# | Rank | Similarity | Title + Abs. | Year | PMID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 8135 | 0 | 0.9973 | Harnessing Genome Editing Techniques to Engineer Disease Resistance in Plants. Modern genome editing (GE) techniques, which include clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and LAGLIDADG homing endonucleases (meganucleases), have so far been used for engineering disease resistance in crops. The use of GE technologies has grown very rapidly in recent years with numerous examples of targeted mutagenesis in crop plants, including gene knockouts, knockdowns, modifications, and the repression and activation of target genes. CRISPR/Cas9 supersedes all other GE techniques including TALENs and ZFNs for editing genes owing to its unprecedented efficiency, relative simplicity and low risk of off-target effects. Broad-spectrum disease resistance has been engineered in crops by GE of either specific host-susceptibility genes (S gene approach), or cleaving DNA of phytopathogens (bacteria, virus or fungi) to inhibit their proliferation. This review focuses on different GE techniques that can potentially be used to boost molecular immunity and resistance against different phytopathogens in crops, ultimately leading to the development of promising disease-resistant crop varieties. | 2019 | 31134108 |
| 8289 | 1 | 0.9973 | Roles of Regulatory RNAs for Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria and Their Potential Value as Novel Drug Targets. The emergence of antibiotic resistance mechanisms among bacterial pathogens increases the demand for novel treatment strategies. Lately, the contribution of non-coding RNAs to antibiotic resistance and their potential value as drug targets became evident. RNA attenuator elements in mRNA leader regions couple expression of resistance genes to the presence of the cognate antibiotic. Trans-encoded small RNAs (sRNAs) modulate antibiotic tolerance by base-pairing with mRNAs encoding functions important for resistance such as metabolic enzymes, drug efflux pumps, or transport proteins. Bacteria respond with extensive changes of their sRNA repertoire to antibiotics. Each antibiotic generates a unique sRNA profile possibly causing downstream effects that may help to overcome the antibiotic challenge. In consequence, regulatory RNAs including sRNAs and their protein interaction partners such as Hfq may prove useful as targets for antimicrobial chemotherapy. Indeed, several compounds have been developed that kill bacteria by mimicking ligands for riboswitches controlling essential genes, demonstrating that regulatory RNA elements are druggable targets. Drugs acting on sRNAs are considered for combined therapies to treat infections. In this review, we address how regulatory RNAs respond to and establish resistance to antibiotics in bacteria. Approaches to target RNAs involved in intrinsic antibiotic resistance or virulence for chemotherapy will be discussed. | 2017 | 28529506 |
| 9169 | 2 | 0.9973 | Interference of bacterial cell-to-cell communication: a new concept of antimicrobial chemotherapy breaks antibiotic resistance. Bacteria use a cell-to-cell communication activity termed "quorum sensing" to coordinate group behaviors in a cell density dependent manner. Quorum sensing influences the expression profile of diverse genes, including antibiotic tolerance and virulence determinants, via specific chemical compounds called "autoinducers". During quorum sensing, Gram-negative bacteria typically use an acylated homoserine lactone (AHL) called autoinducer 1. Since the first discovery of quorum sensing in a marine bacterium, it has been recognized that more than 100 species possess this mechanism of cell-to-cell communication. In addition to being of interest from a biological standpoint, quorum sensing is a potential target for antimicrobial chemotherapy. This unique concept of antimicrobial control relies on reducing the burden of virulence rather than killing the bacteria. It is believed that this approach will not only suppress the development of antibiotic resistance, but will also improve the treatment of refractory infections triggered by multi-drug resistant pathogens. In this paper, we review and track recent progress in studies on AHL inhibitors/modulators from a biological standpoint. It has been discovered that both natural and synthetic compounds can disrupt quorum sensing by a variety of means, such as jamming signal transduction, inhibition of signal production and break-down and trapping of signal compounds. We also focus on the regulatory elements that attenuate quorum sensing activities and discuss their unique properties. Understanding the biological roles of regulatory elements might be useful in developing inhibitor applications and understanding how quorum sensing is controlled. | 2013 | 23720655 |
