In the ancient anaerobic environment, ferrous iron (Fe2+) was one of the first metal
cofactors. Oxygenation of the ancient world challenged bacteria to acquire the insoluble …

The advent of heme during evolution allowed organisms possessing this compound to
safely and efficiently carry out a variety of chemical reactions that otherwise were difficult or …

Deeper understanding of antibiotic-induced physiological responses is critical to identifying
means for enhancing our current antibiotic arsenal. Bactericidal antibiotics with diverse …

The overall composition of the mammalian intestinal microbiota varies between individuals:
within each individual there are differences along the length of the intestinal tract related to …

Lag phase represents the earliest and most poorly understood stage of the bacterial growth
cycle. We developed a reproducible experimental system and conducted functional genomic …

Bacterial transcriptional networks consist of hundreds of transcription factors and thousands
of promoters. However, the true complexity of transcription in a bacterial pathogen and the …

Iron is one of the major limiting factors and essential nutrients of microbial life. Since in
nature it is not readily available in the preferred form, microorganisms produce small high …

High-affinity iron acquisition is mediated by siderophore-dependent pathways in the majority
of pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria and fungi. Considerable progress has been …

If the atmosphere of the early Earth was hydrogen-rich, 1 it is reasonable to think that
hydrogenases, the enzymes enabling cells to use molecular hydrogen, were probably …

Protein metal-coordination sites are richly varied and exquisitely attuned to their inorganic
partners, yet many metalloproteins still select the wrong metals when presented with …