BolA has been characterized as an important transcriptional regulator, which is induced in the stationary phase of growth and is often associated with bacterial virulence. This study was initiated to elucidate the role of the BolA in the virulence of K. pneumoniae. Using a mous...
Salmonella Typhimurium establishes systemic infection by replicating in host macrophages. Here we show that macrophages infected with S. Typhimurium exhibit upregulated glycolysis and decreased serine synthesis, leading to accumulation of glycolytic intermediates. The effects on...
The emergence of high-virulent Acinetobacter baumannii strains increases the mortality of patients and seriously affects their prognosis, which motivates us to explore novel ways to control such infections. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was adopted to explore the me...
We systematically investigated RcrR's contribution to cariogenic virulence using isogenic wild-type, DeltarcrR deletion mutant, and complemented strains. We assessed bacterial growth, biofilm architecture, acid tolerance, and H+-ATPase activity. To delineate the global regulatory network, we inte...
Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen responsible for severe infections. While traditionally described as extracellular, increasing evidence establishes S. aureus as a facultative intracellular pathogen. Intracellularity contributes to immune evasion, dissemination, and antibiotic failu...
Whooping cough resurged globally despite the widespread vaccination. A macrolide-resistant (MR) lineage carrying the high-virulence ptxP3 allele, ptxP3 MR-MT28 (MT28), has imposed a substantial burden on pertussis epidemics, while the underlying factors driving its prevalence remain unclear. Thus...
The evolution of new enzymatic functions is constrained and guided by the architecture of an organism’s metabolic and regulatory networks and environmental constraints. Here, we identify a kinase that has evolved from pyruvate phosphate dikinase. Through biochemical and systems-lev...
Bacterial extracellular vesicles (EVs) are known to mediate intercellular communication, virulence, and immune modulation. Here we show that bacteria can utilise EVs also as recyclable nutrient reservoirs. Using Bacillus cereus as a model organism, we demonstrate that EVs exhibit distin...