Despite the fundamental importance of DNA replication for life, this process remains understudied in bacteria outside Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. In particular, most bacteria do not encode the helicase-loading proteins that are essential in E. coli and B. subtilis for DNA replication. Instead, most bacteria encode a DciA homolog that likely constitutes the predominant mechanism of helicase operation in bacteria. However, it is still unknown how DciA structure and function compare across diverse phyla that encode DciA proteins. In this study, we performed computational evolutionary analyses to uncover tremendous diversity among DciA homologs. These studies provide a significant advance in our understanding of an essential component of the bacterial DNA replication machinery.
Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a bacterial pathogen that causes listeriosis in immunocompromised individuals, particularly pregnant women. Several virulence factors support the intracellular lifecycle of Lm and facilitate cell-to-cell spread, …
Studying proteins through the lens of evolution can help identify conserved features and lineage-specific variants, and potentially, their functions. MolEvolvR (http://jravilab.org/molevolvr) is a web-app that enables researchers to run a …
Studying how bacterial pathogenic proteins evolve can help identify lineage-specific and pathogen-specific signatures and variants, and consequently, their functions. We have developed a streamlined computational approach for characterizing the …
Molecular evolution and phylogeny can provide key insights into pathogenic protein families. Studying how these proteins evolve across bacterial lineages can help identify lineage-specific and pathogen-specific signatures and variants, and …
Background: Studying bacterial physiology, adaptation, and pathogenicity through the lens of evolution requires delineating the phylogenetic history of bacterial proteins and genomes. Moreover, delineating this history of proteins is best done at all …
Sulfur is an indispensable element for proliferation of bacterial pathogens. Prior studies indicated that the human pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus utilizes glutathione (GSH) as a source of nutrient sulfur; however, mechanisms of GSH acquisition are …