# | Rank | Similarity | Title + Abs. | Year | PMID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 238 | 0 | 0.8728 | Expansion of the antimicrobial peptide repertoire in the invasive ladybird Harmonia axyridis. The harlequin ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis has emerged as a model species in invasion biology because of its strong resistance against pathogens and remarkable capacity to outcompete native ladybirds. The invasive success of the species may reflect its well-adapted immune system, a hypothesis we tested by analysing the transcriptome and characterizing the immune gene repertoire of untreated beetles and those challenged with bacteria and fungi. We found that most H. axyridis immunity-related genes were similar in diversity to their counterparts in the reference beetle Tribolium castaneum, but there was an unprecedented expansion among genes encoding antimicrobial peptides and proteins (AMPs). We identified more than 50 putative AMPs belonging to seven different gene families, and many of the corresponding genes were shown by quantitative real-time RT-PCR to be induced in the immune-stimulated beetles. AMPs with the highest induction ratio in the challenged beetles were shown to demonstrate broad and potent activity against Gram-negative bacteria and entomopathogenic fungi. The invasive success of H. axyridis can therefore be attributed at least in part to the greater efficiency of its immune system, particularly the expansion of AMP gene families and their induction in response to pathogens. | 2013 | 23173204 |
| 7 | 1 | 0.8718 | An EDS1 heterodimer signalling surface enforces timely reprogramming of immunity genes in Arabidopsis. Plant intracellular NLR receptors recognise pathogen interference to trigger immunity but how NLRs signal is not known. Enhanced disease susceptibility1 (EDS1) heterodimers are recruited by Toll-interleukin1-receptor domain NLRs (TNLs) to transcriptionally mobilise resistance pathways. By interrogating the Arabidopsis EDS1 ɑ-helical EP-domain we identify positively charged residues lining a cavity that are essential for TNL immunity signalling, beyond heterodimer formation. Mutating a single, conserved surface arginine (R493) disables TNL immunity to an oomycete pathogen and to bacteria producing the virulence factor, coronatine. Plants expressing a weakly active EDS1(R493A) variant have delayed transcriptional reprogramming, with severe consequences for resistance and countering bacterial coronatine repression of early immunity genes. The same EP-domain surface is utilised by a non-TNL receptor RPS2 for bacterial immunity, indicating that the EDS1 EP-domain signals in resistance conferred by different NLR receptor types. These data provide a unique structural insight to early downstream signalling in NLR receptor immunity. | 2019 | 30770836 |
| 46 | 2 | 0.8697 | The pepper Bs4C proteins are localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane and confer disease resistance to bacterial blight in transgenic rice. Transcription activator-like effector (TALE)-dependent dominant disease resistance (R) genes in plants, also referred to as executor R genes, are induced on infection by phytopathogenic bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas harbouring the corresponding TALE genes. Unlike the traditional R proteins, the executor R proteins do not determine the resistance specificity and may function broadly in different plant species. The executor R gene Bs4C-R in the resistant genotype PI 235047 of the pepper species Capsicum pubescens (CpBs4C-R) confers disease resistance to Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv) harbouring the TALE genes avrBsP/avrBs4. In this study, the synthetic genes of CpBs4C-R and two other Bs4C-like genes, the susceptible allele in the genotype PI585270 of C. pubescens (CpBs4C-S) and the CaBs4C-R homologue gene in the cultivar 'CM334' of Capsicum annum (CaBs4C), were characterized in tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) and rice (Oryza sativa). The Bs4C genes induced cell death in N. benthamiana. The functional Bs4C-eCFP fusion proteins were localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane in the leaf epidermal cells of N. benthamiana. The Xa10 promoter-Bs4C fusion genes in transgenic rice conferred strain-specific disease resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal agent of bacterial blight in rice, and were specifically induced by the Xa10-incompatible Xoo strain PXO99(A) (pHM1avrXa10). The results indicate that the Bs4C proteins from pepper species function broadly in rice and the Bs4C protein-mediated cell death from the ER is conserved between dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants, which can be utilized to engineer novel and enhanced disease resistance in heterologous plants. | 2018 | 29603592 |
