Making a chink in their armor: Current and next-generation antimicrobial strategies against the bacterial cell envelope
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:221-307. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.05.003. Epub 2023 Jun 27.ABSTRACTGram-negative bacteria are uniquely equipped to defeat antibiotics. Their outermost layer, the cell envelope, is a natural permeability barrier that contains an array of resistance proteins capable of neutralizing most existing antimicrobials. As a result, its presence creates a major obstacle for the treatment of resistant infections and for the development of new antibiotics. Despite this seemingly impenetrable armor, in-depth understanding of the cell envelope, including structural, functional and systems biology insights, h...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Nikol Kade řábková Ayesha J S Mahmood R Christopher D Furniss Despoina A I Mavridou Source Type: research
On the evolution of natural product biosynthesis
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:309-349. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.05.001. Epub 2023 May 18.ABSTRACTNatural products are the raw material for drug discovery programmes. Bioactive natural products are used extensively in medicine and agriculture and have found utility as antibiotics, immunosuppressives, anti-cancer drugs and anthelminthics. Remarkably, the natural role and what mechanisms drive evolution of these molecules is relatively poorly understood. The exponential increase in genome and chemical data in recent years, coupled with technical advances in bioinformatics and genetics have enabled progress to be made in under...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Francisco Barona-G ómez Marc G Chevrette Paul A Hoskisson Source Type: research
Molecular discoveries in microbial DMSP synthesis
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:59-116. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.03.001. Epub 2023 Jun 1.ABSTRACTDimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is one of the Earth's most abundant organosulfur compounds because many marine algae, bacteria, corals and some plants produce it to high mM intracellular concentrations. In these organisms, DMSP acts an anti-stress molecule with purported roles to protect against salinity, temperature, oxidative stress and hydrostatic pressure, amongst many other reported functions. However, DMSP is best known for being a major precursor of the climate-active gases and signalling molecules dimethylsulfide (DMS),...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ornella Carri ón Xiao-Yu Zhu Beth T Williams Jinyan Wang Xiao-Hua Zhang Jonathan D Todd Source Type: research
Biosynthesis and function of microbial methylmenaquinones
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:1-58. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.05.002. Epub 2023 Jun 21.ABSTRACTThe membranous quinone/quinol pool is essential for the majority of life forms and its composition has been widely used as a biomarker in microbial taxonomy. The most abundant quinone is menaquinone (MK), which serves as an essential redox mediator in various electron transport chains of aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Several methylated derivatives of MK, designated methylmenaquinones (MMKs), have been reported to be present in members of various microbial phyla possessing either the classical MK biosynthesis pathway (Men) or ...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Dennis Wilkens J örg Simon Source Type: research
Modulators of a robust and efficient metabolism: Perspective and insights from the Rid superfamily of proteins
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:117-179. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.04.001. Epub 2023 Apr 29.ABSTRACTMetabolism is an integrated network of biochemical pathways that assemble to generate the robust, responsive physiologies of microorganisms. Despite decades of fundamental studies on metabolic processes and pathways, our understanding of the nuance and complexity of metabolism remains incomplete. The ability to predict and model metabolic network structure, and its influence on cellular fitness, is complicated by the persistence of genes of unknown function, even in the best-studied model organisms. This review describes the de...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ronnie L Fulton Diana M Downs Source Type: research
Bacterial metabolism and susceptibility to cell wall-active antibiotics
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:181-219. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.04.002. Epub 2023 May 16.ABSTRACTBacterial infections are increasingly resistant to antimicrobial therapy. Intense research focus has thus been placed on identifying the mechanisms that bacteria use to resist killing or growth inhibition by antibiotics and the ways in which bacteria share these traits with one another. This work has led to the advancement of new drugs, combination therapy regimens, and a deeper appreciation for the adaptability seen in microorganisms. However, while the primary mechanisms of action of most antibiotics are well understood, the ...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Megan Renee Keller Tobias D örr Source Type: research
Making a chink in their armor: Current and next-generation antimicrobial strategies against the bacterial cell envelope
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:221-307. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.05.003. Epub 2023 Jun 27.ABSTRACTGram-negative bacteria are uniquely equipped to defeat antibiotics. Their outermost layer, the cell envelope, is a natural permeability barrier that contains an array of resistance proteins capable of neutralizing most existing antimicrobials. As a result, its presence creates a major obstacle for the treatment of resistant infections and for the development of new antibiotics. Despite this seemingly impenetrable armor, in-depth understanding of the cell envelope, including structural, functional and systems biology insights, h...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Nikol Kade řábková Ayesha J S Mahmood R Christopher D Furniss Despoina A I Mavridou Source Type: research
On the evolution of natural product biosynthesis
