{"title":"Small proteins in Gram-positive bacteria.","authors":"Sabine Brantl, Inam Ul Haq","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuad064","DOIUrl":"10.1093/femsre/fuad064","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Small proteins comprising less than 100 amino acids have been often ignored in bacterial genome annotations. About 10 years ago, focused efforts started to investigate whole peptidomes, which resulted in the discovery of a multitude of small proteins, but only a number of them have been characterized in detail. Generally, small proteins can be either membrane or cytosolic proteins. The latter interact with larger proteins, RNA or even metal ions. Here, we summarize our current knowledge on small proteins from Gram-positive bacteria with a special emphasis on the model organism Bacillus subtilis. Our examples include membrane-bound toxins of type I toxin-antitoxin systems, proteins that block the assembly of higher order structures, regulate sporulation or modulate the RNA degradosome. We do not consider antimicrobial peptides. Furthermore, we present methods for the identification and investigation of small proteins.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10730256/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138487033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Petra Sudzinová, Hana Šanderová, Tomáš Koval', Tereza Skálová, Nabajyoti Borah, Jarmila Hnilicová, Tomáš Kouba, Jan Dohnálek, Libor Krásný
{"title":"What the Hel: recent advances in understanding rifampicin resistance in bacteria.","authors":"Petra Sudzinová, Hana Šanderová, Tomáš Koval', Tereza Skálová, Nabajyoti Borah, Jarmila Hnilicová, Tomáš Kouba, Jan Dohnálek, Libor Krásný","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuac051","DOIUrl":"10.1093/femsre/fuac051","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rifampicin is a clinically important antibiotic that binds to, and blocks the DNA/RNA channel of bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP). Stalled, nonfunctional RNAPs can be removed from DNA by HelD proteins; this is important for maintenance of genome integrity. Recently, it was reported that HelD proteins from high G+C Actinobacteria, called HelR, are able to dissociate rifampicin-stalled RNAPs from DNA and provide rifampicin resistance. This is achieved by the ability of HelR proteins to dissociate rifampicin from RNAP. The HelR-mediated mechanism of rifampicin resistance is discussed here, and the roles of HelD/HelR in the transcriptional cycle are outlined. Moreover, the possibility that the structurally similar HelD proteins from low G+C Firmicutes may be also involved in rifampicin resistance is explored. Finally, the discovery of the involvement of HelR in rifampicin resistance provides a blueprint for analogous studies to reveal novel mechanisms of bacterial antibiotic resistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10719064/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10419419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exposing the small protein load of bacterial life.","authors":"Laure Simoens, Igor Fijalkowski, Petra Van Damme","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuad063","DOIUrl":"10.1093/femsre/fuad063","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ever-growing repertoire of genomic techniques continues to expand our understanding of the true diversity and richness of prokaryotic genomes. Riboproteogenomics laid the foundation for dynamic studies of previously overlooked genomic elements. Most strikingly, bacterial genomes were revealed to harbor robust repertoires of small open reading frames (sORFs) encoding a diverse and broadly expressed range of small proteins, or sORF-encoded polypeptides (SEPs). In recent years, continuous efforts led to great improvements in the annotation and characterization of such proteins, yet many challenges remain to fully comprehend the pervasive nature of small proteins and their impact on bacterial biology. In this work, we review the recent developments in the dynamic field of bacterial genome reannotation, catalog the important biological roles carried out by small proteins and identify challenges obstructing the way to full understanding of these elusive proteins.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10723866/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138444413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chromosome structure and DNA replication dynamics during the life cycle of the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.","authors":"Karolina Pląskowska, Jolanta Zakrzewska-Czerwińska","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuad057","DOIUrl":"10.1093/femsre/fuad057","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, an obligate predatory Gram-negative bacterium that proliferates inside and kills other Gram-negative bacteria, was discovered more than 60 years ago. However, we have only recently begun to understand the detailed cell biology of this proficient bacterial killer. Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus exhibits a peculiar life cycle and bimodal proliferation, and thus represents an attractive model for studying novel aspects of bacterial cell biology. The life cycle of B. bacteriovorus consists of two phases: a free-living nonreplicative attack phase and an intracellular reproductive phase. During the reproductive phase, B. bacteriovorus grows as an elongated cell and undergoes binary or nonbinary fission, depending on the prey size. In this review, we discuss: (1) how the chromosome structure of B. bacteriovorus is remodeled during its life cycle; (2) how its chromosome replication dynamics depends on the proliferation mode; (3) how the initiation of chromosome replication is controlled during the life cycle, and (4) how chromosome replication is spatiotemporally coordinated with the proliferation program.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11318664/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41136318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Role of the extracellular matrix in Candida biofilm antifungal resistance.","authors":"Justin Massey, Robert Zarnowski, David Andes","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuad059","DOIUrl":"10.1093/femsre/fuad059","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Clinical infection due to Candida species frequently involve growth in biofilm communities. Recalcitrance despite antifungal therapy leads to disease persistence associated with high morbidity and mortality. Candida possesses several tools allowing evasion of antifungal effects. Among these, protection of biofilm cells via encasement by the extracellular matrix is responsible for a majority drug resistance phenotype. The Candida matrix composition is complex and includes a mannan-glucan complex linked to antifungal drug sequestration. This mechanism of resistance is conserved across the Candida genus and impacts each of the available antifungal drug classes. The exosome pathway is responsible for delivery and assembly of much of the Candida extracellular matrix as functional vesicle protein and polysaccharide cargo. Investigations demonstrate the vesicle matrix delivery pathway is a useful fungal biofilm drug target. Further elucidation of the vesicle pathway, as well as understanding the roles of biofilm driven cargo may provide additional targets to aid the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of Candida biofilms.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41195977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vic Norris, Clara Kayser, Georgi Muskhelishvili, Yoan Konto-Ghiorghi
{"title":"The roles of nucleoid-associated proteins and topoisomerases in chromosome structure, strand segregation, and the generation of phenotypic heterogeneity in bacteria.","authors":"Vic Norris, Clara Kayser, Georgi Muskhelishvili, Yoan Konto-Ghiorghi","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuac049","DOIUrl":"10.1093/femsre/fuac049","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>How to adapt to a changing environment is a fundamental, recurrent problem confronting cells. One solution is for cells to organize their constituents into a limited number of spatially extended, functionally relevant, macromolecular assemblies or hyperstructures, and then to segregate these hyperstructures asymmetrically into daughter cells. This asymmetric segregation becomes a particularly powerful way of generating a coherent phenotypic diversity when the segregation of certain hyperstructures is with only one of the parental DNA strands and when this pattern of segregation continues over successive generations. Candidate hyperstructures for such asymmetric segregation in prokaryotes include those containing the nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) and the topoisomerases. Another solution to the problem of creating a coherent phenotypic diversity is by creating a growth-environment-dependent gradient of supercoiling generated along the replication origin-to-terminus axis of the bacterial chromosome. This gradient is modulated by transcription, NAPs, and topoisomerases. Here, we focus primarily on two topoisomerases, TopoIV and DNA gyrase in Escherichia coli, on three of its NAPs (H-NS, HU, and IHF), and on the single-stranded binding protein, SSB. We propose that the combination of supercoiling-gradient-dependent and strand-segregation-dependent topoisomerase activities result in significant differences in the supercoiling of daughter chromosomes, and hence in the phenotypes of daughter cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10411678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christina L Wiesmann, Nicole R Wang, Yue Zhang, Zhexian Liu, Cara H Haney
{"title":"Origins of symbiosis: shared mechanisms underlying microbial pathogenesis, commensalism and mutualism of plants and animals.","authors":"Christina L Wiesmann, Nicole R Wang, Yue Zhang, Zhexian Liu, Cara H Haney","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuac048","DOIUrl":"10.1093/femsre/fuac048","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Regardless of the outcome of symbiosis, whether it is pathogenic, mutualistic or commensal, bacteria must first colonize their hosts. Intriguingly, closely related bacteria that colonize diverse hosts with diverse outcomes of symbiosis have conserved host-association and virulence factors. This review describes commonalities in the process of becoming host associated amongst bacteria with diverse lifestyles. Whether a pathogen, commensal or mutualist, bacteria must sense the presence of and migrate towards a host, compete for space and nutrients with other microbes, evade the host immune system, and change their physiology to enable long-term host association. We primarily focus on well-studied taxa, such as Pseudomonas, that associate with diverse model plant and animal hosts, with far-ranging symbiotic outcomes. Given the importance of opportunistic pathogens and chronic infections in both human health and agriculture, understanding the mechanisms that facilitate symbiotic relationships between bacteria and their hosts will help inform the development of disease treatments for both humans, and the plants we eat.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10719066/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10724260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mads Lichtenberg, Tom Coenye, Matthew R Parsek, Thomas Bjarnsholt, Tim Holm Jakobsen
