The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract harbors diverse microbial communities collectively
known as the gut microbiota that exert a profound impact on human health and disease. The …

Multicomponent transporters are used by bacteria to transport a wide range of nutrients.
These systems use a substrate-binding protein to bind the nutrient with high affinity and then …

Tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) transporters are nutrient-uptake systems
found in bacteria and archaea. These evolutionary divergent transporter systems couple a …

Tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) transporters are analogous to ABC
transporters in that they use a substrate-binding protein to scavenge metabolites (eg, N …

A key step in metabolic pathway evolution is the recruitment of promiscuous enzymes to
perform new functions. Despite the recognition that promiscuity is widespread in biology …

N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc) is a major component of bacterial cell walls. Many
organisms recycle GlcNAc from the cell wall or metabolize environmental GlcNAc. The first …

Transcription is the principal control point for bacterial gene expression, and it enables a
global cellular response to an intracellular or environmental trigger. Transcriptional …

Understanding how proteins interact with DNA, and particularly the stoichiometry of a protein–
DNA complex, is key information needed to elucidate the biological role of the interaction, eg …

Enzymes are nature's catalysts, mediating chemical processes in living systems. The study
of enzyme function and mechanism includes defining the maximum catalytic rate and affinity …

N-Acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) is a negatively charged nine-carbon sugar that is often
the peripheral sugar in human cell-surface glycoconjugates. Some bacteria scavenge …