| 502 | 3 | 0.8676 | A highly specialized flavin mononucleotide riboswitch responds differently to similar ligands and confers roseoflavin resistance to Streptomyces davawensis. Streptomyces davawensis is the only organism known to synthesize the antibiotic roseoflavin, a riboflavin (vitamin B2) analog. Roseoflavin is converted to roseoflavin mononucleotide (RoFMN) and roseoflavin adenine dinucleotide in the cytoplasm of target cells. (Ribo-)Flavin mononucleotide (FMN) riboswitches are genetic elements, which in many bacteria control genes responsible for the biosynthesis and transport of riboflavin. Streptomyces davawensis is roseoflavin resistant, and the closely related bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor is roseoflavin sensitive. The two bacteria served as models to investigate roseoflavin resistance of S. davawensis and to analyze the mode of action of roseoflavin in S. coelicolor. Our experiments demonstrate that the ribB FMN riboswitch of S. davawensis (in contrast to the corresponding riboswitch of S. coelicolor) is able to discriminate between the two very similar flavins FMN and RoFMN and shows opposite responses to the latter ligands. | 2012 | 22740651 |
| 534 | 4 | 0.8675 | Plasmid shuttle vector with two insertionally inactivable markers for coryneform bacteria. A new shuttle vector pCEM500 replicating in Escherichia coli and in Brevibacterium flavum was constructed. It carries two antibiotic resistance determinants (Kmr/Gmr from plasmid pSa of Gram-negative bacteria and Smr/Spr from plasmid pCG4 of Corynebacterium glutamicum) which are efficiently expressed in both hosts and can be inactivated by insertion of DNA fragments into the unique restriction endonuclease sites located within them. This vector was found to be stably maintained in B. flavum and can be used for transfer of the cloned genes into this amino-acid-producing coryneform bacterium. | 1990 | 2148164 |
| 541 | 5 | 0.8672 | A Teleost Bactericidal Permeability-Increasing Protein Kills Gram-Negative Bacteria, Modulates Innate Immune Response, and Enhances Resistance against Bacterial and Viral Infection. Bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) is an important factor of innate immunity that in mammals is known to take part in the clearance of invading Gram-negative bacteria. In teleost, the function of BPI is unknown. In the present work, we studied the function of tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) BPI, CsBPI. We found that CsBPI was produced extracellularly by peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL). Recombinant CsBPI (rCsBPI) was able to bind to a number of Gram-negative bacteria but not Gram-positive bacteria. Binding to bacteria led to bacterial death through membrane permeabilization and structural destruction, and the bound bacteria were more readily taken up by PBL. In vivo, rCsBPI augmented the expression of a wide arrange of genes involved in antibacterial and antiviral immunity. Furthermore, rCsBPI enhanced the resistance of tongue sole against bacterial as well as viral infection. These results indicate for the first time that a teleost BPI possesses immunoregulatory effect and plays a significant role in antibacterial and antiviral defense. | 2016 | 27105425 |
| 605 | 6 | 0.8663 | Conservation and diversity of the IrrE/DdrO-controlled radiation response in radiation-resistant Deinococcus bacteria. The extreme radiation resistance of Deinococcus bacteria requires the radiation-stimulated cleavage of protein DdrO by a specific metalloprotease called IrrE. DdrO is the repressor of a predicted radiation/desiccation response (RDR) regulon, composed of radiation-induced genes having a conserved DNA motif (RDRM) in their promoter regions. Here, we showed that addition of zinc ions to purified apo-IrrE, and short exposure of Deinococcus cells to zinc ions, resulted in cleavage of DdrO in vitro and in vivo, respectively. Binding of IrrE to RDRM-containing DNA or interaction of IrrE with DNA-bound DdrO was not observed. The data are in line with IrrE being a zinc peptidase, and indicate that increased zinc availability, caused by oxidative stress, triggers the in vivo cleavage of DdrO unbound to DNA. Transcriptomics and proteomics of Deinococcus deserti confirmed the IrrE-dependent regulation of predicted RDR regulon genes and also revealed additional members of this regulon. Comparative analysis showed that the RDR regulon is largely well conserved in Deinococcus species, but also showed diversity in the regulon composition. Notably, several RDR genes with an important role in radiation resistance in Deinococcus radiodurans, for example pprA, are not conserved in some other radiation-resistant Deinococcus species. | 2017 | 28397370 |