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:309-349. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.05.001. Epub 2023 May 18.ABSTRACTNatural products are the raw material for drug discovery programmes. Bioactive natural products are used extensively in medicine and agriculture and have found utility as antibiotics, immunosuppressives, anti-cancer drugs and anthelminthics. Remarkably, the natural role and what mechanisms drive evolution of these molecules is relatively poorly understood. The exponential increase in genome and chemical data in recent years, coupled with technical advances in bioinformatics and genetics have enabled progress to be made in under...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Francisco Barona-G ómez Marc G Chevrette Paul A Hoskisson Source Type: research
Molecular discoveries in microbial DMSP synthesis
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:59-116. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.03.001. Epub 2023 Jun 1.ABSTRACTDimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is one of the Earth's most abundant organosulfur compounds because many marine algae, bacteria, corals and some plants produce it to high mM intracellular concentrations. In these organisms, DMSP acts an anti-stress molecule with purported roles to protect against salinity, temperature, oxidative stress and hydrostatic pressure, amongst many other reported functions. However, DMSP is best known for being a major precursor of the climate-active gases and signalling molecules dimethylsulfide (DMS),...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ornella Carri ón Xiao-Yu Zhu Beth T Williams Jinyan Wang Xiao-Hua Zhang Jonathan D Todd Source Type: research
Biosynthesis and function of microbial methylmenaquinones
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:1-58. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.05.002. Epub 2023 Jun 21.ABSTRACTThe membranous quinone/quinol pool is essential for the majority of life forms and its composition has been widely used as a biomarker in microbial taxonomy. The most abundant quinone is menaquinone (MK), which serves as an essential redox mediator in various electron transport chains of aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Several methylated derivatives of MK, designated methylmenaquinones (MMKs), have been reported to be present in members of various microbial phyla possessing either the classical MK biosynthesis pathway (Men) or ...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Dennis Wilkens J örg Simon Source Type: research
Modulators of a robust and efficient metabolism: Perspective and insights from the Rid superfamily of proteins
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:117-179. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.04.001. Epub 2023 Apr 29.ABSTRACTMetabolism is an integrated network of biochemical pathways that assemble to generate the robust, responsive physiologies of microorganisms. Despite decades of fundamental studies on metabolic processes and pathways, our understanding of the nuance and complexity of metabolism remains incomplete. The ability to predict and model metabolic network structure, and its influence on cellular fitness, is complicated by the persistence of genes of unknown function, even in the best-studied model organisms. This review describes the de...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ronnie L Fulton Diana M Downs Source Type: research
Bacterial metabolism and susceptibility to cell wall-active antibiotics
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:181-219. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.04.002. Epub 2023 May 16.ABSTRACTBacterial infections are increasingly resistant to antimicrobial therapy. Intense research focus has thus been placed on identifying the mechanisms that bacteria use to resist killing or growth inhibition by antibiotics and the ways in which bacteria share these traits with one another. This work has led to the advancement of new drugs, combination therapy regimens, and a deeper appreciation for the adaptability seen in microorganisms. However, while the primary mechanisms of action of most antibiotics are well understood, the ...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Megan Renee Keller Tobias D örr Source Type: research
Making a chink in their armor: Current and next-generation antimicrobial strategies against the bacterial cell envelope
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:221-307. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.05.003. Epub 2023 Jun 27.ABSTRACTGram-negative bacteria are uniquely equipped to defeat antibiotics. Their outermost layer, the cell envelope, is a natural permeability barrier that contains an array of resistance proteins capable of neutralizing most existing antimicrobials. As a result, its presence creates a major obstacle for the treatment of resistant infections and for the development of new antibiotics. Despite this seemingly impenetrable armor, in-depth understanding of the cell envelope, including structural, functional and systems biology insights, h...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Nikol Kade řábková Ayesha J S Mahmood R Christopher D Furniss Despoina A I Mavridou Source Type: research
On the evolution of natural product biosynthesis
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:309-349. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.05.001. Epub 2023 May 18.ABSTRACTNatural products are the raw material for drug discovery programmes. Bioactive natural products are used extensively in medicine and agriculture and have found utility as antibiotics, immunosuppressives, anti-cancer drugs and anthelminthics. Remarkably, the natural role and what mechanisms drive evolution of these molecules is relatively poorly understood. The exponential increase in genome and chemical data in recent years, coupled with technical advances in bioinformatics and genetics have enabled progress to be made in under...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Francisco Barona-G ómez Marc G Chevrette Paul A Hoskisson Source Type: research
Molecular discoveries in microbial DMSP synthesis
Adv Microb Physiol. 2023;83:59-116. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2023.03.001. Epub 2023 Jun 1.ABSTRACTDimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is one of the Earth's most abundant organosulfur compounds because many marine algae, bacteria, corals and some plants produce it to high mM intracellular concentrations. In these organisms, DMSP acts an anti-stress molecule with purported roles to protect against salinity, temperature, oxidative stress and hydrostatic pressure, amongst many other reported functions. However, DMSP is best known for being a major precursor of the climate-active gases and signalling molecules dimethylsulfide (DMS),...
Source: Advances in Microbial Physiology - July 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ornella Carri ón Xiao-Yu Zhu Beth T Williams Jinyan Wang Xiao-Hua Zhang Jonathan D Todd Source Type: research