| 9060 | 3 | 0.9973 | Targetable nano-delivery vehicles to deliver anti-bacterial small acid-soluble spore protein (SASP) genes. Interest in phage-based therapeutics is increasing, at least in part due to the need for new treatment options for infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It is possible to use wild-type (WT) phages to treat bacterial infections, but it is also possible to modify WT phages to generate therapeutics with improved features. Here, we will discuss features of Phico Therapeutics' SASPject technology, which modifies phages for use as targetable nano-delivery vehicles (NDV), to introduce antibacterial Small Acid Soluble Spore Protein (SASP) genes into specific target bacteria. | 2021 | 34723318 |
| 9167 | 4 | 0.9972 | Bioactive proteins from Solanaceae as quorum sensing inhibitors against virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cell-to-cell communication or quorum sensing (QS) is a generic event in bacteria that is used to coordinate gene expression among local populations. The phenomenon of QS depends on the fact that presence of sufficient bacteria ascertains a threshold level of autoinducer concentration that allows bacteria to sense a critical cell mass and to activate or repress target genes. Thus, QS has been an attractive target for the development of anti-infective strategies that are not based on the use of antibiotics. Several anti-QS approaches have been demonstrated including natural products from plant-based secondary metabolites. However, the role of plant bioactive proteins as an anti-QS peptide is yet to be deciphered. Against a backdrop of ever-increasing antibiotic resistant pathogens, there is a strong need for development of alternative therapeutic strategies. Thus, our hypothesis is that bioactive proteins from the plant family Solanaceae are quorum quenching molecules that can be exploited to develop a therapeutic strategy against virulence. We presume that bioactive proteins will inactivate or inhibit or degrade QS signals from bacteria to prevent cell-to-cell communication and thus inhibit development of virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Further, the use of proteins as quorum quenchers will delay the bacteria to develop resistance against these quenching molecules. | 2015 | 25777471 |
| 8273 | 5 | 0.9972 | Targeting quorum sensing and competence stimulation for antimicrobial chemotherapy. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is now a serious problem, with traditional classes of antibiotics having gradually become ineffective. New drugs are therefore needed to target and inhibit novel pathways that affect the growth of bacteria. An important feature in the survival of bacteria is that they coordinate their efforts together as a colony via secreted auto-inducing molecules. Competence stimulating peptides (CSPs) are among the quorum sensing pheromones involved in this coordination. These peptides activate a two-component system in gram-negative bacteria, binding to and activating a histidine kinase receptor called ComD, which phosphorylates a response regulator called ComE, leading to gene expression and induction of competence. Competent bacteria are able to take up exogenous DNA and incorporate it into their own genome. By this mechanism bacteria are able to acquire and share genes encoding antibiotic resistance. Despite having been studied for over 30 years, this pathway has only recently begun to be explored as a novel approach to modulating bacterial growth. Antagonists of ComD might block the signaling cascade that leads to competence, while overstimulation of ComD might also reduce bacterial growth. One possible approach to inhibiting ComD is to examine peptide sequences of CSPs that activate ComD and attempt to constrain them to bioactive conformations, likely to have higher affinity due to pre-organization for recognition by the receptor. Thus, small molecules that mimic an alpha helical epitope of CSPs, the putative ComD binding domain, have been shown here to inhibit growth of bacteria such as S. pneumoniae. Such alpha helix mimetics may be valuable clues to antibacterial chemotherapeutic agents that utilize a new mechanism to control bacterial growth. | 2012 | 22664089 |
| 757 | 6 | 0.9972 | Regulation of antibiotic-resistance by non-coding RNAs in bacteria. Antibiotic resistance genes are commonly regulated by sophisticated mechanisms that activate gene expression in response to antibiotic exposure. Growing evidence suggest that cis-acting non-coding RNAs play a major role in regulating the expression of many resistance genes, specifically those which counteract the effects of translation-inhibiting antibiotics. These ncRNAs reside in the 5'UTR of the regulated gene, and sense the presence of the antibiotics by recruiting translating ribosomes onto short upstream open reading frames (uORFs) embedded in the ncRNA. In the presence of translation-inhibiting antibiotics ribosomes arrest over the uORF, altering the RNA structure of the regulator and switching the expression of the resistance gene to 'ON'. The specificity of these riboregulators is tuned to sense-specific classes of antibiotics based on the length and composition of the respective uORF. Here we review recent work describing new types of antibiotic-sensing RNA-based regulators and elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which they function to control antibiotic resistance in bacteria. | 2017 | 28414973 |
