Biology subjects

Bring Horvath, E. R.

Publications and source records attributed to Bring Horvath, E. R..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

An extremophilic Nocardiopsis strain from Great Salt Lake expands the taxonomic range of mycolic acid biosynthesis

Mycolic acids, long-chain fatty acids that form the characteristic and relatively impermeable mycomembrane, have long been considered a defining chemotaxonomic feature of the order Mycobacteriales. Here, we report that Nocardiopsis bonnevillensis, a new type strain isolated from the hypersaline environment of Great Salt Lake, is the first organism outside of this order known to produce mycolic acids. Lipid profiling, acid-fast staining, isoniazid sensitivity, and genome mining confirmed hallmark features of mycolic acid biosynthesis. Evaluation of the strains metabolic capabilities led to the isolation of bonnevanoside, a thiophenyl nonulopyranoside reported here for the first time from a natural source. Moreover, additional Great Salt Lake-derived Nocardiopsis isolates exhibited acid-fast staining, suggesting that this trait may be more widespread than previously recognized. Altogether, these findings expand the taxonomic distribution of mycolic acid biosynthesis, challenge long-standing chemotaxonomic boundaries, and highlight the potential ecological significance of mycolate-containing envelopes in supporting bacterial survival in extreme environments.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

Resistance Gene Association and Inference Network (ReGAIN): A Bioinformatics Pipeline for Assessing Probabilistic Co-Occurrence Between Resistance Genes in Bacterial Pathogens

The rampant rise of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens poses a severe health threat, necessitating innovative tools to unravel the complex genetic underpinnings of antimicrobial resistance. Despite significant strides in developing genomic tools for detecting resistance genes, a gap remains in analyzing organism-specific patterns of resistance gene co-occurrence. Addressing this deficiency, we developed the Resistance Gene Association and Inference Network (ReGAIN), a novel web-based and command line genomic platform that uses Bayesian network structure learning to identify and map resistance gene networks in bacterial pathogens. ReGAIN not only detects resistance genes using well- established methods, but also elucidates their complex interplay, critical for understanding MDR phenotypes. Focusing on ESKAPE pathogens, ReGAIN yielded a queryable database for investigating resistance gene co-occurrence, enriching resistome analyses, and providing new insights into the dynamics of antimicrobial resistance. Furthermore, the versatility of ReGAIN extends beyond antibiotic resistance genes to include assessment of co-occurrence patterns among heavy metal resistance and virulence determinants, providing a comprehensive overview of key gene relationships impacting both disease progression and treatment outcomes. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=190 SRC="FIGDIR/small/582197v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (53K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@158a667org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@114c965org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b24504org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@d112af_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2023

Bacterial Diversity and Chemical Ecology of Natural Product-Producing Bacteria from Great Salt Lake Sediment

Great Salt Lake (GSL), located northwest of Salt Lake City, UT, is the largest terminal lake in the United States. While the average salinity of seawater is [~]3.3%, the salinity in GSL ranges between 5-28%. In addition to being a hypersaline environment, GSL also contains toxic concentrations of heavy metals, such as arsenic, mercury, and lead. The extreme environment of GSL makes it an intriguing subject of study, both for its unique microbiome and its potential to harbor novel natural product-producing bacteria, which could be used as resources for the discovery of biologically active compounds. Though work has been done to survey and catalogue bacteria found in GSL, the Lakes microbiome is largely unexplored, and little-to-no work has been done to characterize the natural product potential of GSL microbes. Here, we investigate the bacterial diversity of two important regions within GSL, describe the first genomic characterization of Actinomycetota isolated from GSL sediment, including the identification of a new Saccharomonospora species, and provide the first survey of the natural product potential of GSL bacteria.

ecology↗