Articles of Significant Interest Selected from This Issue by the Editors

摘要

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an environmental microorganism that is also an opportunistic pathogen, causing severe infections in immunocompromised individuals, including those with cystic fibrosis (CF). Increased airway iron concentrations and biofilm formation have been proposed to be potential factors in the persistence of P. aeruginosa in CF patients. Yu et al. (p. 64036413) show that a high level of iron enhances the production of the key biofilm matrix exopolysaccharide Psl to stimulate Psl-dependent biofilm formation and that exopolysaccharides can store iron within the biofilm matrix for the bacterial community. Their results not only imply a survival strategy for P. aeruginosa under high-iron environmental conditions but also may guide the use of iron chelators to interfere with P. aeruginosa biofilm formation in CF patients.Iminosugars have great therapeutic potential as drugs for the treatment of many diseases. However, there is not a lot of information about the genes involved in their biosynthesis. Miyauchi et al. (p. 64146422) identified genes for the biosynthesis of an iminosugar, nectrisine, in the fungus Thelonectria discophora SANK 18292 and verified their requirement by disruption and complementation of those genes. The authors also demonstrated heterologous production of nectrisine by recombinant Escherichia coli . This work will contribute to the development of a microbial production system for nectrisine or its intermediates.