Publications by authors named "Suparat Giengkam"

Article Synopsis
  • Obligate intracellular bacteria like Ot, which cause diseases such as scrub typhus, have limited chance for genetic exchange with other microbes due to their growth within host cells.
  • A study of eight Ot strains revealed that, despite a high number of degraded mobile genetic elements, two strains contained at least one intact copy, indicating potential for genetic transfer within their populations.
  • These findings suggest that the genetic makeup of Ot is more dynamic than previously thought, highlighting implications for understanding microbial evolution and challenges in developing diagnostic and treatment strategies for scrub typhus.
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The rickettsial human pathogen (Ot) is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium with one of the most highly fragmented and repetitive genomes of any organism. Around 50% of its ~2.3 Mb genome is comprised of repetitive DNA that is derived from the highly proliferated Rickettsiales amplified genetic element (RAGE).

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Orientia tsutsugamushi (Ot) is an obligate intracellular bacterium in the family Rickettsiaceae that causes scrub typhus, a severe mite-borne human disease. Its mechanism of cell exit is unusual amongst Rickettsiaceae, as Ot buds off the surface of infected cells enveloped in plasma membrane. Here, we show that Ot bacteria that have budded out of host cells are in a distinct developmental stage compared with intracellular bacteria.

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Studying emerging or neglected pathogens is often challenging due to insufficient information and absence of genetic tools. Dual RNA-seq provides insights into host-pathogen interactions, and is particularly informative for intracellular organisms. Here we apply dual RNA-seq to Orientia tsutsugamushi (Ot), an obligate intracellular bacterium that causes the vector-borne human disease scrub typhus.

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Despite their clinical and biological importance, the cell biology of obligate intracellular bacteria is less well understood than that of many free-living model organisms. One reason for this is that they are mostly genetically intractable. As a consequence, it is not possible to engineer strains expressing fluorescent proteins and therefore fluorescence light microscopy - a key tool in host-pathogen cell biology studies - is difficult.

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Bacterial cell walls are composed of the large cross-linked macromolecule peptidoglycan, which maintains cell shape and is responsible for resisting osmotic stresses. This is a highly conserved structure and the target of numerous antibiotics. Obligate intracellular bacteria are an unusual group of organisms that have evolved to replicate exclusively within the cytoplasm or vacuole of a eukaryotic cell.

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Analysis of the A. tumefaciens genome revealed estC, which encodes an esterase located next to its transcriptional regulator estR, a regulator of esterase in the MarR family. Inactivation of estC results in a small increase in the resistance to organic hydroperoxides, whereas a high level of expression of estC from an expression vector leads to a reduction in the resistance to organic hydroperoxides and menadione.

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Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of bacterial infection and pathogenesis are disproportionally derived from a small number of well-characterised species and strains. One reason for this is the enormous time and resources required to develop a new organism into experimental system that can be interrogated at the molecular level, in particular with regards to the development of genetic tools. Live cell imaging by fluorescence microscopy is a powerful technique to study biological processes such as bacterial motility, host cell invasion, and bacterial growth and division.

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Background: Scrub typhus is a leading cause of serious febrile illness in rural Southeast Asia. The causative agent, Orientia tsutsugamushi, is an obligate intracellular bacterium that is transmitted to humans by the bite of a Leptotrombidium mite. Research into the basic mechanisms of cell biology and pathogenicity of O.

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Stenotrophomonas maltophilia MfsA (Smlt1083) is an efflux pump in the major facilitator superfamily (MFS). Deletion of mfsA renders the strain more susceptible to paraquat, but no alteration in the susceptibility levels of other oxidants is observed. The expression of mfsA is inducible upon challenge with redox cycling/superoxide-generating drug (paraquat, menadione and plumbagin) treatments and is directly regulated by SoxR, which is a transcription regulator and sensor of superoxide-generating agents.

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