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| Open AccessDeep mutational scanning of essential bacterial proteins can guide antibiotic development
Deep mutational scanning can be used to investigate protein function and stability. Here, Dewachter et al. use deep mutational scanning on three essential bacterial proteins to study the mutations’ effects in their original genomic context, providing insight into the proteins’ function and their potential as targets for new antibiotic development.
- Liselot Dewachter
- , Aaron N. Brooks
- & Jan Michiels
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| Open AccessMutations in respiratory complex I promote antibiotic persistence through alterations in intracellular acidity and protein synthesis
Antibiotic persisters are phenotypic variants within an isogenic bacterial population that are transiently tolerant to antibiotic treatment. Here, the authors provide evidence that cytoplasmic acidification, amplified by a compromised respiratory complex I, can act as a signaling hub for perturbed metabolic homeostasis in antibiotic persisters.
- Bram Van den Bergh
- , Hannah Schramke
- & Matthias Heinemann
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| Open AccessEntropy of a bacterial stress response is a generalizable predictor for fitness and antibiotic sensitivity
Bacterial transcriptomic data have been used to predict antibiotic susceptibility in a species- or antibiotic-specific manner. Here, the authors show that global transcriptional disorder is a common stress response in bacteria with low fitness, and present a general approach that can predict bacterial fitness independently of species or type of stress.
- Zeyu Zhu
- , Defne Surujon
- & Tim van Opijnen
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| Open AccessIntracellular Staphylococcus aureus persisters upon antibiotic exposure
Bacterial persister cells exhibit a transient non-growing state and antibiotic tolerance. Here, Peyrusson et al. provide evidence of metabolically active Staphylococcus aureus persisters within infected host cells exposed to antibiotics and analyse transcriptomic alterations associated with persistence.
- Frédéric Peyrusson
- , Hugo Varet
- & Françoise Van Bambeke
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| Open AccessPlasticity of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis respiratory chain and its impact on tuberculosis drug development
New tuberculosis therapies, targeting respiratory chain components of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are under development. Here the authors show that, contrary to common belief, some of these components are not essential for pathogen viability and/or virulence in animal models of infection.
- Tiago Beites
- , Kathryn O’Brien
- & Dirk Schnappinger
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| Open AccessPossible role of L-form switching in recurrent urinary tract infection
The reservoir for recurrent urinary tract infection in humans is unclear. Here, Mickiewicz et al. detect cell-wall deficient (L-form) E. coli in fresh urine from patients, and show that the isolated bacteria readily switch between walled and L-form states.
- Katarzyna M. Mickiewicz
- , Yoshikazu Kawai
- & Jeff Errington
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| Open AccessExtreme slow growth as alternative strategy to survive deep starvation in bacteria
Bacteria can become dormant or form spores when starved for nutrients. Here, Gray et al. describe an alternative strategy, or ‘oligotrophic growth state’, showing that non-sporulating Bacillus subtilis cells can survive deep starvation conditions by adopting an almost coccoid shape and extremely low growth rates.
- Declan A. Gray
- , Gaurav Dugar
- & Leendert W. Hamoen
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| Open AccessPhenazine production promotes antibiotic tolerance and metabolic heterogeneity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms
Pseudomonas aeruginosa releases redox-active metabolites called phenazines. Here, the authors use metabolic imaging by stimulated Raman scattering microscopy to show that phenazines antagonize the effects of antibiotics on P. aeruginosa biofilms by modulating bacterial metabolism.
- Konstanze T. Schiessl
- , Fanghao Hu
- & Lars E. P. Dietrich
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| Open AccessRifampicin can induce antibiotic tolerance in mycobacteria via paradoxical changes in rpoB transcription
The antibiotic rifampicin inhibits transcription by targeting RpoB, a bacterial RNA polymerase subunit. Here, Zhu et al. show that certain cells in mycobacterial populations can continue to grow and divide in the presence of rifampicin due, paradoxically, to rifampicin-induced upregulation of the rpoB gene.
- Jun-Hao Zhu
- , Bi-Wei Wang
- & Babak Javid
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| Open AccessPersistence and reversal of plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance
It is unclear whether the transfer of plasmids carrying antibiotic resistance genes can explain their persistence when antibiotics are not present. Here, Lopatkin et al. show that conjugal plasmids, even when costly, are indeed transferred at sufficiently high rates to be maintained in the absence of antibiotics.
- Allison J. Lopatkin
- , Hannah R. Meredith
- & Lingchong You
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| Open AccessThe multiple antibiotic resistance operon of enteric bacteria controls DNA repair and outer membrane integrity
Transcription factors MarR and MarA confer multidrug resistance in enteric bacteria by modulating efflux pump and porin expression. Here, Sharma et al. show that MarA also upregulates genes required for lipid trafficking and DNA repair, thus reducing antibiotic entry and quinolone-induced DNA damage.
- Prateek Sharma
- , James R. J. Haycocks
- & David C. Grainger
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Article
| Open AccessAccumulation of heme biosynthetic intermediates contributes to the antibacterial action of the metalloid tellurite
The mechanisms of action of the antibacterial metalloid tellurite are unclear. Here, the authors show that tellurite induces an accumulation of hydroxyl radical and intermediates of heme biosynthesis inE. coli, and that the heme precursor 5-aminolevulinic acid potentiates tellurite toxicity.
