# | Rank | Similarity | Title + Abs. | Year | PMID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | 0 | 0.6525 | Noncanonical coproporphyrin-dependent bacterial heme biosynthesis pathway that does not use protoporphyrin. It has been generally accepted that biosynthesis of protoheme (heme) uses a common set of core metabolic intermediates that includes protoporphyrin. Herein, we show that the Actinobacteria and Firmicutes (high-GC and low-GC Gram-positive bacteria) are unable to synthesize protoporphyrin. Instead, they oxidize coproporphyrinogen to coproporphyrin, insert ferrous iron to make Fe-coproporphyrin (coproheme), and then decarboxylate coproheme to generate protoheme. This pathway is specified by three genes named hemY, hemH, and hemQ. The analysis of 982 representative prokaryotic genomes is consistent with this pathway being the most ancient heme synthesis pathway in the Eubacteria. Our results identifying a previously unknown branch of tetrapyrrole synthesis support a significant shift from current models for the evolution of bacterial heme and chlorophyll synthesis. Because some organisms that possess this coproporphyrin-dependent branch are major causes of human disease, HemQ is a novel pharmacological target of significant therapeutic relevance, particularly given high rates of antimicrobial resistance among these pathogens. | 2015 | 25646457 |
| 333 | 1 | 0.6457 | Mutants of Escherichia coli altered in both genes coding for the elongation factor Tu. Genetic analysis of a mutant of Escherichia coli resistant to the antibiotic mocimycin is presented. This resistance is due to alterations in both tuf genes coding for the elongation factor Tu. Mocimycin resistance is recessive. Bacteria carryong only one tuf gene from the resistant mutant are still mocimycin sensitive. If the mutant gene is the tufA gene, the seisitive cells can be made resistant through inactivation of the tufB gene by insertion of the bacteriophage milliunits genome. Conditional mocimycin-resistant mutants ban also be isolated when the tufB gene is altered by an amber or a temperature-sensitive mutation. When only the tufB allele from the original mocimycin-resistant mutant is present, inactivation of the wild-type tufA gene fails to give viable mocimycin-resistant progeny. We conclude that the tufA mutant allele codes for a functional mocimycin-resistant EF-Tu, whereas the mutant tufB gene does not code for a functional product. | 1978 | 360222 |
| 577 | 2 | 0.6449 | The SIR2 gene family, conserved from bacteria to humans, functions in silencing, cell cycle progression, and chromosome stability. Genomic silencing is a fundamental mechanism of transcriptional regulation, yet little is known about conserved mechanisms of silencing. We report here the discovery of four Saccharomyces cerevisiae homologs of the SIR2 silencing gene (HSTs), as well as conservation of this gene family from bacteria to mammals. At least three HST genes can function in silencing; HST1 overexpression restores transcriptional silencing to a sir2 mutant and hst3 hst4 double mutants are defective in telomeric silencing. In addition, HST3 and HST4 together contribute to proper cell cycle progression, radiation resistance, and genomic stability, establishing new connections between silencing and these fundamental cellular processes. | 1995 | 7498786 |
| 8155 | 3 | 0.6444 | Gut bacteria enable prostate cancer growth. Testosterone-synthetizing gut bacteria drive resistance to therapy. | 2021 | 34618567 |
| 4104 | 4 | 0.6433 | Human intestinal bacteria as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes. Human intestinal bacteria have many roles in human health, most of which are beneficial or neutral for the host. In this review, we explore a more sinister side of intestinal bacteria; their role as traffickers in antibiotic resistance genes. Evidence is accumulating to support the hypothesis that intestinal bacteria not only exchange resistance genes among themselves but might also interact with bacteria that are passing through the colon, causing these bacteria to acquire and transmit antibiotic resistance genes. | 2004 | 15337162 |
