Publications

distribution of multicopy single-stranded dna among myxobacteria and related species.	multicopy single-stranded dna (msdna) is a short single-stranded linear dna originally discovered in myxococcus xanthus and subsequently found in stigmatella aurantiaca. it exists at an estimated 500 to 700 copies per chromosome (t. yee, t. furuichi, s. inouye, and m. inouye, cell 38:203-209, 1984). we found msdna in other myxobacteria, including myxococcus coralloides, cystobacter violaceus, cystobacter ferrugineus (cbfe17), nannocystis exedens, and nine independently isolated strains of m. xan ...	1985	3932332
the reca protein as a model molecule for molecular systematic studies of bacteria: comparison of trees of recas and 16s rrnas from the same species.	the evolution of the reca protein was analyzed using molecular phylogenetic techniques. phylogenetic trees of all currently available complete reca proteins were inferred using multiple maximum parsimony and distance matrix methods. comparison and analysis of the trees reveal that the inferred relationships among these proteins are highly robust. the reca trees show consistent subdivisions corresponding to many of the major bacterial groups found in trees of other molecules including the alpha, ...	1995	8587109
characterization and description of anaeromyxobacter dehalogenans gen. nov., sp. nov., an aryl-halorespiring facultative anaerobic myxobacterium.	five strains were isolated which form a physiologically and phylogenetically coherent group of chlororespiring microorganisms and represent the first taxon in the myxobacteria capable of anaerobic growth. the strains were enriched and isolated from various soils and sediments based on their ability to grow using acetate as an electron donor and 2-chlorophenol (2-cph) as an electron acceptor. they are slender gram-negative rods with a bright red pigmentation that exhibit gliding motility and form ...	2002	11823233
the stigmatella aurantiaca homolog of myxococcus xanthus high-mobility-group a-type transcription factor card: insights into the functional modules of card and their distribution in bacteria.	transcriptional factor card is the only reported prokaryotic analog of eukaryotic high-mobility-group a (hmga) proteins, in that it has contiguous acidic and at hook dna-binding segments and multifunctional roles in myxococcus xanthus carotenogenesis and fruiting body formation. hmga proteins are small, randomly structured, nonhistone, nuclear architectural factors that remodel dna and chromatin structure. here we report on a second at hook protein, card(sa), that is very similar to card and tha ...	2003	12775690
efficient and selective syntheses of (all-e)- and (6e,10z)-2'-o-methylmyxalamides d via pd-catalyzed alkenylation--carbonyl olefination synergy.	highly efficient and selective syntheses of both (all- e) and (6 e,10 z)-isomers of 2'- o-methylmyxalamide d ( 2 and 3), in which the crucial conjugated pentaene moieties were assembled in > or =98% stereoselectivity through the use of two pd-catalyzed alkenylation reactions, the horner-wadsworth-emmons (hwe) olefination, and either the corey-schlessinger-mills modified (csm-modified) peterson olefination for 2 or the still-gennari olefination for 3, are reported. either 2 or 3 was prepared in 1 ...	2008	18593171
a novel streptococcal integrative conjugative element involved in iron acquisition.	in this study, we determined the function of a novel non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (nrps) system carried by a streptococcal integrative conjugative element (ice), icese2. the nrps shares similarity with the yersiniabactin system found in the high-pathogenicity island of yersinia sp. and is the first of its kind to be identified in streptococci. we named the nrps product 'equibactin' and genes of this locus eqba-n. icese2, although absolutely conserved in streptococcus equi, the causative agen ...	2008	18990191
acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting activity of pyrrole derivatives from a novel marine gliding bacterium, rapidithrix thailandica.	acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting activity of marinoquinoline a (1), a new pyrroloquinoline from a novel species of a marine gliding bacterium rapidithrix thailandica, was assessed (ic(50) 4.9 microm). two related pyrrole derivatives, 3-(2'-aminophenyl)-pyrrole (3) and 2,2-dimethyl-pyrrolo-1,2-dihydroquinoline (4), were also isolated from two other strains of r. thailandica. the isolation of 3 from a natural source is reported here for the first time. compound 4 was proposed to be an isolation art ...	2008	19172195
the atypical two-component sensor kinase lpl0330 from legionella pneumophila controls the bifunctional diguanylate cyclase-phosphodiesterase lpl0329 to modulate c-di-gmp synthesis.	a significant part of bacterial two-component system response regulators contain effector domains predicted to be involved in metabolism of c-di-gmp, a second messenger which plays a key role in many physiological processes. intracellular level of c-di-gmp is controlled by diguanylate cyclases (dgcs) and phosphodiesterases (pdes) activities associated with ggdef and eal domains, respectively. the legionella pneumophila lens genome displays 22 ggdef/eal domain-encoding genes. one of them, lpl0329 ...	2011	21757706
