Project description:Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris and Alicyclobacillus suci are both guaiacol producers that can cause spoilage in products like juices. To study the genetic underpinnings of guaiacol production, transcriptomics was performed on multiple strains of A. suci and A. acidoterrestris under guaiacol production conditions in apple juice. While guaiacol production was consistently higher by A. acidoterrestris than by A. suci, the gene expression levels associated with guaiacol production (e.g., vdcC, vdcB, vdcD) showed significant variability across strains of both species, suggesting that other factors beyond vdcC transcription influence the amount of guaiacol produced. This research provides insights for beverage producers in assessing spoilage risks and developing more informed mitigation strategies.
Project description:Viral genomes are most vulnerable to cellular defenses at the start of the infection. A family of jumbo phages related to phage ΦKZ, which infects Pseudomonas aeruginosa, assembles a protein-based phage nucleus to protect replicating phage DNA, but how it is protected prior to phage nucleus assembly is unclear. We find that host proteins related to membrane and lipid biology interact with injected phage protein, clustering in an early phage infection (EPI) vesicle. The injected virion RNA polymerase (vRNAP) executes early gene expression until phage genome separation from the vRNAP and the EPI vesicle, moving into the nascent proteinaceous phage nucleus. Enzymes involved in DNA replication and CRISPR/restriction immune nucleases are excluded by the EPI vesicle. We propose that the EPI vesicle is rapidly constructed with injected phage proteins, phage DNA, host lipids, and host membrane proteins to enable genome protection, early transcription, localized translation, and to ensure faithful genome transfer to the proteinaceous nucleus.
Project description:Viral genomes are most vulnerable to cellular defenses at the start of the infection. A family of jumbo phages related to phage ΦKZ, which infects Pseudomonas aeruginosa, assembles a protein-based phage nucleus to protect replicating phage DNA, but how it is protected prior to phage nucleus assembly is unclear. We find that host proteins related to membrane and lipid biology interact with injected phage protein, clustering in an early phage infection (EPI) vesicle. The injected virion RNA polymerase (vRNAP) executes early gene expression until phage genome separation from the vRNAP and the EPI vesicle, moving into the nascent proteinaceous phage nucleus. Enzymes involved in DNA replication and CRISPR/restriction immune nucleases are excluded by the EPI vesicle. We propose that the EPI vesicle is rapidly constructed with injected phage proteins, phage DNA, host lipids, and host membrane proteins to enable genome protection, early transcription, localized translation, and to ensure faithful genome transfer to the proteinaceous nucleus.
Project description:The purpose of this study was to characterize carbon metabolism and gene regulation in Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius during growth on monosaccharides in an effort to determine whether carbon catabolite repression was active. Chemostat studies and global transcriptome analysis were used to accomplish this goal.