| 504 | 5 | 0.6431 | Activation of Dithiolopyrrolone Antibiotics by Cellular Reductants. Dithiolopyrrolone (DTP) natural products are broad-spectrum antimicrobial and anticancer prodrugs. The DTP structure contains a unique bicyclic ene-disulfide that once reduced in the cell, chelates metal ions and disrupts metal homeostasis. In this work we investigate the intracellular activation of the DTPs and their resistance mechanisms in bacteria. We show that the prototypical DTP holomycin is reduced by several bacterial reductases and small-molecule thiols in vitro. To understand how bacteria develop resistance to the DTPs, we generate Staphylococcus aureus mutants that exhibit increased resistance to the hybrid DTP antibiotic thiomarinol. From these mutants we identify loss-of-function mutations in redox genes that are involved in DTP activation. This work advances the understanding of how DTPs are activated and informs development of bioreductive disulfide prodrugs. | 2025 | 39665630 |
| 532 | 6 | 0.6427 | Three new dominant drug resistance cassettes for gene disruption in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Disruption-deletion cassettes are powerful tools used to study gene function in many organisms, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Perhaps the most widely useful of these are the heterologous dominant drug resistance cassettes, which use antibiotic resistance genes from bacteria and fungi as selectable markers. We have created three new dominant drug resistance cassettes by replacing the kanamycin resistance (kan(r)) open reading frame from the kanMX3 and kanMX4 disruption-deletion cassettes (Wach et al., 1994) with open reading frames conferring resistance to the antibiotics hygromycin B (hph), nourseothricin (nat) and bialaphos (pat). The new cassettes, pAG25 (natMX4), pAG29 (patMX4), pAG31 (patMX3), pAG32 (hphMX4), pAG34 (hphMX3) and pAG35 (natMX3), are cloned into pFA6, and so are in all other respects identical to pFA6-kanMX3 and pFA6-kanMX4. Most tools and techniques used with the kanMX plasmids can also be used with the hph, nat and patMX containing plasmids. These new heterologous dominant drug resistance cassettes have unique antibiotic resistance phenotypes and do not affect growth when inserted into the ho locus. These attributes make the cassettes ideally suited for creating S. cerevisiae strains with multiple mutations within a single strain. | 1999 | 10514571 |
| 823 | 7 | 0.6426 | Characterization of the prtA and prtB genes of Erwinia chrysanthemi EC16. Two tandem metalloprotease-encoding structural genes, prtA and prtB, were sequenced from Erwinia chrysanthemi EC16. These were highly homologous to previously reported genes from the same bacteria, as well as to three other metalloprotease-encoding genes from enteric bacteria. The three tandem prt structural genes from strain EC16 were closely linked to a cluster of genes previously found to be essential for extracellular secretion of the metalloproteases. | 1993 | 8224883 |
| 507 | 8 | 0.6411 | Tellurite resistance and reduction by obligately aerobic photosynthetic bacteria. Seven species of obligately aerobic photosynthetic bacteria of the genera Erythromicrobium, Erythrobacter, and Roseococcus demonstrated high-level resistance to tellurite and accumulation of metallic tellurium crystals. High-level resistance without tellurite reduction was observed for Roseococcus thiosulfatophilus and Erythromicrobium ezovicum grown with certain organic carbon sources, implying that tellurite reduction is not essential to confer tellurite resistance. | 1996 | 16535446 |
| 105 | 9 | 0.6408 | Resistance of the cholera vaccine candidate IEM108 against CTXPhi infection. The cholera toxin (CT) genes ctxAB are carried on a lysogenic phage of Vibrio cholerae, CTXPhi, which can transfer ctxAB between toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains of bacteria. This transfer may pose a problem when live oral cholera vaccine is given to people in epidemic areas, because the toxin genes can be reacquired by the vaccine strains. To address this problem, we have constructed a live vaccine candidate, IEM108, which carries an El Tor-derived rstR gene. This gene encodes a repressor and can render bacterial resistance to CTXPhi infection. In this study, we evaluated the resistance of IEM108 against CTXPhi infection by using a CTXPhi marked for chloramphenicol (CAF) resistance and an in vivo model. We found that the cloned rstR gene rendered IEM108 immune to infection with the marked CTXPhi. In addition, the infection rate of IEM108 was even lower than that of the native CTXPhi-positive strain. These results suggest that the vaccine candidate IEM108 is resistant to infection by CTXPhi. | 2006 | 16343705 |