| 8145 | 7 | 0.9972 | Emerging role for RNA-based regulation in plant immunity. Infection by phytopathogenic bacteria triggers massive changes in plant gene expression, which are thought to be mostly a result of transcriptional reprogramming. However, evidence is accumulating that plants additionally use post-transcriptional regulation of immune-responsive mRNAs as a strategic weapon to shape the defense-related transcriptome. Cellular RNA-binding proteins regulate RNA stability, splicing or mRNA export of immune-response transcripts. In particular, mutants defective in alternative splicing of resistance genes exhibit compromised disease resistance. Furthermore, detection of bacterial pathogens induces the differential expression of small non-coding RNAs including microRNAs that impact the host defense transcriptome. Phytopathogenic bacteria in turn have evolved effector proteins to inhibit biogenesis and/or activity of cellular microRNAs. Whereas RNA silencing has long been known as an antiviral defense response, recent findings also reveal a major role of this process in antibacterial defense. Here we review the function of RNA-binding proteins and small RNA-directed post-transcriptional regulation in antibacterial defense. We mainly focus on studies that used the model system Arabidopsis thaliana and also discuss selected examples from other plants. | 2013 | 23163405 |
| 9160 | 8 | 0.9972 | Interference in Bacterial Quorum Sensing: A Biopharmaceutical Perspective. Numerous bacteria utilize molecular communication systems referred to as quorum sensing (QS) to synchronize the expression of certain genes regulating, among other aspects, the expression of virulence factors and the synthesis of biofilm. To achieve this process, bacteria use signaling molecules, known as autoinducers (AIs), as chemical messengers to share information. Naturally occurring strategies that interfere with bacterial signaling have been extensively studied in recent years, examining their potential to control bacteria. To interfere with QS, bacteria use quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) to block the action of AIs and quorum quenching (QQ) enzymes to degrade signaling molecules. Recent studies have shown that these strategies are promising routes to decrease bacterial pathogenicity and decrease biofilms, potentially enhancing bacterial susceptibility to antimicrobial agents including antibiotics and bacteriophages. The efficacy of QSIs and QQ enzymes has been demonstrated in various animal models and are now considered in the development of new medical devices against bacterial infections, including dressings, and catheters for enlarging the therapeutic arsenal against bacteria. | 2018 | 29563876 |
| 9168 | 9 | 0.9972 | Novel approaches to bacterial infection therapy by interfering with bacteria-to-bacteria signaling. The growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance and the paucity of novel antibiotics underscore the importance of developing novel therapeutics. Bacterial cell-to-cell signaling constitutes a novel drug target. Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell signaling mechanism that refers to the ability of bacteria to respond to chemical hormone-like molecules called autoinducers. QS is responsible for controlling a plethora of virulence genes in several bacterial pathogens. Antagonists to autoinducers will intercept bacterial intercellular communication, hindering their ability to act in a coordinated manner to express virulence traits. Moreover, since QS is not involved directly in essential processes, such as bacterial growth, one can reason that inhibition of QS will not yield a selective pressure for the development of resistance. | 2007 | 17402841 |
| 8137 | 10 | 0.9971 | Modulation of Bacterial Fitness and Virulence Through Antisense RNAs. Regulatory RNAs contribute to gene expression control in bacteria. Antisense RNAs (asRNA) are a class of regulatory RNAs that are transcribed from opposite strands of their target genes. Typically, these untranslated transcripts bind to cognate mRNAs and rapidly regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. In this article, we review asRNAs that modulate bacterial fitness and increase virulence. We chose examples that underscore the variety observed in nature including, plasmid- and chromosome-encoded asRNAs, a riboswitch-regulated asRNA, and asRNAs that require other RNAs or RNA-binding proteins for stability and activity. We explore how asRNAs improve bacterial fitness and virulence by modulating plasmid acquisition and maintenance, regulating transposon mobility, increasing resistance against bacteriophages, controlling flagellar production, and regulating nutrient acquisition. We conclude with a brief discussion on how this knowledge is helping to inform current efforts to develop new therapeutics. | 2020 | 33747974 |
