of Escherichia coli DeathIn one of the most well-studied organisms in the life sciences, Escherichia coli, we still do not fully understand what causes populations to die. This is largely due to the technological difficulties of studying bacterial cell death. This study provides an avenue to studying how and why E. coli...
Microbial Ecology | SpotlightAssessing Transmission of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli in Wild Giraffe Contact NetworksAntimicrobial resistance represents a significant threat to human health, food security, and the global economy. To fully understand the evolution and dissemination of resistance genes, a complete picture of antimicrobial resistance in all biological compartments, including natural ecosystems, is required. The environment and wild animals may act as reservoirs for anthropogenically derived resistance genes that could be transferrable to...
Microbial Ecology | SpotlightA Simple In Vitro Gut Model for Studying the Interaction between Escherichia coli and the Intestinal Commensal Microbiota in Cecal MucusBoth commensal and pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli appear to colonize the mammalian intestine by interacting physically and metabolically with other members of the microbiota in the mucus layer that overlays the cecal and colonic epithelium. However, the use of animal models and the complexity of the mammalian gut make it difficult to isolate experimental...
Public and Environmental Health MicrobiologyAntibiotic-Resistant Escherichia coli and Class 1 Integrons in Humans, Domestic Animals, and Wild Primates in Rural UgandaAntibiotic resistance is a global problem. This study, conducted in rural western Uganda, describes antibiotic resistance patterns in Escherichia coli bacteria near two forested national parks. Resistance was present not only in people, but also in their livestock and in nearby wild nonhuman primates. Multidrug resistance and class 1 integrons containing genes that...
Environmental MicrobiologyMicrobial Source Tracking Using Quantitative and Digital PCR To Identify Sources of Fecal Contamination in Stormwater, River Water, and Beach Water in a Great Lakes Area of ConcernFecal contamination of recreational water poses a persistent and ongoing problem, particularly in areas of concern around the Great Lakes. The identification of the source(s) of fecal contamination is essential for safeguarding public health as well as guiding remediation efforts; however, fecal contamination may frequently be present at low levels and remain undetectable by certain methodologies. In this study, we utilized microbial...
Enzymology and Protein EngineeringBoosting Secretion of Extracellular Protein by Escherichia coli via Cell Wall PerturbationCell surface structure stabilization is important for extracellular secretion of proteins in Escherichia coli. As the main constituent of the cell wall, peptidoglycan contributes to cell structure robustness and stability. Here, we perturbed the peptidoglycan network by deleting dacA and dacB genes encoding d,...
Evolutionary and Genomic MicrobiologyMultiple Optimal Phenotypes Overcome Redox and Glycolytic Intermediate Metabolite Imbalances in Escherichia coli pgi Knockout EvolutionsA mechanistic understanding of how microbes are able to overcome the loss of a gene through regulatory and metabolic changes is not well understood. Eight independent adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments with pgi knockout strains resulted in eight phenotypically distinct endpoints that were able to overcome the gene loss. Utilizing multi-omics analysis, the coordinated mechanisms from genome to metabolome that lead...
Biotechnology | SpotlightMicrobial Cell Factories à la Carte: Elimination of Global Regulators Cra and ArcA Generates Metabolic Backgrounds Suitable for the Synthesis of Bioproducts in Escherichia coliAlthough the effects of many global regulators, especially ArcA and Cra, have been studied in Escherichia coli, the metabolic changes caused by the absence of global regulators have been observed to differ between strains. This scenario complicates the identification of the individual effects of the regulators, which is essential for the design of metabolic...
- BiotechnologyEngineering Escherichia coli for Glutarate Production as the C5 Platform Backbone
Glutarate is an important C5 linear-chain dicarboxylic acid, which is widely used in polyesters and polyamides such as nylon-4,5 and nylon-5,5 in the chemical industry. Glutarate is currently produced from the feedstocks derived from petroleum, specifically by oxidation of a mixture of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol catalyzed by nitric acid. However, the chemical synthesis results in high pollution and dramatic greenhouse gas...
- Public and Environmental Health MicrobiologyPoikilothermic Animals as a Previously Unrecognized Source of Fecal Indicator Bacteria in a Backwater Ecosystem of a Large River
The current fecal indicator concept is based on the assumption that the standard fecal indicator bacteria (SFIB) Escherichia coli, intestinal enterococci, and Clostridium perfringens multiply significantly only in the guts of humans and other homeothermic animals and can therefore indicate fecal...