| 567 | 10 | 0.6408 | A novel bipartite antitermination system widespread in conjugative elements of Gram-positive bacteria. Transcriptional regulation allows adaptive and coordinated gene expression, and is essential for life. Processive antitermination systems alter the transcription elongation complex to allow the RNA polymerase to read through multiple terminators in an operon. Here, we describe the discovery of a novel bipartite antitermination system that is widespread among conjugative elements from Gram-positive bacteria, which we named conAn. This system is composed of a large RNA element that exerts antitermination, and a protein that functions as a processivity factor. Besides allowing coordinated expression of very long operons, we show that these systems allow differential expression of genes within an operon, and probably contribute to strict regulation of the conjugation genes by minimizing the effects of spurious transcription. Mechanistic features of the conAn system are likely to decisively influence its host range, with important implications for the spread of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. | 2021 | 33999173 |
| 528 | 11 | 0.6408 | Effect of dimethyl sulphoxide on the expression of nitrogen fixation in bacteria. Storage in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) of Escherichia coli K12 hybrids carrying nif+ genes from Klebsiella pneumoniae can result in selection of a defective nitrogen-fixing phenotype. Similar results are obtained with E. coli K12 hybrids containing the nitrogen-fixing capacity from Rhizobium trifolii. DMSO appears to affect particular inner membrane proteins associated with energy metabolism in E. coli K12 and four chromosomal regions (chlD, chlG, his and unc) are associated with resistance to DMSO. | 1977 | 332135 |
| 9173 | 12 | 0.6397 | Bacterial defences: mechanisms, evolution and antimicrobial resistance. Throughout their evolutionary history, bacteria have faced diverse threats from other microorganisms, including competing bacteria, bacteriophages and predators. In response to these threats, they have evolved sophisticated defence mechanisms that today also protect bacteria against antibiotics and other therapies. In this Review, we explore the protective strategies of bacteria, including the mechanisms, evolution and clinical implications of these ancient defences. We also review the countermeasures that attackers have evolved to overcome bacterial defences. We argue that understanding how bacteria defend themselves in nature is important for the development of new therapies and for minimizing resistance evolution. | 2023 | 37095190 |
| 102 | 13 | 0.6393 | Paradoxical behaviour of pKM101; inhibition of uvr-independent crosslink repair in Escherichia coli by muc gene products. In strains of Escherichia coli deficient in excision repair (uvrA or uvrB), plasmid pKM101 muc+ but not pGW219 mucB::Tn5 enhanced resistance to angelicin monoadducts but reduced resistance to 8-methoxy-psoralen interstrand DNA crosslinks. Thermally induced recA-441 (= tif-1) bacteria showed an additional resistance to crosslinks that was blocked by pKM101. Plasmid-borne muc+ genes also conferred some additional sensitivity to gamma-radiation and it is suggested that a repair step susceptible to inhibition by muc+ gene products and possibly involving double-strand breaks may be involved after both ionizing radiation damage and psoralen crosslinks. | 1985 | 3883148 |
| 8238 | 14 | 0.6392 | Resistance to enediyne antitumor antibiotics by CalC self-sacrifice. Antibiotic self-resistance mechanisms, which include drug elimination, drug modification, target modification, and drug sequestration, contribute substantially to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria. Enediynes are among the most potent naturally occurring antibiotics, yet the mechanism of resistance to these toxins has remained a mystery. We characterize an enediyne self-resistance protein that reveals a self-sacrificing paradigm for resistance to highly reactive antibiotics, and thus another opportunity for nonpathogenic or pathogenic bacteria to evade extremely potent small molecules. | 2003 | 12970566 |