{"title":"What's in a name? Characteristics of clinical biofilms.","authors":"Mads Lichtenberg, Tom Coenye, Matthew R Parsek, Thomas Bjarnsholt, Tim Holm Jakobsen","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuad050","DOIUrl":"10.1093/femsre/fuad050","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In vitro biofilms are communities of microbes with unique features compared to individual cells. Biofilms are commonly characterized by physical traits like size, adhesion, and a matrix made of extracellular substances. They display distinct phenotypic features, such as metabolic activity and antibiotic tolerance. However, the relative importance of these traits depends on the environment and bacterial species. Various mechanisms enable biofilm-associated bacteria to withstand antibiotics, including physical barriers, physiological adaptations, and changes in gene expression. Gene expression profiles in biofilms differ from individual cells but, there is little consensus among studies and so far, a 'biofilm signature transcriptome' has not been recognized. Additionally, the spatial and temporal variability within biofilms varies greatly depending on the system or environment. Despite all these variable conditions, which produce very diverse structures, they are all noted as biofilms. We discuss that clinical biofilms may differ from those grown in laboratories and found in the environment and discuss whether the characteristics that are commonly used to define and characterize biofilms have been shown in infectious biofilms. We emphasize that there is a need for a comprehensive understanding of the specific traits that are used to define bacteria in infections as clinical biofilms.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":"47 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.3,"publicationDate":"2023-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10503651/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10305362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction to: Exploring probiotic effector molecules and their mode of action in gut-immune interactions.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuad055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/femsre/fuad055","url":null,"abstract":"This review explores the functional importance and underlying mechanisms of probiotic components, their impact on gut–immune homeostasis, and their potential applications in promoting human health.","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":"47 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.3,"publicationDate":"2023-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41182351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhe Diao, Stefan Dyksma, Elif Koeksoy, David Kamanda Ngugi, Karthik Anantharaman, Alexander Loy, Michael Pester
{"title":"Global diversity and inferred ecophysiology of microorganisms with the potential for dissimilatory sulfate/sulfite reduction.","authors":"Muhe Diao, Stefan Dyksma, Elif Koeksoy, David Kamanda Ngugi, Karthik Anantharaman, Alexander Loy, Michael Pester","doi":"10.1093/femsre/fuad058","DOIUrl":"10.1093/femsre/fuad058","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sulfate/sulfite-reducing microorganisms (SRM) are ubiquitous in nature, driving the global sulfur cycle. A hallmark of SRM is the dissimilatory sulfite reductase encoded by the genes dsrAB. Based on analysis of 950 mainly metagenome-derived dsrAB-carrying genomes, we redefine the global diversity of microorganisms with the potential for dissimilatory sulfate/sulfite reduction and uncover genetic repertoires that challenge earlier generalizations regarding their mode of energy metabolism. We show: (i) 19 out of 23 bacterial and 2 out of 4 archaeal phyla harbor uncharacterized SRM, (ii) four phyla including the Desulfobacterota harbor microorganisms with the genetic potential to switch between sulfate/sulfite reduction and sulfur oxidation, and (iii) the combination as well as presence/absence of different dsrAB-types, dsrL-types and dsrD provides guidance on the inferred direction of dissimilatory sulfur metabolism. We further provide an updated dsrAB database including > 60% taxonomically resolved, uncultured family-level lineages and recommendations on existing dsrAB-targeted primers for environmental surveys. Our work summarizes insights into the inferred ecophysiology of newly discovered SRM, puts SRM diversity into context of the major recent changes in bacterial and archaeal taxonomy, and provides an up-to-date framework to study SRM in a global context.</p>","PeriodicalId":12201,"journal":{"name":"FEMS microbiology reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.3,"publicationDate":"2023-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10591310/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41114890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}