Showing papers in "Current Opinion in Microbiology in 2010"

TL;DR: The evidence has been accumulated supporting the role of viral immunoevasion of NK cells in viral pathogenesis in vivo and the existence of plethora of viral mechanisms aimed to modulate their function.

TL;DR: The dual 1986 discoveries of amino acid sequence similarity and protein phosphorylation in two-component systems sparked an expanding field of investigation that continues vigorously to this day.

TL;DR: Understanding the extent of the environmental resistome and its mobilization into pathogenic bacteria is essential for the management and discovery of antibiotics.

TL;DR: Fundamental issues associated with its formulation and use are reviewed and use to compute optimal growth states are reviewed.

TL;DR: Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates has been investigated for more than eighty years but recently a number of factors including increase in the price of crude oil and public awareness of the environmental issues have become a notable driving force for extended research on biopolymers.

TL;DR: β-Lactamase-mediated resistance is increasingly associated with plasmid-encoded extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and carbapenemases, specifically the CTX-M family of ESBLs, the KPC family of serine carbs, and the VIM, IMP, and NDM-1 metallo-β-lACTamases.

TL;DR: RNomics and deep sequencing approaches discovered the small RNA and mRNA targets of Hfq, and indicated that this protein might impact on the expression of up to 20% of all genes in some organisms, including genes of type 3 secretion systems.

TL;DR: A revised model for P(i) signal transduction of the E. coli Pho regulon is described, which appears to correspond to different states of the sensory histidine kinase PhoR: an inhibition state, an activation state, and a deactivation state.

TL;DR: This review summarises latest advances in the analysis of chitin synthesis regulation in the context of fungal pathogenesis and describes how this plays a role in the activation and attenuation of immune responses to fungi and other chitIn-containing parasites.

TL;DR: Patterns of the distribution of various RR families are generally conserved within key microbial lineages and can be used to trace adaptations of various species to their unique ecological niches.

TL;DR: Some recent progress in understanding of the effects of these proteins on DNA and their biological role are reviewed, focussing mainly on Escherichia coli and its chromosome.

TL;DR: Toxin-antitoxin systems are small genetic modules that are abundant in bacterial genomes and promote stability of mobile genetic elements and might act at the selfish level, according to the nature and mode of action of the antitoxin component.

TL;DR: Genome-wide studies of bacterial gene expression are shifting from microarray technology to second generation sequencing platforms, and RNA-seq has a number of advantages over hybridization-based techniques, such as annotation-independent detection of transcription, improved sensitivity and increased dynamic range.

TL;DR: Gene clusters contributing to processes such as cell growth and pathogenicity are often controlled by two-component signal transduction systems, and specific inhibitors against TCS systems work differently from conventional antibiotics, and developing them into new drugs that are effective against various drug-resistant bacteria may be possible.

TL;DR: Genome sequencing is revealing the extent of diversity of these and other mobile elements in enterococci, as well as the extent that recombination and rearrangement resulting in new phenotypes are revealed.

TL;DR: Molecular dynamics simulations are supplementing structural investigation of the conformational changes that underlie receiver domain switch function, as understanding of features shared by all receiver domains matures and factors conferring differences are receiving increased attention.

TL;DR: The increasing understanding of how different viral IFN antagonists function has been translated to the generation of viruses with mutantIFN antagonists as potential live vaccine candidates, which are attractive targets for inhibition by small-molecule compounds.

TL;DR: The mutualistic relationship of Wolbachia strains with disease vectors remains among the top research priorities with new insights having an impact on putative anti-filarial strategies.

TL;DR: Until tests are performed to establish MEOR as a viable method to enhance oil recovery, MEOR will remain an unproven concept rather than a highly desirable reality.

TL;DR: This work reviews reports establishing the origins of two-component systems and documenting their occurrence in major lineages of Life and describes how these systems have evolved in Bacteria from much simpler one- component systems bringing about the benefit of extracellular versus intracellular sensing.

TL;DR: Major recent advances include in vitro assembly of a membrane-tethered version of FtsZ into contractile rings in lipid tubules, and the uncovering of additional components of this machinery with often redundant but important roles in invagination of the three cell envelope layers.

TL;DR: The inclusion of antigen within erodible particles and subsequent delivery to dendritic cells (DCs), enables antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity and extended antigen presentation with protective outcomes.

TL;DR: Chromatin-level control is involved in several silencing phenomena observed in fungi including mating type switching, telomere position effect (TPE), silencing of ribosomal DNA, regulation of genes involved in nutrient acquisition, and as presented here, secondary metabolite cluster expression.

TL;DR: Two-component systems regulate crucial cellular processes in microorganisms, and each comprises a homodimeric histidine kinase receptor and a cytoplasmic response regulator.

TL;DR: Several strategies have been used to obtain overproducer strains, including: obtention of phosphate-deregulated mutants by alteration of phoP, amplification and/or overexpression of pathway-associated positive regulators, and modification of butyrolactone receptor proteins.

TL;DR: Recent findings from yeast indicate that there is no single mechanism, but that a combination of four general strategies are utilized for the prevention of cross-talk between any two MAPK modules.

TL;DR: This review summarises recently published work identifying how viruses alter the expression of receptors, antiviral molecules, disrupt signalling pathways, subvert trafficking pathways and even affect DC function via interactions with second or third cell types.

TL;DR: Response regulator proteins exploit different molecular surfaces in their inactive and active conformations for a variety of regulatory intramolecular and/or intermolecular protein-protein interactions that either inhibit or activate effector domain activities.

TL;DR: Recent developments with respect to bacterial resistance, the identity of the new β-lactams, and the emerging non-empirical strategies that will ensure that this incredible class of antibiotics has a future are summarized.

TL;DR: Another novel mechanism of viral DNA recognition unveiled, leading to proinflammatory cytokine production, involves the PYHIN family member AIM2.