| 530 | 7 | 0.8663 | Location of the genes for anthranilate synthase in Streptomyces venezuelae ISP5230: genetic mapping after integration of the cloned genes. The anthranilate synthase (trpEG) genes in Streptomyces venezuelae ISP5230 were located by allowing a segregationally unstable plasmid carrying cloned S. venezuelae trpEG DNA and a thiostrepton resistance (tsr) marker to integrate into the chromosome. The integrated tsr was mapped by conjugation and transduction to a location close to tyr-2, between arg-6 and trpA13. A genomic DNA fragment containing trpC from S. venezuelae ISP5230 was cloned by complementation of a trpC mutation in Streptomyces lividans. Evidence from restriction enzyme analysis of the cloned DNA fragments, from Southern hybridization using the cloned trp DNA as probes, and from cotransduction frequencies, placed trpEG at a distance of 12-45 kb from the trpCBA cluster. The overall arrangement of tryptophan biosynthesis genes in the S. venezuelae chromosome differs from that in other bacteria examined so far. | 1993 | 8515229 |
| 549 | 8 | 0.8661 | Extracytoplasmic function sigma factor σ(D) confers resistance to environmental stress by enhancing mycolate synthesis and modifying peptidoglycan structures in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Mycolates are α-branched, β-hydroxylated, long-chain fatty acid specifically synthesized in bacteria in the suborder Corynebacterineae of the phylum Actinobacteria. They form an outer membrane, which functions as a permeability barrier and confers pathogenic mycobacteria to resistance to antibiotics. Although the mycolate biosynthetic pathway has been intensively studied, knowledge of transcriptional regulation of genes involved in this pathway is limited. Here, we report that the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor σ(D) is a key regulator of the mycolate synthetic genes in Corynebacterium glutamicum in the suborder. Chromatin immunoprecipitation with microarray analysis detected σ(D) -binding regions in the genome, establishing a consensus promoter sequence for σ(D) recognition. The σ(D) regulon comprised acyl-CoA carboxylase subunits, acyl-AMP ligase, polyketide synthase and mycolyltransferases; they were involved in mycolate synthesis. Indeed, deletion or overexpression of sigD encoding σ(D) modified the extractable mycolate amount. Immediately downstream of sigD, rsdA encoded anti-σ(D) and was under the control of a σ(D) -dependent promoter. Another σ(D) regulon member, l,d-transpeptidase, conferred lysozyme resistance. Thus, σ(D) modifies peptidoglycan cross-linking and enhances mycolate synthesis to provide resistance to environmental stress. | 2018 | 29148103 |
| 547 | 9 | 0.8660 | Dual role of OhrR as a repressor and an activator in response to organic hydroperoxides in Streptomyces coelicolor. Organic hydroperoxide resistance in bacteria is achieved primarily through reducing oxidized membrane lipids. The soil-inhabiting aerobic bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor contains three paralogous genes for organic hydroperoxide resistance: ohrA, ohrB, and ohrC. The ohrA gene is transcribed divergently from ohrR, which encodes a putative regulator of MarR family. Both the ohrA and ohrR genes were induced highly by various organic hydroperoxides. The ohrA gene was induced through removal of repression by OhrR, whereas the ohrR gene was induced through activation by OhrR. Reduced OhrR bound to the ohrA-ohrR intergenic region, which contains a central (primary) and two adjacent (secondary) inverted-repeat motifs that overlap with promoter elements. Organic peroxide decreased the binding affinity of OhrR for the primary site, with a concomitant decrease in cooperative binding to the adjacent secondary sites. The single cysteine C28 in OhrR was involved in sensing oxidants, as determined by substitution mutagenesis. The C28S mutant of OhrR bound to the intergenic region without any change in binding affinity in response to organic peroxides. These results lead us to propose a model for the dual action of OhrR as a repressor and an activator in S. coelicolor. Under reduced conditions, OhrR binds cooperatively to the intergenic region, repressing transcription from both genes. Upon oxidation, the binding affinity of OhrR decreases, with a concomitant loss of cooperative binding, which allows RNA polymerase to bind to both the ohrA and ohrR promoters. The loosely bound oxidized OhrR can further activate transcription from the ohrR promoter. | 2007 | 17586628 |
