J. D. Mougous

Essential and virulence-related protein interactions of pathogens revealed through deep learning

This study uses deep learning to predict protein-protein interactions in bacterial pathogens, identifying new complexes involving essential genes and virulence factors, with half of tested predictions validated.

Umbrella toxin particles produced by Streptomyces block mycelial growth of competing species

This study identifies umbrella toxin particles produced by Streptomyces that inhibit the growth of competing bacterial species, distinct from small molecule antibiotics.

Genetic manipulation of candidate phyla radiation bacteria provides functional insights into microbial dark matter

The paper genetically manipulates Saccharibacteria from the CPR to study their role in epibiotic growth and develops bioinformatic resources for their analysis.

Discovery of a unique pathway for glutathione utilization in Francisella

This study identifies a unique GSH utilization pathway in Francisella, revealing a pseudogenized transporter gene in pathogenic strains and its role in environmental niches.

Omnipose: a high-precision morphology-independent solution for bacterial cell segmentation

Omnipose is a bacterial cell segmentation algorithm that outperforms existing methods by accurately segmenting challenging samples, including mixed cultures and branched cells.

Coordinately regulated interbacterial antagonism defense pathways constitute a bacterial innate immune system

This study identifies three conserved interbacterial antagonism resistance clusters in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that function independently and provide specific defense against phospholipase toxins.

An interbacterial DNA deaminase toxin directly mutagenizes surviving target populations

This study shows that interbacterial toxins like DddA can induce mutations in surviving bacterial populations, promoting adaptation through direct DNA mutagenesis.

Ixodes scapularis does not harbor a stable midgut microbiome

The paper investigates the midgut microbiome of Ixodes scapularis and finds it lacks a stable resident microbiota, which may explain the absence of interbacterial competition genes in Borrelia burgdorferi.