Igor B. Zhulin

Cache sensor domains of DUF3365/Tll0287 family bind covalent c-type heme through a CXXCH insertion; a signaling member behaves like an NO sensor, a stand-alone one like a redox protein.

The paper identifies and characterizes a cryptic START domain in HD-ZIPIII transcription factors, showing its role in subcellular localization, DNA binding, and ligand recognition.

This study shows that ligand binding inhibits dimerization of the bacterial histidine kinase PdtaS, thereby repressing its activity and multi-ligand sensing.

The paper reconstructs the ancestral complexity of bacterial flagellar systems, identifying 28 additional conserved gene families, suggesting the last bacterial common ancestor had a complex flagellum with more components than extant bacteria.

The paper identifies a bacterial NO-binding Cache_heme-HAMP receptor that interacts with a Ser/Thr kinase via conserved motifs, revealing a novel mechanism of NO signaling.

This study identifies a chemoreceptor family in plant-associated bacteria that specifically responds to glycerol 3-phosphate, a plant stress signal, and shows its evolutionary origin and ecological relevance.

The paper identifies ligand specificities of chemosensory receptors in the human gut microbiota, revealing key metabolites like lactate and formate as important signals.

This study identifies FliO as a nearly ubiquitous and ancestral core component of the bacterial flagellar type III secretion system, showing structural diversity and functional repurposing across bacterial species.

This study shows how a bacterial chemoreceptor evolved from a bimodular to a monomodular domain by losing one module, revealing that reducing complexity may be a common evolutionary trend in sensory domains.

The paper identifies a mechanism by which paralogous HD-ZIPIII transcription factors generate distinct regulons through differential usage of shared binding sites, mediated by their START domains.

The paper identifies FlhE as a periplasmic chaperone that prevents the formation of periplasmic flagella in Salmonella, which disrupts cell wall synthesis and causes cell lysis.

This paper identifies two disulfide-reducing pathways required for cytochrome f maturation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, with CCS4 playing a dual role in stabilizing CCDA and participating in a CCS5-independent pathway.

The paper reanalyzes sequence conservation of separase's N-terminal domain, identifying a conserved cysteine-rich motif across nematodes and vertebrates.