Research Highlight – Page 3

Now You See Me: Discovery of a Light-Induced Secondary Metabolite from Hyphodiscus hymeniophilus Fungus

Post author:MicrobeTO
Post published:May 25, 2020
Post category:Research Highlight

Kramer et al. provide the first genome-level exploration into the secondary metabolite potential of the Hyphodiscus fungal genus and discover a novel, light-induced metabolite, hyphodiscorubrin. The researchers demonstrate that the natural product potential of filamentous fungi can be much greater than the bioactivity captured during analysis of extracts grown in standard laboratory conditions.

A Systematic Identification of Pan-Genome Effector Families Responsible for Inducing Plant Immunity

Post author:MicrobeTO
Post published:May 18, 2020
Post category:Research Highlight

Plant pathogens represent a major threat to global ecosystems and the agricultural industry. Similar to all microbial niches, plant pathogens must adapt to their environment, including navigating the geographical range and immune defense of their host (Jones & Dangl, 2006). Characterizing the mechanisms underlying host-pathogen interactions are crucial for the development of engineered, broadly resistant crops.

Read more about the article Exploiting the antagonistic action of intestinal bile acids to develop antitoxin therapeutics against Clostridium difficile

Exploiting the antagonistic action of intestinal bile acids to develop antitoxin therapeutics against Clostridium difficile

Post author:MicrobeTO
Post published:May 10, 2020
Post category:Research Highlight

Tam et al. uncover an unexpected role for intestinal bile acids in directly binding to and inhibiting C. difficile toxin function providing a framework for the development of novel anti-toxin therapeutics.

Read more about the article Breaking the Chain of Malarial Transmission: Progressing Vaccine Development Through the Characterization of Anti-Pfs25 Antibodies

Breaking the Chain of Malarial Transmission: Progressing Vaccine Development Through the Characterization of Anti-Pfs25 Antibodies

Post author:MicrobeTO
Post published:May 3, 2020
Post category:Research Highlight

This post features the work McLeod et al. recently published in Nature Communications, highlighting a creative approach to anti-malaria vaccine development. Specifically, the researchers identify the most potent antibody to date against the Plasmodium surface protein Pfs25 and use molecular characterization to provide valuable insights into the vaccine-antibody interaction.

BioID Identifies Novel Effector-Host Interactions That Modulate Salmonella Infection

Post author:MicrobeTO
Post published:April 26, 2020
Post category:Research Highlight

In the lab of Dr. John Brumell at SickKids, Dr. D’Costa and colleagues performed the first systematic investigation of bacterial effector-host protein interactions using BioID. They discovered novel targets of a Salmonella effector SifA, providing molecular insights into how this bacterial protein manipulates host cells to promote intracellular survival.