nostophycin biosynthesis is directed by a hybrid polyketide synthase-nonribosomal peptide synthetase in the toxic cyanobacterium nostoc sp. strain 152.	cyanobacteria are a rich source of natural products with interesting pharmaceutical properties. here, we report the identification, sequencing, annotation, and biochemical analysis of the nostophycin (npn) biosynthetic gene cluster. the npn gene cluster spans 45.1 kb and consists of three open reading frames encoding a polyketide synthase, a mixed polyketide nonribosomal peptide synthetase, and a nonribosomal peptide synthetase. the genetic architecture and catalytic domain organization of the p ...	2011	21948844
direct live imaging of cell-cell protein transfer by transient outer membrane fusion in myxococcus xanthus.	in bacteria, multicellular behaviors are regulated by cell-cell signaling through the exchange of both diffusible and contact-dependent signals. in a multicellular context, myxococcus cells can share outer membrane (om) materials by an unknown mechanism involving the traab genes and gliding motility. using live imaging, we show for the first time that transient contacts between two cells are sufficient to transfer om materials, proteins and lipids, at high efficiency. transfer was associated wit ...	2013	23898400
isolation and identification of myxobacteria from saline-alkaline soils in xinjiang, china.	fifty-eight terrestrial and salt-tolerant myxobacteria were isolated from the saline-alkaline soils collected from xinjiang, china. based on the morphologies and the 16s rrna gene sequences, these isolates were assigned into 6 genera, myxococcus, cystobacter, corallococcus, sorangium, nannocystis and polyangium. all the strains grew better with 1% nacl than without nacl. some myxococcus strains were able to grow at 2% nacl concentration, suggesting that these strains may be particular type of te ...	2013	23936436
novel lant associated lantibiotic clusters identified by genome database mining.	frequent use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. lantibiotic compounds are ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides against which bacteria are not able to produce resistance, hence making them a good alternative to antibiotics. nisin is the oldest and the most widely used lantibiotic, in food preservation, without having developed any significant resistance against it. having their antimicrobial potential and a limited number, there is a need to id ...	2014	24621781
a comparison of the caulobacter na1000 and k31 genomes reveals extensive genome rearrangements and differences in metabolic potential.	the genus caulobacter is found in a variety of habitats and is known for its ability to thrive in low-nutrient conditions. k31 is a novel caulobacter isolate that has the ability to tolerate copper and chlorophenols, and can grow at 4 ° c with a doubling time of 40 h. k31 contains a 5.5 mb chromosome that codes for more than 5500 proteins and two large plasmids (234 and 178 kb) that code for 438 additional proteins. a comparison of the k31 and the caulobacter crescentus na1000 genomes revealed e ...	2014	25274120
a comprehensive insight into the lipid composition of myxococcus xanthus by uplc-esi-ms.	analysis of whole cell lipid extracts of bacteria by means of ultra-performance (up)lc-ms allows a comprehensive determination of the lipid molecular species present in the respective organism. the data allow conclusions on its metabolic potential as well as the creation of lipid profiles, which visualize the organism's response to changes in internal and external conditions. herein, we describe: i) a fast reversed phase uplc-esi-ms method suitable for detection and determination of individual l ...	2014	25332432
amym, a novel maltohexaose-forming α-amylase from corallococcus sp. strain egb.	a novel α-amylase, amym, was purified from the culture supernatant of corallococcus sp. strain egb. amym is a maltohexaose-forming exoamylase with an apparent molecular mass of 43 kda. based on the results of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and peptide mass fingerprinting of amym and by comparison to the genome sequence of corallococcus coralloides dsm 2259, the amym gene was identified and cloned into escherichia coli. amym encodes a secretory amylas ...	2015	25576603
x-ray and cryo-electron microscopy structures of monalysin pore-forming toxin reveal multimerization of the pro-form.	β-barrel pore-forming toxins (β-pft), a large family of bacterial toxins, are generally secreted as water-soluble monomers and can form oligomeric pores in membranes following proteolytic cleavage and interaction with cell surface receptors. monalysin has been recently identified as a β-pft that contributes to the virulence of pseudomonas entomophila against drosophila. it is secreted as a pro-protein that becomes active upon cleavage. here we report the crystal and cryo-electron microscopy stru ...	2015	25847242
