Faculty Opinions recommendation of Photosynthesis genes in marine viruses yield proteins during host infection.

Abstract Some neurotropic enteroviruses hijack Trojan horse/raft commensal gut bacteria to render devastating biomimicking cryptic attacks on human/animal hosts. Such virus-microbe interactions manipulate hosts’ gut-brain axes with accompanying infection-cycle-optimizing central nervous system (CNS) disturbances, including severe neurodevelopmental, neuromotor, and neuropsychiatric conditions. Co-opted bacteria thus indirectly influence host health, development, behavior, and mind as possible “fair-weather-friend” symbionts, switching from commensal to context-dependent pathogen-like strategies benefiting gut-bacteria fitness.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Marine viruses and their biogeochemical and ecological effects.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.717953121.793458679 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua Weitz

Keyword(s):

Ecological Effects ◽

Marine Viruses

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Genetic Variation and Evolution of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus

Public Health Genomics ◽

10.1159/000513530 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Salvatore Dimonte ◽

Muhammed Babakir-Mina ◽

Taib Hama-Soor ◽

Salar Ali

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Receptor Binding ◽

Rapid Evolution ◽

Single Amino Acid ◽

Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽

New Type ◽

Amino Acid Mutations ◽

Host Infection ◽

Human Coronaviruses ◽

Novel Coronavirus

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 is a new type of coronavirus causing a pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-2). Coronaviruses are very diverting genetically and mutate so often periodically. The natural selection of viral mutations may cause host infection selectivity and infectivity. Methods: This study was aimed to indicate the diversity between human and animal coronaviruses through finding the rate of mutation in each of the spike, nucleocapsid, envelope, and membrane proteins. Results: The mutation rate is abundant in all 4 structural proteins. The most number of statistically significant amino acid mutations were found in spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) which may be because it is responsible for a corresponding receptor binding in a broad range of hosts and host selectivity to infect. Among 17 previously known amino acids which are important for binding of spike to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, all of them are conservative among human coronaviruses, but only 3 of them significantly are mutated in animal coronaviruses. A single amino acid aspartate-454, that causes dissociation of the RBD of the spike and ACE2, and F486 which gives the strength of binding with ACE2 remain intact in all coronaviruses. Discussion/Conclusion: Observations of this study provided evidence of the genetic diversity and rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 as well as other human and animal coronaviruses.

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Transcriptome and proteome analysis suggest enhanced photosynthesis in tetraploid Liriodendron sino-americanum

Tree Physiology ◽

10.1093/treephys/tpab039 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tingting Chen ◽

Yu Sheng ◽

Zhaodong Hao ◽

Xiaofei Long ◽

Fangfang Fu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Protein Complexes ◽

Proteome Analysis ◽

Tree Height ◽

Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽

Industrial Applications ◽

Chlorophyll Protein Complexes ◽

Chlorophyll Protein ◽

Photosynthesis Genes ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

Abstract Polyploidy generally provides an advantage in phenotypic variation and growth vigor. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. The tetraploid L. sino-americanum exhibits altered morphology compared to its diploid counterpart, including larger, thicker and deeper green leaves, bigger stomata, thicker stems and increased tree height. Such characteristics can be useful in ornamental and industrial applications. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind this variation, we performed a comparative transcriptome and proteome analysis. Our transcriptome data indicated that some photosynthesis genes and pathways were differentially altered and enriched in tetraploid L. sino-americanum, mainly related to F-type ATPase, the cytochrome b6/f complex, photosynthetic electron transport, the light harvesting chlorophyll protein complexes, photosystem I and II. Most of the differentially expressed proteins we could identify are also involved in photosynthesis. Our physiological results showed that tetraploids have an enhanced photosynthetic capacity, concomitant with great levels of sugar and starch in leaves. This suggests that tetraploid L. sino-americanum might experience comprehensive transcriptome reprogramming of genes related to photosynthesis. This study has especially emphasized molecular changes involved in photosynthesis that accompany polyploidy, and provides a possible explanation for the altered phenotype of polyploidy plants in comparison to their diploid form.

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Evolutionarily recent dual obligatory symbiosis among adelgids indicates a transition between fungus- and insect-associated lifestyles

The ISME Journal ◽

10.1038/s41396-021-01056-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gitta Szabó ◽

Frederik Schulz ◽

Alejandro Manzano-Marín ◽

Elena Rebecca Toenshoff ◽

Matthias Horn

Keyword(s):

