Yoon Chae Jeong, Seong-Hyeon Kim, Seongjoon Moon, Hyunhee Kim, Changhan Lee
{"title":"Proteostasis-targeted antibacterial strategies.","authors":"Yoon Chae Jeong, Seong-Hyeon Kim, Seongjoon Moon, Hyunhee Kim, Changhan Lee","doi":"10.71150/jm.2511007","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2511007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Protein quality control systems are increasingly recognized as a critical determinant of bacterial survival and antibiotic tolerance. Conventional antibiotics predominantly target nucleic acids, protein synthesis, or cell wall synthesis, yet bacterial adaptation and resistance emergence remain major challenges. Targeting the bacterial protein quality control machineries including molecular chaperones and proteases offers a promising strategy to overcome these limitations. Recent advances include small molecules and adaptor/degron mimetics that modulate the activities of chaperones and proteases, aggregation-prone peptides (APPs) that induce proteotoxic stress, and bacterial PROTAC (BacPROTAC) strategies that redirect endogenous proteases. Notably, persister and viable-but-non-culturable (VBNC) cells, which tolerate conventional antibiotics, remain susceptible to proteostasis-targeted approaches, thereby enabling killing in both actively dividing and dormant populations. Furthermore, synergistic strategies combining chaperone inhibition or protease activation with conventional antibiotics enhance bactericidal efficacy, suggesting a potential avenue to mitigate antimicrobial resistance. This review summarizes the mechanistic basis, recent developments, and translational potential of proteostasis-centered antibacterial strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"e2511007"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577121/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147284403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pioneering strategies for overcoming bacterial drug resistance.","authors":"Byoung Sik Kim","doi":"10.71150/jm.2603100","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2603100","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":"64 3","pages":"e2603100"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577069/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147592750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yeongseo Lee, Yeo Jin Kim, Minhee Oh, Joon-Ho Lee, Saemee Song, Jaesung Kwak
{"title":"Antibiotic hybrids: A promising strategy to replenish the pipeline and combat antimicrobial resistance.","authors":"Yeongseo Lee, Yeo Jin Kim, Minhee Oh, Joon-Ho Lee, Saemee Song, Jaesung Kwak","doi":"10.71150/jm.2510006","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2510006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses an ongoing threat to global health, with the number of deaths directly attributable to AMR projected to rise to 8 million. One of the main reasons for the current crisis is the depletion of antibiotic candidates in clinical pipelines. To address this, more preclinical candidates must be advanced into development. However, the scientific challenges and limited economic incentives associated with antibiotic research have further aggravated the situation. Antibiotic hybrids, which combine two antibiotics with different modes of action, have emerged as a promising strategy to overcome AMR and are already being developed for clinical use. This approach takes advantage of the strong selective pressure exerted when two bactericidal agents act simultaneously. Importantly, because hybrids are administered as a single chemical entity, they may offer advantages over conventional combination therapies, such as simplified pharmacokinetics and dosing. Furthermore, since clinically validated antibiotics are used as the building blocks of hybrids, this strategy provides an efficient platform for generating new lead compounds. Recently, the concept of antibiotic hybrids has expanded beyond antibiotic-antibiotic conjugates to include the attachment of functional molecules designed to mitigate the disadvantages of the parent antibiotics. In this review, we summarize the definition of antibiotic hybrids, highlight representative compounds that have entered clinical evaluation, and discuss recent advances in their development.</p>","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"e2510006"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577010/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147284384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emerging synthetic biology-assisted technologies for overcoming antibiotic resistance: CRISPR-Cas, bacteriophage, microbiome, and metabolic engineering-based solutions.","authors":"Yujeong Oh, Hyunjin Lee, Sungho Jang","doi":"10.71150/jm.2512002","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2512002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antibiotic resistance has become a critical global health challenge due to the decreased efficacy of existing antibiotics and the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens. In particular, the rapid horizontal transfer of resistance genes and the diverse mechanisms by which bacteria acquire resistance have significantly undermined the effectiveness of conventional therapeutic strategies, revealing fundamental limitations in current infectious disease management. In this context, synthetic biology provides a promising framework to overcome the limitations of conventional antibiotics by integrating engineering principles with bioengineering approaches, thereby enabling precise and programmable control of biological processes. These synthetic biology-based approaches offer substantial potential for developing sustainable and highly specific antimicrobial strategies. This review comprehensively examines recent advances in synthetic biology-assisted antimicrobial strategies, including CRISPR-Cas systems, bacteriophage engineering, microbiome engineering, and metabolic engineering-driven antibiotic discovery. Collectively, these approaches represent a precision antimicrobial paradigm that enables selective targeting of resistant bacteria while preserving microbiome homeostasis. These strategies also provide new directions for limiting resistance dissemination and guiding the development of next-generation therapeutics.</p>","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":"64 3","pages":"e2512002"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577098/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147592727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ji Eun Son, Umji Choi, Gyubin Han, Jeongho Lee, Chang-Ro Lee