- Eduardo H. Morales
- , Camilo A. Pinto
- & Claudio C. Vásquez
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| Open AccessRapid antibiotic-resistance predictions from genome sequence data for Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis
The clinical application of new sequencing techniques is expected to accelerate pathogen identification. Here, Bradley et al. present a clinician-friendly software package that uses sequencing data for quick and accurate prediction of antibiotic resistance profiles for S. aureus and M. tuberculosis.
- Phelim Bradley
- , N. Claire Gordon
- & Zamin Iqbal
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| Open AccessStructural basis of DNA gyrase inhibition by antibacterial QPT-1, anticancer drug etoposide and moxifloxacin
Type IIA topoisomerases (topo2As) create transient double-strand DNA breaks. Here, the authors report structures showing how QPT-1 binds in the DNA/topo2A complex at the same site as the fluoroquinolone moxifloxacin, and discuss the potential for developing new classes of antibiotics.
- Pan F. Chan
- , Velupillai Srikannathasan
- & Michael N. Gwynn
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Crystal structure of the Alcanivorax borkumensis YdaH transporter reveals an unusual topology
AbgT family of transporters have previously been implicated in the uptake of folate catabolites but remain poorly understood. Here the authors present a structural and functional characterization of Alcanivorax borkumensisYdaH, an AbgT-type transporter, revealing a unique topology and possible function as a drug efflux pump.
- Jani Reddy Bolla
- , Chih-Chia Su
- & Edward W. Yu
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MazF ribonucleases promote Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug tolerance and virulence in guinea pigs
Mycobacterium tuberculosis possesses several toxin–antitoxin systems of the MazEF family. Here, Tiwari et al. show that these systems contribute to stress adaptation, antibiotic tolerance and virulence.
- Prabhakar Tiwari
- , Garima Arora
- & Ramandeep Singh
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Opposing effects of target overexpression reveal drug mechanisms
Overexpression of a drug’s molecular target increases drug resistance in some cases. Here the authors show that overexpressing antibiotic targets in Escherichia colican cause positive and negative changes in drug resistance, depending on whether the drug induces harmful reactions involving its target.
- Adam C. Palmer
- & Roy Kishony
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Isocitrate lyase mediates broad antibiotic tolerance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosisis intrinsically resistant to most antibiotics. Here, the authors show that the pathogen’s tolerance to three antibiotics, each one targeting a distinct cellular process, is mediated by an antioxidant response that requires the activation of isocitrate lyases.
- Madhumitha Nandakumar
- , Carl Nathan
- & Kyu Y. Rhee
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| Open AccessMutation rate plasticity in rifampicin resistance depends on Escherichia coli cell–cell interactions
The factors varying mutation rate at a particular site in a single genotype remain elusive. Here, Krašovec et al. show that mutation rates at sites conferring resistance to rifampicin in Escherichia coli decrease with population density, and that mutation-rate plasticity is controlled by the luxSgene.
- Rok Krašovec
- , Roman V. Belavkin
- & Christopher G. Knight
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Indoleamides are active against drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis
New classes of antitubercular drugs are in constant demand as drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis become more prevalent. Here, the authors characterize a class of drugs that are active against various M. tuberculosisstrains, including those resistant to currently used antituberculars.
- Shichun Lun
- , Haidan Guo
- & William R. Bishai
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HipA-mediated antibiotic persistence via phosphorylation of the glutamyl-tRNA-synthetase
Bacterial persistence is one of the major causes of failure of antibiotic treatment, and several toxin–antitoxin modules have been linked to the persistent phenotype. Here, the authors show that HipA toxin causes growth arrest and persistence via phosphorylation of the glutamyl-tRNA-synthetase.
- Ilana Kaspy
- , Eitan Rotem
- & Gad Glaser
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| Open AccessThe crystal structure of multidrug-resistance regulator RamR with multiple drugs
RamR is an important multidrug-resistance factor, however, its structure and the molecules to which it responds are hitherto unknown. Here, the authors report the crystal structures of RamR complexed with multiple drugs, revealing significant flexibility in its substrate-recognition region.
- Suguru Yamasaki
- , Eiji Nikaido
- & Kunihiko Nishino
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Deregulation of translation due to post-transcriptional modification of rRNA explains why erm genes are inducible
Erm methyltransferases confer antimicrobial drug resistance and their expression is induced by macrolides. Gupta et al.show that Erm-catalysed modification of rRNA affects synthesis of some proteins and reduces cell fitness, explaining why expression of Erm is deleterious in the absence of antibiotics.
- Pulkit Gupta
- , Shanmugapriya Sothiselvam
- & Alexander S. Mankin
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| Open Accessβ-lactam antibiotics promote bacterial mutagenesis via an RpoS-mediated reduction in replication fidelity
Sub-lethal concentrations of antibiotics are known to promote mutagenesis of bacterial DNA. Here the authors show that β-lactam antibiotics trigger mutagenesis by upregulating the stress-response protein RpoS, which downregulates mismatch-repair activity.
- A. Gutierrez
- , L. Laureti
- & I. Matic
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Mechanism of tetracycline resistance by ribosomal protection protein Tet(O)
The bacterial tetracycline resistance protein Tet(O) binds to the ribosome, preventing tetracycline from inhibiting translation. Using cryo-electron microscopic reconstruction, the authors present an atomic model of Tet(O) bound to the 70S ribosome, and reveal how Tet(O) promotes antibiotic resistance.
- Wen Li
- , Gemma C. Atkinson
- & Joachim Frank