Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing

Unravelling a diversity of cellular structures and aggregation dynamics during the early development of Myxococcus xanthus

This study investigates the early aggregation dynamics and formation of diverse cellular structures in Myxococcus xanthus under nutrient-poor and low density conditions.

Evasion of neutrophil-mediated bacterial clearance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from new-onset infections in cystic fibrosis children

This study shows that Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from CF patients who failed eradication therapy resist neutrophil-mediated clearance due to loss of Type IV pilus-mediated twitching motility, contributing to infection persistence.

In vivo and in vitro analysis of the role of the Prc protease in inducing mucoidy in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

This paper clarifies the role of Prc protease in mucoid conversion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by showing it directly degrades MucA22, a truncated form of MucA, and not wild-type MucA.

Iron content of commercial mucin contributes to compositional stability of a cystic fibrosis airway synthetic microbiota community

This paper removes iron from commercial mucins to improve the accuracy of synthetic microbiota models in cystic fibrosis.

Negative feedback of cyclic di-GMP levels optimizes switching between sessile and motile lifestyles in Vibrio cholerae

This study shows that negative feedback of c-di-GMP levels in V. cholerae optimizes switching between sessile and motile lifestyles by regulating PDE expression through VpsR.

Catalytic Redundancies and Conformational Plasticity Drives Selectivity and Promiscuity in Quorum Quenching Lactonases

This study investigates the catalytic mechanisms and substrate specificity of the lactonase GcL, revealing its promiscuity in reaction mechanisms and broad substrate acceptance.

Dual quorum-sensing control of purine biosynthesis drives pathogenic fitness of Enterococcus faecalis

This study identifies two quorum-sensing systems in E. faecalis that regulate purine biosynthesis, enhancing its pathogenicity in macrophages and murine infections.

Cyclic di-GMP as an Antitoxin Regulates Bacterial Genome Stability and Antibiotic Persistence in Biofilms

The paper identifies a toxin-antitoxin system in biofilms where c-di-GMP regulates genome stability and antibiotic persistence by controlling HipH activity.

BBSdb, an open resource for bacterial biofilm-associated proteins

BBSdb is an open resource that compiles biofilm-associated proteins from multiple bacteria species and omics datasets, providing tools for prediction and exploration.

Vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases from diverse microbes halogenate exogenous alkyl quinolone quorum sensing signals

The paper identifies a subfamily of vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases that brominate alkyl quinolone quorum sensing signals, revealing their role in microbial chemical ecology.

The acquisition of additional control over quorum sensing regulation buffers noise in microbial growth dynamics

This study shows that acquiring additional quorum sensing modules reduces population size variability in Burkholderia by buffering noise in growth dynamics.

Pressorum Sensing: Growth-induced Compression Activates cAMP Signaling in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

This paper introduces pressorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, showing mechanical compression triggers cAMP signaling via the Pil-Chp system, leading to increased virulence.

Mucin-induced surface dispersal of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis via quorum sensing-dependent and independent mechanisms

This study shows mucin glycoproteins enable surface dispersal of Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis through mucin lubrication and quorum sensing-regulated surfactant peptides.

Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Dysfunction Mediated by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum Sensing Transcription Factor MvfR: Reversing Effects with Anti-MvfR and Mitochondrial-Targeted Compounds

This study investigates how Pseudomonas aeruginosa's MvfR quorum sensing transcription factor disrupts mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle and shows that inhibiting MvfR or using mitochondrial-targeted compounds can reverse these effects.

Should I stay or should I go? Spatio-temporal dynamics of bacterial biofilms in confined flows

This study investigates how flow and bacterial growth interact to control biofilm dynamics in microchannels, revealing self-sustained fluctuations due to pressure build-up and stochastic sloughing events.

Model-driven characterization of functional diversity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates with broadly representative phenotypes

The paper characterizes the functional metabolic diversity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates by analyzing genotype-phenotype correlations and genome-scale metabolic networks.

Fluctuations and freezing of biofilm-air interfaces

This study investigates the roughening of bacterial biofilms and finds that their surfaces remain smooth despite stochastic growth, due to a mechanism that freezes topographic fluctuations.

Temperature-responsive control of Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence determinants through the stabilization of quorum sensing transcriptional regulator RhlR

This study shows that lower temperatures increase RhlR activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa through enhanced stability of the RhlR/C4-HSL/PqsE complex, affecting virulence factor expression.

Fluid flow overcomes antimicrobial resistance by boosting delivery

This study shows that fluid flow enhances antimicrobial delivery to overcome resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by outcompeting bacterial neutralization mechanisms.

Quorum sensing in Mycobacteria: understanding the recognition machinery conundrum through an in-silico approach

This paper investigates LuxR homologs in mycobacteria through computational analysis, revealing their domain diversity and potential roles in quorum sensing and other physiological processes.

Identifying LasR quorum sensors with improved signal specificity by mapping the sequence-function landscape

The paper identifies highly specific LasR variants for HSL signals through mutagenesis and screening, improving signal discrimination in microbial consortia.

Candida albicans enhance Staphylococcus aureus virulence by progressive generation of new phenotypes

This study shows that Candida albicans enhances Staphylococcus aureus virulence by inducing new, more aggressive colony variants through pH neutralization.

Arginine impacts aggregation, biofilm formation, and antibiotic susceptibility in Enterococcus faecalis

This study shows arginine reduces E. faecalis biofilm formation, alters gene expression, increases aggregation, and decreases susceptibility to antibiotics.

Inferring Bacterial Interspecific Interactions from Microcolony Growth Expansion

This study develops and benchmarks coculture microcolony experiments to quantify interspecific interactions and growth kinetics in bacterial communities.

Synthetic Homoserine Lactone Sensors for Gram-Positive Bacillus subtilis using LuxR-type Regulators

The paper develops synthetic HSL sensors in Bacillus subtilis using LuxR-type regulators and combinatorial promoters, achieving up to 293-fold activation and identifying sequence-function relationships.

DeepGEEP: Data-Driven Prediction of Bacterial Biofilm Gene Expression Profiles

DeepGEEP predicts bacterial biofilm gene expression profiles using synthetic data and a 2D-CNN model, achieving higher accuracy than traditional machine learning methods.

Exploring alternative quorum sensing model structures and quorum quenching strategies

This study compares two synthetic quorum sensing circuit architectures and evaluates three QS inhibition strategies to understand their steady-state behavior and parameter thresholds for effective suppression.

Jump-start and push-start: Mutual activation through crosstalk in coupled quorum sensing pathways

The paper models quorum sensing pathways with crosstalk and feedback, showing how crosstalk can enhance functional range and enable new activation modes.

Long-range alteration of the physical environment mediates cooperation between Pseudomonas aeruginosa swarming colonies

The paper shows rhamnolipids from Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonies induce gel swelling over long distances, enabling collective motility and rescuing non-swarming mutants.

Indirect enrichment of desirable, but less fit phenotypes, from a synthetic microbial community using microdroplet confinement

The paper demonstrates how microdroplet confinement can indirectly enrich a rare producer strain in a synthetic microbial community through spatial structure and metabolite diffusion.