| 8290 | 11 | 0.9971 | Antimicrobial Peptides: Features, Action, and Their Resistance Mechanisms in Bacteria. In recent years, because of increased resistance to conventional antimicrobials, many researchers have started to study the synthesis of new antibiotics to control the disease-causing effects of infectious pathogens. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are among the newest antibiotics; these peptides are integral compounds in all kinds of organisms and play a significant role in microbial ecology, and critically contribute to the innate immunity of organisms by destroying invading microorganisms. Moreover, AMPs may encourage cells to produce chemokines, stimulate angiogenesis, accelerate wound healing, and influence programmed cell death in multicellular organisms. Bacteria differ in their inherent susceptibility and resistance mechanisms to these peptides when responding to the antimicrobial effects of AMPs. Generally, the development of AMP resistance mechanisms is driven by direct competition between bacterial species, and host and pathogen interactions. Several studies have shown diverse mechanisms of bacterial resistance to AMPs, for example, some bacteria produce proteases and trapping proteins; some modify cell surface charge, change membrane fluidity, and activate efflux pumps; and some species make use of biofilms and exopolymers, and develop sensing systems by selective gene expression. A closer understanding of bacterial resistance mechanisms may help in developing novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of infections caused by pathogenic organisms that are successful in developing extensive resistance to AMPs. Based on these observations, this review discusses the properties of AMPs, their targeting mechanisms, and bacterial resistance mechanisms against AMPs. | 2018 | 29957118 |
| 9159 | 12 | 0.9971 | Quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs): a patent review (2019-2023). INTRODUCTION: The collective behavior of bacteria is regulated by Quorum Sensing (QS), in which bacteria release chemical signals and express virulence genes in a cell density-dependent manner. Quorum Sensing inhibitors (QSIs) are a large class of natural and synthetic compounds that have the potential to competitively inhibit the Quorum Sensing (QS) systems of several pathogens blocking their virulence mechanisms. They are considered promising compounds to deal with antimicrobial resistance, providing an opportunity to develop new drugs against these targets. AREAS COVERED: The present review represents a comprehensive analysis of patents and patent applications available on Espacenet and Google Patent, from 2019 to 2023 referring to the therapeutic use of Quorum Sensing inhibitors. EXPERT OPINION: Unlike classical antibiotics, which target the basic cellular metabolic processes, QSIs provide a promising alternative to attenuating virulence and pathogenicity without putting selective pressure on bacteria. The general belief is that QSIs pose no or little selective pressure on bacteria since these do not affect their growth. To date, QSIs are seen as the most promising alternative to traditional antibiotics. The next big step in this area of research is its succession to the clinical stage. | 2025 | 40219759 |
| 8136 | 13 | 0.9971 | Recent progress in CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing for enhancing plant disease resistance. Nowadays, agricultural production is strongly affected by both climate change and pathogen attacks which seriously threaten global food security. For a long time, researchers have been waiting for a tool allowing DNA/RNA manipulation to tailor genes and their expression. Some earlier genetic manipulation methods such as meganucleases (MNs), zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) allowed site directed modification but their successful rate was limited due to lack of flexibility when targeting a 'site-specific nucleic acid'. The discovery of clustered regularly interspaced short palindrome repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system has revolutionized genome editing domain in different living organisms during the past 9 years. Based on RNA-guided DNA/RNA recognition, CRISPR/Cas9 optimizations have offered an unrecorded scientific opportunity to engineer plants resistant to diverse pathogens. In this report, we describe the main characteristics of the primary reported-genome editing tools ((MNs, ZFNs, TALENs) and evaluate the different CRISPR/Cas9 methods and achievements in developing crop plants resistant to viruses, fungi and bacteria. | 2023 | 36871676 |
