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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology
Don't Sell Them Short, There's More To Bacterial Natural Products Than Antibiotics, Alison Clare Domzalski
Don't Sell Them Short, There's More To Bacterial Natural Products Than Antibiotics, Alison Clare Domzalski
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Recent genomic studies of microbiomes have revealed an overwhelming number of biosynthetic genes of unknown function. Most of these “cryptic” biosynthetic genes are not expressed in laboratory monocultures of individual microbes. Thus, there remains tremendous untapped potential for natural products discovery. Here we employ mixed microbial culture (MMC) as a simple yet powerful approach to awaken cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters. Our preliminary studies demonstrated that arrays of metabolites could be induced in MMCs upon environmental cues, such as surface adhesion. Using this system, we have screened, identified, and isolated bioactive bacterial metabolites, which were characterized structurally and biologically. Of the …
Oxydifficidin-Producing Bacillus Presents Novel Antimicrobial Activity Against Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Involving The Deda Protein, Jingbo Kan
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Bacterial human pathogens cause severe infectious diseases which are the second most common cause of death next to cancer and cardiovascular diseases in the world, especially in developing countries. Gonorrhea particularly, is the second most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) which is caused by the microorganism Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 1.6 million new gonorrhea cases emerged in USA in 2018 (“Detailed STD Facts - Gonorrhea” n.d.). Also, the WHO (World Health Organization) shows that gonorrhea is the most antibiotic resistant STI (“PAHO/WHO | Gonorrhea” n.d.), highlighting the shortage of efficient …
The C. Neoformans Cell Wall: A Scaffold For Virulence, Christine Chrissian
The C. Neoformans Cell Wall: A Scaffold For Virulence, Christine Chrissian
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Cryptococcus neoformans is a globally distributed opportunistic fungal pathogen and the causative agent of life threatening cryptococcal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals, resulting in ~180,000 deaths each year worldwide. A primary virulence-associated trait of this organism is the production of melanin. Melanins are a class of diverse pigments produced via the oxidation and polymerization of aromatic ring compounds that have a characteristically complex, heterogenous, and amorphous structure. They are synthesized by representatives of all biological kingdoms and share a multitude of remarkable properties such as the ability to absorb ultraviolet (UV) light and protect against ionizing radiation. Melanin production in fungi …