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Environmental MicrobiologyStreptomyces Endophytes Promote Host Health and Enhance Growth across Plant SpeciesWe must reduce reliance on agrochemicals, and there is increasing interest in using bacterial strains to promote plant growth and protect against disease. Our study follows up reports that Arabidopsis thaliana specifically recruits Streptomyces bacteria to its roots. We test the hypotheses that they offer benefits to their A. thaliana hosts and that...
Environmental MicrobiologyMicroampere Electric Current Causes Bacterial Membrane Damage and Two-Way Leakage in a Short Period of TimeAlthough electric voltage and current have been studied for a long time in terms of their ability to suppress the growth of bacteria and to kill bacteria, increasing interest has been aroused more recently due to the prevalence of antibiotic resistance of microbes in past decades. Toward understanding the antimicrobial mechanism of low electric voltage and current, previous studies showed that treating bacteria with milliampere electric...
Food MicrobiologyEffect of Rubusoside, a Natural Sucrose Substitute, on Streptococcus mutans Biofilm Cariogenic Potential and Virulence Gene Expression In VitroDental caries is a major public health challenge and places heavy biological, social, and financial burdens on individuals and health care systems. To palliate the deleterious effect of sucrose on the virulence factors of S. mutans, massive commercial efforts have been oriented toward developing products that may act as sucrose substitutes. Rubusoside, a natural...
Environmental MicrobiologyDiazotrophic Anaeromyxobacter Isolates from SoilsAnaeromyxobacter is globally distributed in soil environments, especially predominant in paddy soils. Current studies based on environmental DNA/RNA analyses frequently detect gene fragments encoding nitrogenase of Anaeromyxobacter from various soil environments. Although the importance of Anaeromyxobacter as a diazotroph in nature has been suggested by culture-independent studies, there has been no solid...
Environmental MicrobiologyRole of Toxin-Antitoxin-Regulated Persister Population and Indole in Bacterial Heat ToleranceOur study demonstrated that a small persister population exhibits significantly higher heat tolerance than normal cells and that this small fraction contributes to the heat tolerance of the total bacterial population. This study also demonstrated that indole, known to inhibit persister formation, and its derivatives are very promising candidates to reduce the heat tolerance of not only normal bacterial cells but also persister cells....
BiotechnologyComparative Target Analysis of Chlorinated Biphenyl Antimicrobials Highlights MenG as a Molecular Target of TriclocarbanTCC’s widespread use as an antimicrobial agent has made it a ubiquitous environmental pollutant despite its withdrawal due to ecological and toxicological concerns. With its antibacterial mechanism of action still being unknown, we undertook a comparative target analysis between TCC, PK150 (a recently discovered antibacterial compound with structural resemblance to TCC), and TCS (another widely employed chlorinated biphenyl...
Food Microbiology | SpotlightAnother Breaker of the Wall: the Biological Function of the Usp45 Protein of Lactococcus lactisThe cell wall, composed mainly of peptidoglycan, is key to maintaining the cell shape and protecting the cell from bursting. Peptidoglycan degradation by peptidoglycan hydrolysis and autolysins occurs during growth and cell division. Since peptidoglycan hydrolases are important for virulence, envelope integrity, and regulation of cell division, it is valuable to investigate their function and regulation. Notably, PcsB-like proteins such...
Genetics and Molecular Biology | SpotlightTranscriptional Organization of the Stability Module of Broad-Host-Range Plasmid RA3, from the IncU GroupThe efficiently disseminating conjugative or mobilizable BHR plasmids play key roles in the horizontal spread of genetic information between closely related and phylogenetically distant species, which can be harmful from the medical, veterinary, or industrial point of view. Understanding the mechanisms determining the plasmid’s ability to function in diverse hosts is essential to help limit the spread of undesirable plasmid-encoded...
Biotechnology | SpotlightScreening and Evaluation of New Hydroxymethylfurfural Oxidases for Furandicarboxylic Acid ProductionHMFO is the only enzyme described to date that can catalyze by itself the three consecutive oxidation steps to produce FDCA from HMF. Unfortunately, only one HMFO enzyme is currently available for biotechnological application. This availability is enlarged here by the identification, heterologous production, purification, and characterization of two new HMFOs, one from ...
Genetics and Molecular BiologyThe Type IX Secretion System Is Required for Virulence of the Fish Pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilumBacterial cold-water disease, caused by F. psychrophilum, is a major problem for salmonid aquaculture. Little is known regarding the virulence factors involved in this disease, and control measures are inadequate. A targeted gene deletion method was adapted to F. psychrophilum and used to...