Publications by authors named "David William Adams"
Article Synopsis
- - Bacteria have developed specialized defense systems, particularly found on genomic islands, to protect against threats like bacteriophages and plasmids, with the O1 El Tor strain playing a significant role in the cholera pandemic.
- - The study reveals that pathogenicity island 2 in these bacteria contains an active Type I restriction-modification (T1RM) system, which methylates host genomes and targets specific non-methylated plasmids for restriction.
- - Additionally, the research identifies a new two-protein modification-dependent restriction system related to GmrSD family enzymes that shows strong anti-phage activity, enhancing our understanding of bacterial defenses against foreign DNA.
In almost all bacteria, cell division is co-ordinated by the essential tubulin homologue FtsZ and represents an attractive but as yet unexploited target for new antibiotics. The benzamides, e.g.
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- Cells must coordinate division and chromosome segregation to grow efficiently.
- In Bacillus subtilis, the protein Noc binds to DNA sequences to link cell division with chromosome replication but its inhibition mechanism was previously unclear.
- The study reveals that Noc binds weakly to the cell membrane and requires nucleoprotein complexes to inhibit division by occluding the assembly of the division machinery.
Division site selection presents a fundamental challenge to all organisms. Bacterial cells are small and the chromosome (nucleoid) often fills most of the cell volume. Thus, in order to maximise fitness and avoid damaging the genetic material, cell division must be tightly co-ordinated with chromosome replication and segregation.
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