| 548 | 10 | 0.8658 | Mammalian antioxidant protein complements alkylhydroperoxide reductase (ahpC) mutation in Escherichia coli. The MER5 [now called the Aop1 (antioxidant protein 1) gene] was cloned as a transiently expressed gene of murine erythroleukaemia (MEL) cell differentiation and its antisense expression inhibited differentiation of MEL cells. We found that the Aop1 gene shows significant nucleotide sequence similarity to the gene coding for the C22 subunit of Salmonella typhimurium alkylhydroperoxide reductase, which is also found in other bacteria, suggesting it functions as an antioxidant protein. Expression of the Aop1 gene product in E. coli deficient in the C22-subunit gene rescued resistance of the bacteria to alkylhydroperoxide. The human and mouse Aop1 genes are highly conserved, and they mapped to the regions syntenic between mouse and human chromosomes. Sequence comparisons with recently cloned mammalian Aop1 homologues suggest that these genes consist of a family that is responsible for regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation and antioxidant functions. | 1995 | 7733872 |
| 198 | 11 | 0.8655 | The Drosophila immune defense against gram-negative infection requires the death protein dFADD. Drosophila responds to Gram-negative infections by mounting an immune response that depends on components of the IMD pathway. We recently showed that imd encodes a protein with a death domain with high similarity to that of mammalian RIP. Using a two-hybrid screen in yeast, we have isolated the death protein dFADD as a molecule that associates with IMD. Our data show that loss of dFADD function renders flies highly susceptible to Gram-negative infections without affecting resistance to Gram-positive bacteria. By genetic analysis we show that dFADD acts downstream of IMD in the pathway that controls inducibility of the antibacterial peptide genes. | 2002 | 12433364 |
| 101 | 12 | 0.8654 | The encapsulated strain TIGR4 of Streptococcus pneumoniae is phagocytosed but is resistant to intracellular killing by mouse microglia. The polysaccharide capsule is a major virulence factor of Streptococcus pneumoniae as it confers resistance to phagocytosis. The encapsulated serotype 4 TIGR4 strain was shown to be efficiently phagocytosed by the mouse microglial cell line BV2, whereas the type 3 HB565 strain resisted phagocytosis. Comparing survival after uptake of TIGR4 or its unencapsulated derivative FP23 in gentamicin protection and phagolysosome maturation assays, it was shown that TIGR4 was protected from intracellular killing. Pneumococcal capsular genes were up-regulated in intracellular TIGR4 bacteria recovered from microglial cells. Actual presence of bacteria inside BV2 cells was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for both TIGR4 and FP23 strains, but typical phagosomes/phagolysosomes were detected only in cells infected with the unencapsulated strain. In a mouse model of meningitis based on intracranic inoculation of pneumococci, TIGR4 caused lethal meningitis with an LD(50) of 2 × 10² CFU, whereas the LD(50) for the unencapsulated FP23 was greater than 10⁷ CFU. Phagocytosis of TIGR4 by microglia was also demonstrated by TEM and immunohistochemistry on brain samples from infected mice. The results indicate that encapsulation does not protect the TIGR4 strain from phagocytosis by microglia, while it affords resistance to intracellular killing. | 2010 | 20615478 |
| 529 | 13 | 0.8651 | Crystal structure of the transcriptional repressor PagR of Bacillus anthracis. PagR is a transcriptional repressor in Bacillus anthracis that controls the chromosomal S-layer genes eag and sap, and downregulates the protective antigen pagA gene by direct binding to their promoter regions. The PagR protein sequence is similar to those of members of the ArsR repressor family involved in the repression of arsenate-resistance genes in numerous bacteria. The crystal structure of PagR was solved using multi-wavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) techniques and was refined with 1.8 A resolution diffraction data. The PagR molecules form dimers, as observed in all SmtB/ArsR repressor family proteins. In the crystal lattice four PagR dimers pack together to form an inactive octamer. Model-building studies suggest that the dimer binds to a DNA duplex with a bend of around 4 degrees. | 2010 | 19926656 |