de novo synthesis of a sunscreen compound in vertebrates.	ultraviolet-protective compounds, such as mycosporine-like amino acids (maas) and related gadusols produced by some bacteria, fungi, algae, and marine invertebrates, are critical for the survival of reef-building corals and other marine organisms exposed to high-solar irradiance. these compounds have also been found in marine fish, where their accumulation is thought to be of dietary or symbiont origin. in this study, we report the unexpected discovery that fish can synthesize gadusol de novo an ...	2015	25965179
large-scale contamination of microbial isolate genomes by illumina phix control.	with the rapid growth and development of sequencing technologies, genomes have become the new go-to for exploring solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges such as searching for alternative energy sources and exploration of genomic dark matter. however, progress in sequencing has been accompanied by its share of errors that can occur during template or library preparation, sequencing, imaging or data analysis. in this study we screened over 18,000 publicly available microbial isolate g ...	2015	26203331
genome-wide analysis of myxobacterial two-component systems: genome relatedness and evolutionary changes.	two-component systems (tcss) are abundant prokaryotic signaling pathways, whose evolution is of particular importance because of their role in bacterial pathogenicity. comparative genomics can provide important insights into the evolution of these genes, but inferences are dependent on the relatedness of the compared genomes. this study investigated the relationship between evolutionary distance and tcs evolution in myxobacterial genomes, of which there are several sequenced examples, of varying ...	2015	26463047
identifying the minimal enzymes required for biosynthesis of epoxyketone proteasome inhibitors.	epoxyketone proteasome inhibitors have attracted much interest due to their potential as anticancer drugs. although the biosynthetic gene clusters for several peptidyl epoxyketone natural products have recently been identified, the enzymatic logic involved in the formation of the terminal epoxyketone pharmacophore has been relatively unexplored. here, we report the identification of the minimal set of enzymes from the eponemycin gene cluster necessary for the biosynthesis of novel metabolites co ...	2015	26477320
complete genome sequence and comparative genomics of a novel myxobacterium myxococcus hansupus.	myxobacteria, a group of gram-negative aerobes, belong to the class δ-proteobacteria and order myxococcales. unlike anaerobic δ-proteobacteria, they exhibit several unusual physiogenomic properties like gliding motility, desiccation-resistant myxospores and large genomes with high coding density. here we report a 9.5 mbp complete genome of myxococcus hansupus that encodes 7,753 proteins. phylogenomic and genome-genome distance based analysis suggest that myxococcus hansupus is a novel member of ...	2016	26900859
antibiotics from predatory bacteria.	bacteria, which prey on other microorganisms, are commonly found in the environment. while some of these organisms act as solitary hunters, others band together in large consortia before they attack their prey. anecdotal reports suggest that bacteria practicing such a wolfpack strategy utilize antibiotics as predatory weapons. consistent with this hypothesis, genome sequencing revealed that these micropredators possess impressive capacities for natural product biosynthesis. here, we will present ...	2016	27340451
defined enzyme cocktail from the anaerobic fungus orpinomyces sp. strain c1a effectively releases sugars from pretreated corn stover and switchgrass.	the anaerobic fungus orpinomyces strain c1a is capable of growth on various types of lignocellulosic substrates, and harbors an impressive reservoir of carbohydrate active enzymes (cazymes). using a minimum enzyme cocktail strategy, we constituted a four-component lignocellulolytic cocktail derived from highly transcribed c1a, and evaluated its efficacy against pretreated corn stover and switchgrass. hydrolysis yields ranged between 65-77.4%, depending on the lignocellulosic substrate and pretre ...	2016	27381262
avrrxo1 is a bifunctional type iii secreted effector and toxin-antitoxin system component with homologs in diverse environmental contexts.	toxin-antitoxin (ta) systems are ubiquitous bacterial systems that may function in genome maintenance and metabolic stress management, but are also thought to play a role in virulence by helping pathogens survive stress. we previously demonstrated that the xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola protein avrrxo1 is a type iii-secreted virulence factor that has structural similarities to the zeta family of ta toxins, and is toxic to plants and bacteria in the absence of its predicted chaperone arc1. in t ...	2016	27391081
sterol synthesis in diverse bacteria.	sterols are essential components of eukaryotic cells whose biosynthesis and function has been studied extensively. sterols are also recognized as the diagenetic precursors of steranes preserved in sedimentary rocks where they can function as geological proxies for eukaryotic organisms and/or aerobic metabolisms and environments. however, production of these lipids is not restricted to the eukaryotic domain as a few bacterial species also synthesize sterols. phylogenomic studies have identified g ...	2016	27446030