M. E. Taga

Soil microbial community response to corrinoids is shaped by a natural reservoir of vitamin B12.

The paper investigates how corrinoid structure affects soil microbial community composition and stability through experimental and genomic analysis.

Laboratory evolution of E. coli with a natural vitamin B12 analog reveals roles for cobamide uptake and adenosylation in methionine synthase-dependent growth

This study evolves E. coli with a less-effective cobamide to identify genetic adaptations that improve growth, finding increased BtuB expression and BtuR overexpression enhance cobamide-dependent growth.

Phylogenetic distribution and experimental characterization of corrinoid production and dependence in soil bacterial isolates

The paper investigates corrinoid production and dependence in soil bacteria to understand metabolic interactions, finding metabolic compatibility and conserved traits across genera.

Genetic dissection of regulation by a repressing and novel activating corrinoid riboswitch enables engineering of synthetic riboswitches

This study identifies a repressing and novel activating corrinoid riboswitch, enabling the engineering of synthetic riboswitches with robust gene induction.

Bacteriophage-mediated lysis supports robust growth of amino acid auxotrophs

This study shows that bacteriophage-mediated lysis releases more amino acids than secretion or mechanical lysis, supporting auxotroph growth.

Draft Genome Sequence of Pedococcus sp. Strain 5OH_020 Isolated from California Grassland Soil

The paper reports the draft genome sequence of Pedococcus sp. strain 5OH_020, isolated from California grassland soil, revealing its B12-dependent enzymes and potential as a novel species.

A subset of viruses thrives following microbial resuscitation during rewetting of a seasonally dry California grassland soil

The paper investigates virus-host dynamics in soil following rewetting, finding that a subset of viruses thrive and drive microbial lysis, contributing to CO2 efflux.

Cobalamin riboswitches are broadly sensitive to corrinoid cofactors to enable an efficient gene regulatory strategy

The paper investigates cobalamin riboswitches in Bacillus subtilis and finds they respond to multiple corrinoid cofactors, using structural conformation differences for regulation.

A salvaging strategy enables stable metabolite provisioning among free-living bacteria

This study shows that precursor salvaging in engineered E. coli enables stable metabolite provisioning by allowing non-productive members to access salvaged cofactors while protecting salvagers from overexploitation.

A chemically-defined growth medium to support Lactobacillus-Acetobacter community analysis

The paper develops a chemically-defined medium that supports the growth of both Lactobacillus and Acetobacter bacteria, enabling the study of their metabolic interactions.

Identification of a novel cobamide remodeling enzyme in the beneficial human gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila

This paper identifies a novel cobamide remodeling enzyme, CbiR, in Akkermansia muciniphila that enables the bacterium to use diverse cobamides by modifying their structure.

Unexpected diversity of CPR bacteria and nanoarchaea in the rare biosphere of rhizosphere-associated grassland soil

The paper identifies unexpected diversity of CPR bacteria and nanoarchaea in grassland soil by analyzing particles less than 0.2 m, revealing new taxa and potential adaptations to aerobic conditions.

Naturally occurring cobalamin (B12) analogs can function as cofactors for human methylmalonyl-CoA mutase

The paper investigates how different cobamides affect the function of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase and shows that non-cobalamin cobamides can also support its activity.

Flexible cobamide metabolism in Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile 630 Δerm

This study investigates cobamide metabolism in C. difficile, showing its ability to use diverse cobamides and bypass cobamide-dependent processes, with implications for disease treatment.

Cofactor selectivity in methylmalonyl-CoA mutase, a model cobamide-dependent enzyme

This study investigates how structural variations in cobamides affect the binding selectivity of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase, showing that in vitro binding correlates with in vivo cobamide dependence.

Uneven distribution of cobamide biosynthesis and dependence in bacteria predicted by comparative genomics

The paper uses comparative genomics to analyze cobamide biosynthesis and dependence in bacteria, finding that most bacteria use cobamides but few synthesize them de novo.