| 8297 | 14 | 0.9971 | Novel RpoS-Dependent Mechanisms Strengthen the Envelope Permeability Barrier during Stationary Phase. Gram-negative bacteria have effective methods of excluding toxic compounds, including a largely impermeable outer membrane (OM) and a range of efflux pumps. Furthermore, when cells become nutrient limited, RpoS enacts a global expression change providing cross-protection against many stresses. Here, we utilized sensitivity to an anionic detergent (sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS]) to probe changes occurring to the cell's permeability barrier during nutrient limitation. Escherichia coli is resistant to SDS whether cells are actively growing, carbon limited, or nitrogen limited. In actively growing cells, this resistance depends on the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump; however, this pump is not necessary for protection under either carbon-limiting or nitrogen-limiting conditions, suggesting an alternative mechanism(s) of SDS resistance. In carbon-limited cells, RpoS-dependent pathways lessen the permeability of the OM, preventing the necessity for efflux. In nitrogen-limited but not carbon-limited cells, the loss of rpoS can be completely compensated for by the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump. We suggest that this difference simply reflects the fact that nitrogen-limited cells have access to a metabolizable energy (carbon) source that can efficiently power the efflux pump. Using a transposon mutant pool sequencing (Tn-Seq) approach, we identified three genes, sanA, dacA, and yhdP, that are necessary for RpoS-dependent SDS resistance in carbon-limited stationary phase. Using genetic analysis, we determined that these genes are involved in two different envelope-strengthening pathways. These genes have not previously been implicated in stationary-phase stress responses. A third novel RpoS-dependent pathway appears to strengthen the cell's permeability barrier in nitrogen-limited cells. Thus, though cells remain phenotypically SDS resistant, SDS resistance mechanisms differ significantly between growth states. IMPORTANCE: Gram-negative bacteria are intrinsically resistant to detergents and many antibiotics due to synergistic activities of a strong outer membrane (OM) permeability barrier and efflux pumps that capture and expel toxic molecules eluding the barrier. When the bacteria are depleted of an essential nutrient, a program of gene expression providing cross-protection against many stresses is induced. Whether this program alters the OM to further strengthen the barrier is unknown. Here, we identify novel pathways dependent on the master regulator of stationary phase that further strengthen the OM permeability barrier during nutrient limitation, circumventing the need for efflux pumps. Decreased permeability of nutrient-limited cells to toxic compounds has important implications for designing new antibiotics capable of targeting Gram-negative bacteria that may be in a growth-limited state. | 2017 | 27821607 |
| 766 | 15 | 0.9971 | The essential inner membrane protein YejM is a metalloenzyme. Recent recurrent outbreaks of Gram-negative bacteria show the critical need to target essential bacterial mechanisms to fight the increase of antibiotic resistance. Pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria have developed several strategies to protect themselves against the host immune response and antibiotics. One such strategy is to remodel the outer membrane where several genes are involved. yejM was discovered as an essential gene in E. coli and S. typhimurium that plays a critical role in their virulence by changing the outer membrane permeability. How the inner membrane protein YejM with its periplasmic domain changes membrane properties remains unknown. Despite overwhelming structural similarity between the periplasmic domains of two YejM homologues with hydrolases like arylsulfatases, no enzymatic activity has been previously reported for YejM. Our studies reveal an intact active site with bound metal ions in the structure of YejM periplasmic domain. Furthermore, we show that YejM has a phosphatase activity that is dependent on the presence of magnesium ions and is linked to its function of regulating outer membrane properties. Understanding the molecular mechanism by which YejM is involved in outer membrane remodeling will help to identify a new drug target in the fight against the increased antibiotic resistance. | 2020 | 33082366 |