| 1 | 14 | 0.8650 | Constructs for insertional mutagenesis, transcriptional signal localization and gene regulation studies in root nodule and other bacteria. Cassettes have been developed that contain an antibiotic resistance marker with and without a promoterless gusA reporter gene. The nptII (encoding kanamycin resistance) or aacCI (encoding gentamicin resistance) genes were equipped with the tac promoter (Ptac) and the trpA terminator (TtrpA) and then cloned between NotI sites to construct the CAS-Nm (Ptac-nptII-TtrpA) and CAS-Gm (Ptac/PaacCI-aacCI-TtrpA) cassettes. The markers were also cloned downstream to a modified promoterless Escherichia coli gusA gene (containing TGA stop codons in all three reading frames prior to its RBS and start codon) to construct the CAS-GNm (gusA-Ptac-nptII-TtrpA) or CAS-GGm (gusA-Ptac/PaacCI-aacCI-TtrpA) cassettes. Cassettes containing the promoterless gusA create type I fusions with a target DNA sequence to detect transcriptional activity. The promoterless gusA gene has also been cloned into a broad-host-range IncP1 plasmid. This construct will enable transcriptional activity to be monitored in different genetic backgrounds. Each cassette was cloned as a NotI fragment into the NotI site of a pUT derivative to construct four minitransposons. The mTn5-Nm (containing Ptac-nptII-TtrpA) and mTn5-Gm (containing Ptac/PaacCI-aacCI-TtrpA) minitransposons have been constructed specifically for insertional inactivation studies. The minitransposons mTn5-GNm (containing gusA-Ptac-nptII-TtrpA) and mTn5-GGm (containing gusA-Ptac/PaacCI-aacCI-TtrpA) can be used for transcription signal localization or insertional inactivation. The TAC-31R and TAC-105F primers can be used to sequence DNA flanking both sides of CAS-Nm, CAS-Gm, mTn5-Nm and mTn5-Gm. The WIL3 and TAC-105F primers can be used to sequence DNA flanking both sides of CAS-GNm, CAS-GGm, mTn5-GNm and mTn5-GGm. The specific application of these constructs to generate acid- or nodule-inducible fusions is presented. The new constructs provide useful tools for insertional mutagenesis, transcriptional signal localization and gene regulation studies in the root nodule bacteria and possibly other gram-negative bacteria. | 1999 | 10411257 |
| 592 | 15 | 0.8650 | Metabolism of Tryptophan and Tryptophan Analogs by Rhizobium meliloti. The alfalfa symbiont Rhizobium meliloti Rm1021 produces indole-3-acetic acid in a regulated manner when supplied with exogenous tryptophan. Mutants with altered response to tryptophan analogs still produce indole-3-acetic acid, but are Fix(-) because bacteria do not fully differentiate into the nitrogen-fixing bacteriod form. These mutations are in apparently essential genes tightly linked to a dominant streptomycin resistance locus. | 1990 | 16667364 |
| 199 | 16 | 0.8648 | Activation of Imd pathway in hemocyte confers infection resistance through humoral response in Drosophila. Upon microbial invasion the innate immune system of Drosophila melanogaster mounts a response that comes in two distinct but complimentary forms, humoral and cellular. A screen to find genes capable of conferring resistance to the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus upon ectopic expression in immune response tissues uncovered imd gene. This resistance was not dependent on cellular defenses but rather likely a result of upregulation of the humoral response through increased expression of antimicrobial peptides, including a Toll pathway reporter gene drosomycin. Taken together it appears that Imd pathway is capable of playing a role in resistance to the Gram-positive S. aureus, counter to notions of traditional roles of the Imd pathway thought largely to responsible for resistance to Gram-negative bacteria. | 2013 | 23261474 |
