S.-V. Albers

Archaeal type six secretion system mediates contact-dependent antagonism

The paper identifies a contact-dependent antagonism mechanism in archaea mediated by a CIS similar to bacterial T6SSs, revealing its role in shaping microbial communities.

Glycerol degradation in the thermoacidophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius involves an unusual glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase

This study identifies an unusual glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius involved in glycerol degradation, showing its essential role in growth on glycerol.

The second messenger c-di-AMP controls natural competence via ComFB signaling protein

The paper shows that c-di-AMP regulates natural competence in cyanobacteria via the ComFB signaling protein, which is essential for pilus biogenesis and DNA uptake.

CryoEM reveals the structure of an archaeal pilus involved in twitching motility

The paper presents a cryoEM structure of the archaeal adhesive pilus (Aap) from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, revealing three distinct conformations of the subunit AapB.

Sulfolobus acidocaldarius adhesion pili power twitching motility in the absence of a dedicated retraction ATPase

This study shows that Sulfolobus acidocaldarius uses retractable adhesion pili for twitching motility without a PilT ATPase, suggesting an ancestral bifunctional ATPase in LUCA.

Archaeal self-activating GPN-loop GTPases involve a lock-switch-rock mechanism for GTP hydrolysis

This paper investigates the structural dynamics of archaeal GPN-loop GTPases, revealing a lock-switch-rock mechanism for GTP hydrolysis and its functional impact on archaeal motility.

PRC domain-containing proteins modulate FtsZ-based archaeal cell division

This study identifies PRC domain proteins as essential components of the FtsZ-based cell division machinery in archaea, showing they form complexes with SepF and FtsZ and are required for proper cell division.

Archaeal type IV pili stabilize Haloferax volcanii biofilms in flow

This study shows that type IV pili in Haloferax volcanii are essential for biofilm stability under flow, with PilA2 sufficient for normal biofilm structure.

Donor strand complementation, isopeptide bonds and glycosylation stabilise highly resilient archaeal thread filaments

The paper identifies and characterizes the structure of archaeal thread filaments, revealing their stabilization through glycosylation, donor strand complementation, and isopeptide bonds.

Membrane permeability differentiation at the lipid divide

This study compares membrane permeability between archaeal and bacterial lipids using vesicles and finds that archaeal diether lipids are more permeable than bacterial diester lipids.

Autophosphorylation of the KaiC-like protein ArlH inhibits oligomerisation and interaction with ArlI, the motor ATPase of the archaellum

This study shows that autophosphorylation of ArlH inhibits its oligomerization and interaction with ArlI, essential for archaellum function and motility.

The archaeal triphosphate tunnel metalloenzyme SaTTM defines structural determinants for the diverse activities in the CYTH protein family

This paper characterizes SaTTM, an archaeal CYTH protein, showing it functions as a triphosphatase rather than an adenylyl cyclase, with structural and biochemical insights into its mechanism.

N-glycan chitobiose core biosynthesis by Agl24 strengthens the hypothesis of an archaeal origin of the eukaryal N-glycosylation

This paper identifies and characterizes Agl24, an archaeal enzyme involved in N-glycan chitobiose core biosynthesis, supporting the hypothesis of an archaeal origin of eukaryotic N-glycosylation.

Motile ghosts of the halophilic archaeon, Haloferax volcanii

This study presents a membrane-permeabilized ghost system for Haloferax volcanii to investigate archaellum motility, revealing ATP selectivity, negative cooperativity, and a torque-speed curve with characteristics of both bacterial flagellar motors and F1-ATPase.

Archaeal SepF is essential for cell division in Haloferax volcanii

This study identifies SepF as a critical component of the divisome in Haloferax volcanii, showing its role in recruiting FtsZ2 to the FtsZ1 ring during cell division.

Analysis of cell-cell bridges in Haloferax volcanii using Electron cryo-tomography reveal a continuous cytoplasm and S-layer

The paper uses electron cryo-tomography and fluorescence microscopy to study cell-cell bridges in Haloferax volcanii, revealing a continuous cytoplasm and S-layer enveloping the bridges.

Evidence for motility in 3.4 Gyr-old organic-walled microfossils ?

The paper reports 3.4 Gyr-old microfossils with appendages suggesting active motility, challenging previous assumptions about early life movement capabilities.

ArlCDE form the archaeal switch complex

The paper identifies ArlCDE as the archaeal switch complex that mediates chemotaxis signal transduction to the archaellum in Haloferax volcanii.

An oscillating MinD protein determines the cellular positioning of the motility machinery in archaea

This study identifies the function of MinD proteins in archaea, showing they oscillate and position motility machinery at cell poles, unlike their bacterial counterparts.

Species-specific recognition of Sulfolobales mediated by UV inducible pili and S-layer glycosylation patterns

This study identifies species-specific regions in Sulfolobus pilin subunits and unique N-glycan patterns that mediate species-specific aggregation and DNA exchange.