Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology

Within‐crown microclimatic variation and growth‐stage shape oak leaf chemistry with limited consequences for herbivore performance

Abstract Mature trees exhibit distinct vertical gradients in temperature and light. These within‐crown microclimatic gradients have been linked to spatial variation in leaf chemistry and herbivory. However, phytochemical variation and resulting herbivore responses are also strong...

Bilateral exchange in synthetic biology: experiences, challenges, and opportunities for training and research

Abstract Synthetic biology and the emerging field of biomanufacturing provide new research concepts that should be incorporated into the training of the next generation of scientists. Key elements of synthetic biology are the standardisation, modularisation, and characterisation...

Drift, selection and recombination bias drive the evolution of a non-ribosomal peptide

Abstract Non-ribosomal peptides play important roles in microbial ecology and medicine, for example as toxins and antibiotics such as penicillin. Like ordinary proteins, non-ribosomal peptides are subject to evolutionary change, which is driven by rampant recombinations of their...

Autoinducer-2 functions as both a quorum-sensing and metabolic signal in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Bacteria integrate diverse environmental signals to coordinate behavior, yet the relationship between nutrient sensing and quorum sensing (QS) remains incompletely understood. Autoinducer-2 (AI-2) is unique among QS signals in that its production is tightly linked to cen...

Taxonomic revision of the genus Methanobrevibacter, description of Methanomonile shimae gen. nov. sp. nov., and proposal of Methanobrevibacteraceae fam. nov

Recent phylogenomic analyses revealed that the genus Methanobrevibacter , which consists almost exclusively of representatives from the intestinal tract of animals, is severely underclassified. Based on the large relative evolutionary divergence between individual subclades, memb...

Isocyanides as a Chemical Tool for Identifying [Fe]‐Hydrogenase‐Dependent Methanogenesis

In the hydrogenotrophic methanogens cultivated under nickel‐sufficient standard medium (~5 µM Ni 2+ ), two cytosolic [NiFe]‐hydrogenases, F 420 ‐reducing hydrogenase (Frh) and heterodisulfide reductase (Hdr)‐associating hydrogenase (Mvh), mainly provide electrons to the methanoge...

Functional mapping and engineering of the Sec translocon unlocked by a cell-free system

Abstract Almost all proteins are inserted or translocated across membranes by the universally conserved Sec translocon. Despite its central role, experimental access to Sec function has remained limited. Here, we present a cell-free protein synthesis platform that inserts SecYEG...