| 553 | 17 | 0.8648 | Single-cell analysis of glycopeptide resistance gene expression in teicoplanin-resistant mutants of a VanB-type Enterococcus faecalis. The vanB gene cluster confers resistance to vancomycin but not to the related antibiotic teicoplanin, as the VanRB SB two-component regulatory system triggers expression of the glycopeptide resistance genes only in response to vancomycin. The VanRB regulator activates promoters PRB and PYB for transcription of the regulatory (vanRB SB) and resistance (vanYB WHB BXB) genes respectively. The gfpmut1 gene encoding a green fluorescent protein was fused to PYB to analyse promoter activation in single cells by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Characterization of 17 teicoplanin-resistant mutants indicated that amino acid substitutions on either side of the VanSB autophosphorylation site led to a constitutive phenotype. Substitutions in the membrane-associated domain resulted in a gain of function, as they allowed induction by teicoplanin. A vanSB null mutant expressed gfpmut1 at various levels under non-inducing conditions, and the majority of the bacteria were not fluorescent. Bacteria grown in the presence of vancomycin or teicoplanin were homogeneously fluorescent. The increase in the number of fluorescent bacteria resulted from induction in negative cells rather than from selection of a resistant subpopulation, indicating that VanRB was activated by cross-talk. Transglycosylase inhibition was probably the stimulus for the heterologous kinase, as moenomycin was also an inducer. | 1999 | 10216856 |
| 649 | 18 | 0.8648 | The VirAB ABC Transporter Is Required for VirR Regulation of Listeria monocytogenes Virulence and Resistance to Nisin. Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive intracellular pathogen that causes a severe invasive disease. Upon infecting a host cell, L. monocytogenes upregulates the transcription of numerous factors necessary for productive infection. VirR is the response regulator component of a two-component regulatory system in L. monocytogenes In this report, we have identified the putative ABC transporter encoded by genes lmo1746-lmo1747 as necessary for VirR function. We have designated lmo1746-lmo1747 virAB We constructed an in-frame deletion of virAB and determined that the ΔvirAB mutant exhibited reduced transcription of VirR-regulated genes. The ΔvirAB mutant also showed defects in in vitro plaque formation and in vivo virulence that were similar to those of a ΔvirR deletion mutant. Since VirR is important for innate resistance to antimicrobial agents, we determined the MICs of nisin and bacitracin for ΔvirAB bacteria. We found that VirAB expression was necessary for nisin resistance but was dispensable for resistance to bacitracin. This result suggested a VirAB-independent mechanism of VirR regulation in response to bacitracin. Lastly, we found that the ΔvirR and ΔvirAB mutants had no deficiency in growth in broth culture, intracellular replication, or production of the ActA surface protein, which facilitates actin-based motility and cell-to-cell spread. However, the ΔvirR and ΔvirAB mutants produced shorter actin tails during intracellular infection, which suggested that these mutants have a reduced ability to move and spread via actin-based motility. These findings have demonstrated that L. monocytogenes VirAB functions in a pathway with VirR to regulate the expression of genes necessary for virulence and resistance to antimicrobial agents. | 2018 | 29263107 |
| 617 | 19 | 0.8646 | Lytic action of cloned pneumococcal phage lysis genes in Streptococcus pneumoniae. The genes hbl3, cpl1 and cpl7 coding for the pneumococcal phage lytic enzymes HBL3, CPL1 and CPL7, respectively, have been cloned into shuttle plasmids that can replicate in Streptococcus pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. All these genes were expressed in E. coli under the control of either the lytP promoter of the lytA gene, which codes for the major pneumococcal autolysin, or the promoter of the tetracycline-resistance gene (tetP). In contrast, cpl1 and cpl7 genes that code for lysozymes were expressed in pneumococcus only under the control of tetP, whereas the hbl3 gene that codes for an amidase can be expressed using either promoter. The phage lysozymes or amidase expressed in S. pneumoniae M31, a mutant deleted in the lytA gene coding for short chains, were placed under physiological control since these transformed bacteria grew as normal 'diplo' cells during the exponential phase and underwent autolysis only after long incubation at 37 degrees C. The lysis genes appear to be expressed constitutively in the transformed pneumococci, since sharply defined lysis of these cultures could be induced prematurely during the exponential phase of growth by addition of sodium deoxycholate. | 1993 | 8472929 |