| 616 | 15 | 0.6391 | Identification of lipoteichoic acid as a ligand for draper in the phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus by Drosophila hemocytes. Phagocytosis is central to cellular immunity against bacterial infections. As in mammals, both opsonin-dependent and -independent mechanisms of phagocytosis seemingly exist in Drosophila. Although candidate Drosophila receptors for phagocytosis have been reported, how they recognize bacteria, either directly or indirectly, remains to be elucidated. We searched for the Staphylococcus aureus genes required for phagocytosis by Drosophila hemocytes in a screening of mutant strains with defects in the structure of the cell wall. The genes identified included ltaS, which encodes an enzyme responsible for the synthesis of lipoteichoic acid. ltaS-dependent phagocytosis of S. aureus required the receptor Draper but not Eater or Nimrod C1, and Draper-lacking flies showed reduced resistance to a septic infection of S. aureus without a change in a humoral immune response. Finally, lipoteichoic acid bound to the extracellular region of Draper. We propose that lipoteichoic acid serves as a ligand for Draper in the phagocytosis of S. aureus by Drosophila hemocytes and that the phagocytic elimination of invading bacteria is required for flies to survive the infection. | 2009 | 19890048 |
| 576 | 16 | 0.6391 | Caenorhabditis elegans defective-pharynx and constipated mutants are resistant to Orsay virus infection. C. elegans animals with a compromised pharynx accumulate bacteria in their intestinal lumen and activate a transcriptional response that includes anti-bacterial response genes. In this study, we demonstrate that animals with defective pharynxes are resistant to Orsay virus (OrV) infection. This resistance is observed for animals grown on Escherichia coli OP50 and on Comamonas BIGb0172, a bacterium naturally associated with C. elegans . The viral resistance observed in defective-pharynx mutants does not seem to result from constitutive transcriptional immune responses against viruses. OrV resistance is also observed in mutants with defective defecation, which share with the pharynx-defective perturbations in the regulation of their intestinal contents and altered lipid metabolism. The underlying mechanisms of viral resistance in pharynx- and defecation-defective mutants remain elusive. | 2024 | 38590801 |
| 9980 | 17 | 0.6390 | A vector for the expression of recombinant monoclonal Fab fragments in bacteria. The availability of genes coding for monoclonal Fab fragments of a desired specificity permits their expression in bacteria and provides a simple method for the generation of good quality reagents. In this paper we describe a new phagemid vector for the production of recombinant Fabs from genes obtained from phage display combinatorial libraries. The phagemid features an antibiotic resistance cassette which, once inserted between the heavy chain fragment and the light chain genes, avoids unwanted recombination and preserves useful restriction sites not affecting the Fab production rate. | 1998 | 9776589 |
| 8137 | 18 | 0.6388 | 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 |
| 9239 | 19 | 0.6386 | Tragedy of the commons among antibiotic resistance plasmids. As social interactions are increasingly recognized as important determinants of microbial fitness, sociobiology is being enlisted to better understand the evolution of clinically relevant microbes and, potentially, to influence their evolution to aid human health. Of special interest are situations in which there exists a "tragedy of the commons," where natural selection leads to a net reduction in fitness for all members of a population. Here, I demonstrate the existence of a tragedy of the commons among antibiotic resistance plasmids of bacteria. In serial transfer culture, plasmids evolved a greater ability to superinfect already-infected bacteria, increasing plasmid fitness when evolved genotypes were rare. Evolved plasmids, however, fell victim to their own success, reducing the density of their bacterial hosts when they became common and suffering reduced fitness through vertical transmission. Social interactions can thus be an important determinant of evolution for the molecular endosymbionts of bacteria. These results also identify an avenue of evolution that reduces proliferation of both antibiotic resistance genes and their bacterial hosts. | 2012 | 22486703 |