{"title":"Recent trends in dual-acting hybrid antibiotics and combination therapies against Gram-negative pathogens.","authors":"Ji Eun Son, Umji Choi, Gyubin Han, Jeongho Lee, Chang-Ro Lee","doi":"10.71150/jm.2601004","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2601004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antibiotic resistance poses a serious challenge to public health worldwide; however, the development of new antibiotic classes for combating bacterial infections, especially those caused by Gram-negative pathogens, has slowed in recent years. Dual-acting hybrid antibiotics with a metabolically non-cleavable covalent bond represent an emerging strategy for developing novel antibiotic classes to overcome antibiotic resistance. The covalent connection between two antibiotics results in a fixed pharmacokinetic profile of a single molecule and can impede bacterial efflux. However, as most antibiotics do not have membrane-destabilizing activity, the resulting increase in molecular weight by connection of two antibiotics could limit their activity against Gram-negative bacteria, whose outer membrane forms a strong barrier blocking the penetration of high-molecular weight antibiotics. Here, we review recent developments in dual-acting hybrid antibiotics targeting Gram-negative bacteria, with a focus on their antibacterial efficacy. We also discuss combination therapy strategies in which the underlying molecular mechanisms of synergy have been characterized. Finally, we outline future directions for the rational design of hybrid antibiotics against Gram-negative pathogens.</p>","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":"64 3","pages":"e2601004"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577051/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147592761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yongjun Kim, Chang-Jun Ji, Seohyun Park, Junsuk Lee, Jiwoon Jung, Yejin Kim, Dabin Pyeon, Yoon-Mo Yang
{"title":"Ribosome-associated proteins in fungal ribosome homeostasis: Conceptual opportunities for peptide-based modulation.","authors":"Yongjun Kim, Chang-Jun Ji, Seohyun Park, Junsuk Lee, Jiwoon Jung, Yejin Kim, Dabin Pyeon, Yoon-Mo Yang","doi":"10.71150/jm.2511006","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2511006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ribosomes are essential macromolecular machines that facilitate protein synthesis and have long been recognized as effective targets for antimicrobial agents. While structural differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes form the basis for selective antibiotics against bacteria, similar approaches for developing antifungal agents targeting ribosomes have remained limited due to the high sequence and structural conservation with human ribosomes. However, emerging insights into ribosome homeostasis, including ribosome biogenesis, turnover, and hibernation, have uncovered a set of ribosome-associated proteins whose function is critical yet display greater sequence divergence from their human counterparts. These observations suggest that these regulatory components may represent viable antifungal targets by disrupting fungal proteostasis. The present review aims to explore this developing concept by examining ribosome-associated factors and considering whether short ribosomal protein-derived peptides may eventually serve as druggable molecules for selectively modulating these pathways in fungal pathogens.</p>","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"e2511006"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577076/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147284331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dahwan Lim, Jung-Hwan Park, Ho-Chul Shin, Seung Jun Kim, Bonsu Ku
{"title":"Molecular analysis of the interaction between ubiquitin-specific protease 7 and large T antigen of Merkel cell polyomavirus.","authors":"Dahwan Lim, Jung-Hwan Park, Ho-Chul Shin, Seung Jun Kim, Bonsu Ku","doi":"10.71150/jm.2511009","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2511009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is the primary causative agent of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare but highly aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer. Large T antigen (LT), one of two oncoproteins encoded by MCPyV, sustains the proliferation of MCPyV-infected tumor cells. LT contains multiple protein-binding motifs that mediate interactions with diverse host proteins essential for its function. Among these, ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (Usp7), a deubiquitinase that regulates the stability of multiple substrates, including p53, is a recently identified LT-interacting protein. In the present study, we characterized the intermolecular interaction between Usp7 and MCPyV LT using biochemical analyses and AlphaFold-based structural modeling. Our results demonstrate that MCPyV LT directly interacts with the TRAF domain of Usp7 via a unique binding motif that is distinct from the canonical sequence. Moreover, MCPyV LT attenuates the p53-deubiquitinating activity of Usp7, providing insights into the molecular function of this viral oncoprotein.</p>","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"e2511009"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577026/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147284353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Seungyeop Oh, Yeonjung Lim, Meora Rajeev, Jang-Cheon Cho
