Author summary Type IV pili enable Pseudomonas aeruginosa to attach to surfaces, move (twitch), and form biofilms. Pilus extension is powered by the motor protein PilB, which is regulated by other fac...

CaCoFold-R3D is a probabilistic model that simultaneously predicts the RNA 3D motifs jointly with the secondary structure in a structural RNA using evolutionary information.

Graphics processing unit-accelerated MMseqs2 offers tremendous speedups for homology retrieval from metagenomic databases, query-centered multiple sequence alignment generation for structure predictio...

Outer membrane attachment to peptidoglycan enables periplasmic pressure to build up and counter cytoplasmic turgor pressure, preventing lysis during osmotic challenges in Escherichia coli.

Communications Biology - Discovery of a bicyclic peptide inhibitor of cell wall biosynthesis in the Enterobacterales demonstrates applicability of a modified phage display platform to antibiotic...

Faced with widespread chemical pollution and a dramatic collapse in biodiversity, farmers and scientists in western France have been testing a revolutionary farming model for over 30 years. No pestici...

The Candidate Phyla Radiation, also known as Patescibacteria, represents a vast and diverse division of bacteria that has come to light via culture-independent ‘omics’ technologies. Their limited bios...

Global data collected between 2014 and 2024 provide insights into the distribution and potential transport mechanisms of subsurface microplastics throughout the oceanic water column.

Abstract. Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic molecules that replicate independent of chromosomes in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic organisms. They co

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) assembly at the surfaces-exposed leaflet of the bacterial outer membrane (OM) is mediated by the OM LPS translocon. An essential transmembrane beta-barrel protein, LptD, and a...

The FtsEX-EnvC-AmiA/B system is a key component of the E. coli cell division machinery that directs breakage of the peptidoglycan layer during separation of daughter cells. Structural and mechanistic ...

In two longitudinal cohorts followed for 30 years, the associations of eight different dietary patterns with healthy aging—encompassing cognitive, physical and mental health—were studied, identifying ...

Grow bacteria, extract their DNA and investigate like a scientist. Possibly the only serious PCR experiment open to non-student in London

The surge in antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections has been deemed a major public health concern. There is an urgent need for novel antimicrobial therapies, chemical and nonantibiotic. The basidiomycota-derived, secondary metabolite pleurotin has been shown to be effective against Gram-positive bacteria, while bacteriophages could be the ultimate nonantibiotic alternative. In this study, the combination of pleurotin and phage K targeting S. aureus was examined. Pleurotin was isolated from the basidiomycota fungus Hohenbuehelia grisea. The cytotoxicity of pleurotin was assessed in two human cell lines in comparison to pleuromutilin, vancomycin, and phage K. The antibiotics were then tested independently or in combination with phage K against two S. aureus strains. Cytotoxicity of pleurotin in human cells was comparable to vancomycin and pleuromutilin. Results suggest that adding phage K has a synergistic effect and can lower the MIC for pleurotin, pleuromutilin, and vancomycin. This demonstrates that pleurotin could be a viable antistaphylococcal drug.

Science on this Hill is back for 2025! Visit the team at Gibbet Hill to find out about how biological systems combat attacks from other organisms, discover the techniques used by human and plant immun...