| 9117 | 16 | 0.9970 | Antimicrobial Resistance and the Alternative Resources with Special Emphasis on Plant-Based Antimicrobials-A Review. Indiscriminate and irrational use of antibiotics has created an unprecedented challenge for human civilization due to microbe's development of antimicrobial resistance. It is difficult to treat bacterial infection due to bacteria's ability to develop resistance against antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial agents are categorized according to their mechanism of action, i.e., interference with cell wall synthesis, DNA and RNA synthesis, lysis of the bacterial membrane, inhibition of protein synthesis, inhibition of metabolic pathways, etc. Bacteria may become resistant by antibiotic inactivation, target modification, efflux pump and plasmidic efflux. Currently, the clinically available treatment is not effective against the antibiotic resistance developed by some bacterial species. However, plant-based antimicrobials have immense potential to combat bacterial, fungal, protozoal and viral diseases without any known side effects. Such plant metabolites include quinines, alkaloids, lectins, polypeptides, flavones, flavonoids, flavonols, coumarin, terpenoids, essential oils and tannins. The present review focuses on antibiotic resistance, the resistance mechanism in bacteria against antibiotics and the role of plant-active secondary metabolites against microorganisms, which might be useful as an alternative and effective strategy to break the resistance among microbes. | 2017 | 28394295 |
| 562 | 17 | 0.9970 | Macrolones target bacterial ribosomes and DNA gyrase and can evade resistance mechanisms. Growing resistance toward ribosome-targeting macrolide antibiotics has limited their clinical utility and urged the search for superior compounds. Macrolones are synthetic macrolide derivatives with a quinolone side chain, structurally similar to DNA topoisomerase-targeting fluoroquinolones. While macrolones show enhanced activity, their modes of action have remained unknown. Here, we present the first structures of ribosome-bound macrolones, showing that the macrolide part occupies the macrolide-binding site in the ribosomal exit tunnel, whereas the quinolone moiety establishes new interactions with the tunnel. Macrolones efficiently inhibit both the ribosome and DNA topoisomerase in vitro. However, in the cell, they target either the ribosome or DNA gyrase or concurrently both of them. In contrast to macrolide or fluoroquinolone antibiotics alone, dual-targeting macrolones are less prone to select resistant bacteria carrying target-site mutations or to activate inducible macrolide resistance genes. Furthermore, because some macrolones engage Erm-modified ribosomes, they retain activity even against strains with constitutive erm resistance genes. | 2024 | 39039256 |
| 8144 | 18 | 0.9970 | Fungal Priming: Prepare or Perish. Priming (also referred to as acclimation, acquired stress resistance, adaptive response, or cross-protection) is defined as an exposure of an organism to mild stress that leads to the development of a subsequent stronger and more protective response. This memory of a previously encountered stress likely provides a strong survival advantage in a rapidly shifting environment. Priming has been identified in animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Examples include innate immune priming and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in animals and biotic and abiotic stress priming in plants, fungi, and bacteria. Priming mechanisms are diverse and include alterations in the levels of specific mRNAs, proteins, metabolites, and epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation and histone acetylation of target genes. | 2022 | 35628704 |
| 9177 | 19 | 0.9970 | Multitarget Approaches against Multiresistant Superbugs. Despite efforts to develop new antibiotics, antibacterial resistance still develops too fast for drug discovery to keep pace. Often, resistance against a new drug develops even before it reaches the market. This continued resistance crisis has demonstrated that resistance to antibiotics with single protein targets develops too rapidly to be sustainable. Most successful long-established antibiotics target more than one molecule or possess targets, which are encoded by multiple genes. This realization has motivated a change in antibiotic development toward drug candidates with multiple targets. Some mechanisms of action presuppose multiple targets or at least multiple effects, such as targeting the cytoplasmic membrane or the carrier molecule bactoprenol phosphate and are therefore particularly promising. Moreover, combination therapy approaches are being developed to break antibiotic resistance or to sensitize bacteria to antibiotic action. In this Review, we provide an overview of antibacterial multitarget approaches and the mechanisms behind them. | 2020 | 32156116 |