Mycobacterium harbors distinct DNA repair pathways absent in E. coli, crucial for virulence and survival. Cyclic di-AMP regulates recombination, genome stability, and SOS response. RadA, with disA in...

Today, plant-associated bacilli are widely applied in the biocontrol of plant diseases and promoting plant growth. Bacillus strains are advantageous due to their ability to form resistant endospores a...

Abstract. Bacteriophage (phage) infect, lyse, and propagate within bacterial populations. However, physiological changes in bacterial cell state can protec

Die israelische Armee versprüht anscheinend in hohen Konzentrationen Glyphosat im Süden des Libanon. Die Empörung dort ist groß, denn die Folgen dürften dramatisch sein. Doch was soll das bezwecken? V...

The Na+ -pumping NADH-quinone oxidoreductase is a redox-driven sodium pump often found in pathogenic bacteria. Here, the authors demonstrate how enzyme structural changes efficiently couple electron t...

Cell division in many Gram-positive bacteria involves the synthesis of a peptidoglycan septum that is then hydrolyzed to facilitate cell separation. Here the authors show that, after septum formation,...

In natural environments, bacteria often encounter low concentrations of nutrient mixtures that are continuously replenished by physical processes s...

Phage-host interactions have a role shaping microbial ecosystems, but their behavior in microgravity remains largely unexplored. In this study, experiments aboard the ISS reveal distinct evolutionary ...

Past work has seen over-representation of Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates in genome and biology studies on staphylococci. Here, we show by a selective plating analysis of municipal wastewater ...

The findings identified a regulatory axis central to mycobacterial acid adaptation, and DasR was found to be a conserved c-di-AMP receptor in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A key feature is its highly pH-sensitive binding to c-di-AMP, which exhibits a 20-fold increase in affinity under acidic conditions, indicating that environmental cues are linked to the transcriptional response. DasR directly targets genes governing (p)ppGpp, cyclic AMP (cAMP), c-di-AMP metabolism, and acid adaptation, creating a feedback loop that dynamically balances stress signaling pathways. The concurrent upregulation of the chaperone HtpG stabilizes the DasR complex, increasing signal output under stress. This integrated system, which combines allosteric enhancement of DNA binding with chaperone-mediated stabilization, constitutes an evolutionarily refined strategy for acid resistance. The c-di-AMP–DasR pathway is therefore a promising target that could enable researchers to address the persistence of M. tuberculosis.

Mobile genetic elements, such as phages and plasmids, are diverse and drive bacterial evolution through horizontal gene transfer. Phage-plasmids, of which many carry antibiotic resistance genes or vir...

Temperate phages integrate multiple information sources to regulate lysis-lysogeny transitions. SPbeta-like phages use arbitrium signaling and DNA dam…

Abstract. Proline is a paradox in biology—integral to protein structure and functionality, yet exceptionally challenging during translation. This review ex

Phage genome engineering methods accelerate the study of phage biology, the discovery of new functions, and the development of innovative genetic engineering tools. Here, we present QuickPhage, a rapi...

In this issue of Structure, Yu et al. show that the Bacillus subtilis ytr operon encodes two distinct ABC transporters. The authors present the cryo-EM structures of YtrEF in the apo and ADP-vanadate-...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a growing threat to global health, contributing to an estimated 4.95 million deaths in 2019 (1). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is among the most persistent and clinically challenging pathogens, causing infections ranging from bacteremia and pneumonia to osteomyelitis and endocarditis in both healthcare and community settings. MRSA’s ability to evade multiple antibiotic classes, particularly β-lactams, has made it a priority pathogen for new treatment strategies.