{"title":"Robiginitalea rubriflava sp. nov. and Robiginitalea insularis sp. nov., isolated from coastal seawaters of the Yellow Sea.","authors":"Seungyeop Oh, Yeonjung Lim, Meora Rajeev, Jang-Cheon Cho","doi":"10.71150/jm.2512009","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2512009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Two Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterial strains, designated IMCC43444T and IMCC44478T, were isolated from surface seawater collected off Deokjeok Island and Jangbong Island, respectively, in the Yellow Sea. The two strains shared 100% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with each other but exhibited ≤ 96.2% similarity to validly published species of the genus Robiginitalea. Complete whole-genome sequences of IMCC43444T and IMCC44478T were 3.21 Mb and 3.30 Mb in size, with DNA G + C contents of 46.5% and 46.4%, respectively. Genome-based relatedness analyses revealed average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values of 90.7% and 42.9% between the two strains, which are well below the accepted species-level thresholds. Furthermore, ANI (≤ 70.2%) and dDDH (≤ 17.8%) values relative to type strains of Robiginitalea species supported the conclusion that strains IMCC43444T and IMCC44478T each represent novel species within the genus. Chemotaxonomic characterization showed that iso-C15:0, iso-C17:0 3-OH and iso-C15:1 G were the major fatty acids of both strains; menaquinone-6 (MK-6) was the sole isoprenoid quinone; and the major polar lipids comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, glycolipids, aminolipids, phospholipids, and other unidentified lipids. Based on phylogenetic, genomic, and phenotypic evidence, strains IMCC43444T and IMCC44478T are proposed as two novel species, Robiginitalea rubriflava sp. nov. and Robiginitalea insularis sp. nov., respectively. The type strains are IMCC43444T (= KCTC 102397T = JCM 37893T) and IMCC44478T (= KCTC 102398T = JCM 37894T).</p>","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"e2512009"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577070/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147284382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ve Van Le, Nam-Ho Lee, Gyung-Min Go, Somi Kim Cho, Man-Young Jung, Sang-Ah Lee
{"title":"Development of a cost-effective medium for enhanced biomass-associated fucoxanthin and bio-silica yields of diatom (Melosira nummuloides).","authors":"Ve Van Le, Nam-Ho Lee, Gyung-Min Go, Somi Kim Cho, Man-Young Jung, Sang-Ah Lee","doi":"10.71150/jm.2512005","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2512005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fucoxanthin has gained attention for its beneficial effects, including anti-cancer, anti-obesity, and anti-inflammatory activities. A benthic marine diatom Melosira nummuloides is a promising candidate for fucoxanthin production. Nevertheless, industrial-scale cultivation remains constrained by suboptimal growth performance and the lack of species-tailored media. This study aimed to develop a cost-effective medium for enhancing biomass and fucoxanthin production in M. nummuloides by modifying the conventional F/2 medium based on species-specific intracellular nutrient stoichiometry. The cellular molar N:P:Si ratio of M. nummuloides was identified as 13:1:12.3. Despite nitrogen reduction by 36.13% relative to F/2 medium, M. nummuloides cultivated in the Melosira-Optimized Medium using Fumed Silica (MOM-FS) was well grown, achieving biomass concentration of 261 mg/L on day 4-approximately 1.21-fold higher than that obtained with F/2. In addition, MOM-FS enhanced biomass-associated fucoxanthin yield by 10.3% and biogenic silica yield by 20.8% relative to the F/2. The use of MOM-FS reduced total medium costs by 28.3%, fucoxanthin production cost by 36.8%, and bio-silica production cost by 28.3%. Overall, these findings indicate that the cost-effective medium developed here provides a practical, efficient, and economically viable framework for large-scale cultivation of M. nummuloides and the co-production of fucoxanthin and bio-silica.</p>","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":"64 2","pages":"e2512005"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577039/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147390158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jin Hao Tan, Prashant Mainali, Wei Zhang, Dave Siak-Wei Ow
{"title":"Armored RNA technology as a clinical diagnostics tool for future pandemic preparedness.","authors":"Jin Hao Tan, Prashant Mainali, Wei Zhang, Dave Siak-Wei Ow","doi":"10.71150/jm.2510016","DOIUrl":"10.71150/jm.2510016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of reliable molecular diagnostics in outbreak response and the vulnerabilities of existing systems to delays and reagent instability. Armored RNA technology, which packages RNA within bacteriophage-derived capsids, offers a robust solution by combining nuclease resistance, safety, and versatility into a single platform. Armored RNA has become a trusted internal and external control for RT-qPCR and RT-LAMP, enabling accurate detection across a wide range of viral pathogens. Also, recent advances in alternative expression systems, such as plant-based and cell-free platforms, as well as the use of more stable scaffolds from bacteriophage Qβ, are enhancing yield, stability, and accessibility of armored RNA. Engineering innovations, including capsid polymorphism and optimized downstream purification, further improve efficiency and broaden possible applications. Looking ahead, armored RNA holds promise not only as a diagnostic standard but also as a delivery vehicle for vaccines and therapeutics. Encapsulation of self-amplifying RNA, small interfering RNA, or microRNA could open new pathways for rapid-response vaccines and targeted therapies, aligning this technology with the future of precision medicine. By uniting stability, scalability, and adaptability, armored RNA represents a critical component of global health preparedness, with the potential to strengthen diagnostic resilience and accelerate biomedical countermeasures in future pandemics.</p>","PeriodicalId":16546,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology","volume":"64 2","pages":"e2510016"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13577032/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147390238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}