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Amino Acid Production ◽

Evolutionary Transition ◽

Evolutionary Time ◽

Evolutionary Trajectories ◽

Host Infection ◽

Phylogenomic Analyses ◽

Time Specific ◽

High Level ◽

Metagenomic Approach

AbstractAdelgids (Insecta: Hemiptera: Adelgidae) form a small group of insects but harbor a surprisingly diverse set of bacteriocyte-associated endosymbionts, which suggest multiple replacement and acquisition of symbionts over evolutionary time. Specific pairs of symbionts have been associated with adelgid lineages specialized on different secondary host conifers. Using a metagenomic approach, we investigated the symbiosis of the Adelges laricis/Adelgestardus species complex containing betaproteobacterial (“Candidatus Vallotia tarda”) and gammaproteobacterial (“Candidatus Profftia tarda”) symbionts. Genomic characteristics and metabolic pathway reconstructions revealed that Vallotia and Profftia are evolutionary young endosymbionts, which complement each other’s role in essential amino acid production. Phylogenomic analyses and a high level of genomic synteny indicate an origin of the betaproteobacterial symbiont from endosymbionts of Rhizopus fungi. This evolutionary transition was accompanied with substantial loss of functions related to transcription regulation, secondary metabolite production, bacterial defense mechanisms, host infection, and manipulation. The transition from fungus to insect endosymbionts extends our current framework about evolutionary trajectories of host-associated microbes.

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Investigation of Salmonella Phage–Bacteria Infection Profiles: Network Structure Reveals a Gradient of Target-Range from Generalist to Specialist Phage Clones in Nested Subsets

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13071261 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 1261

Author(s):

Khatuna Makalatia ◽

Elene Kakabadze ◽

Nata Bakuradze ◽

Nino Grdzelishvili ◽

Ben Stamp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Host Range ◽

Salmonella Enterica ◽

Target Range ◽

Nested Subsets ◽

Specific Phage ◽

Salmonella Infections ◽

Specialist Species ◽

Host Infection ◽

Salmonella Phage

Bacteriophages that lyse Salmonella enterica are potential tools to target and control Salmonella infections. Investigating the host range of Salmonella phages is a key to understand their impact on bacterial ecology, coevolution and inform their use in intervention strategies. Virus–host infection networks have been used to characterize the “predator–prey” interactions between phages and bacteria and provide insights into host range and specificity. Here, we characterize the target-range and infection profiles of 13 Salmonella phage clones against a diverse set of 141 Salmonella strains. The environmental source and taxonomy contributed to the observed infection profiles, and genetically proximal phages shared similar infection profiles. Using in vitro infection data, we analyzed the structure of the Salmonella phage–bacteria infection network. The network has a non-random nested organization and weak modularity suggesting a gradient of target-range from generalist to specialist species with nested subsets, which are also observed within and across the different phage infection profile groups. Our results have implications for our understanding of the coevolutionary mechanisms shaping the ecological interactions between Salmonella phages and their bacterial hosts and can inform strategies for targeting Salmonella enterica with specific phage preparations.

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Klebsiella Phage ΦK64-1 Encodes Multiple Depolymerases for Multiple Host Capsular Types

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.02457-16 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 91 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Yi-Jiun Pan ◽

Tzu-Lung Lin ◽

Ching-Ching Chen ◽

Yun-Ting Tsai ◽

Yi-Hsiang Cheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sequence Similarity ◽

Amino Acid Sequence Similarity ◽

Gene Products ◽

Capsular Type ◽

Expression And Purification ◽

Content Type ◽

Infection Mechanisms ◽

Host Infection ◽

Encoding Genes ◽

Tail Fibers

ABSTRACT The genome of the multihost bacteriophage ΦK64-1, capable of infecting Klebsiella capsular types K1, K11, K21, K25, K30, K35, K64, and K69, as well as new capsular types KN4 and KN5, was analyzed and revealed that 11 genes (S1-1, S1-2, S1-3, S2-1, S2-2, S2-3, S2-4, S2-5, S2-6, S2-7, and S2-8) encode proteins with amino acid sequence similarity to tail fibers/spikes or lyases. S2-5 previously was shown to encode a K64 capsule depolymerase (K64dep). Specific capsule-degrading activities of an additional eight putative capsule depolymerases (S2-4 against K1, S1-1 against K11, S1-3 against K21, S2-2 against K25, S2-6 against K30/K69, S2-3 against K35, S1-2 against KN4, and S2-1 against KN5) was demonstrated by expression and purification of the recombinant proteins. Consistent with the capsular type-specific depolymerization activity of these gene products, phage mutants of S1-2, S2-2, S2-3, or S2-6 lost infectivity for KN4, K25, K35, or K30/K69, respectively, indicating that capsule depolymerase is crucial for infecting specific hosts. In conclusion, we identified nine functional capsule depolymerase-encoding genes in a bacteriophage and correlated activities of the gene products to all ten hosts of this phage, providing an example of type-specific host infection mechanisms in a multihost bacteriophage. IMPORTANCE We currently identified eight novel capsule depolymerases in a multihost Klebsiella bacteriophage and correlated the activities of the gene products to all hosts of this phage, providing an example of carriage of multiple depolymerases in a phage with a wide capsular type host spectrum. Moreover, we also established a recombineering system for modification of Klebsiella bacteriophage genomes and demonstrated the importance of capsule depolymerase for infecting specific hosts. Based on the powerful tool for modification of phage genome, further studies can be conducted to improve the understanding of mechanistic details of Klebsiella phage infection. Furthermore, the newly identified capsule depolymerases will be of great value for applications in capsular typing.

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