Conformational Dynamics of the Anthrax Lethal Factor Catalytic Center

Anthrax lethal factor (LF) is a zinc-metalloprotease that together with the protective antigen constitutes anthrax lethal toxin, which is the most prominent virulence factor of the anthrax disease. The solution nuclear magnetic resonance and in silico conformational dynamics of the 105 C-terminal residues of the LF catalytic core domain in its apo form are described here. The polypeptide adopts a compact structure even in the absence of the Zn2+ cofactor, while the 40 N-terminal residues comprising the metal ligands and residues that participate in substrate and inhibitor recognition exhibit more flexibility than the C-terminal region

Table_2_Putative Antimicrobial Peptides Within Bacterial Proteomes Affect Bacterial Predominance: A Network Analysis Perspective.XLSX

The predominance of bacterial taxa in the gut, was examined in view of the putative antimicrobial peptide sequences (AMPs) within their proteomes. The working assumption was that compatible bacteria would share homology and thus immunity to their putative AMPs, while competing taxa would have dissimilarities in their proteome-hidden AMPs. A network–based method (“Bacterial Wars”) was developed to handle sequence similarities of predicted AMPs among UniProt-derived protein sequences from different bacterial taxa, while a resulting parameter (“Die” score) suggested which taxa would prevail in a defined microbiome. T he working hypothesis was examined by correlating the calculated Die scores, to the abundance of bacterial taxa from gut microbiomes from different states of health and disease. Eleven publicly available 16S rRNA datasets and a dataset from a full shotgun metagenomics served for the analysis. The overall conclusion was that AMPs encrypted within bacterial proteomes affected the predominance of bacterial taxa in chemospheres.</p

Data_Sheet_1_Putative Antimicrobial Peptides Within Bacterial Proteomes Affect Bacterial Predominance: A Network Analysis Perspective.docx

The predominance of bacterial taxa in the gut, was examined in view of the putative antimicrobial peptide sequences (AMPs) within their proteomes. The working assumption was that compatible bacteria would share homology and thus immunity to their putative AMPs, while competing taxa would have dissimilarities in their proteome-hidden AMPs. A network–based method (“Bacterial Wars”) was developed to handle sequence similarities of predicted AMPs among UniProt-derived protein sequences from different bacterial taxa, while a resulting parameter (“Die” score) suggested which taxa would prevail in a defined microbiome. T he working hypothesis was examined by correlating the calculated Die scores, to the abundance of bacterial taxa from gut microbiomes from different states of health and disease. Eleven publicly available 16S rRNA datasets and a dataset from a full shotgun metagenomics served for the analysis. The overall conclusion was that AMPs encrypted within bacterial proteomes affected the predominance of bacterial taxa in chemospheres.</p

Table_1_Putative Antimicrobial Peptides Within Bacterial Proteomes Affect Bacterial Predominance: A Network Analysis Perspective.XLSX

The predominance of bacterial taxa in the gut, was examined in view of the putative antimicrobial peptide sequences (AMPs) within their proteomes. The working assumption was that compatible bacteria would share homology and thus immunity to their putative AMPs, while competing taxa would have dissimilarities in their proteome-hidden AMPs. A network–based method (“Bacterial Wars”) was developed to handle sequence similarities of predicted AMPs among UniProt-derived protein sequences from different bacterial taxa, while a resulting parameter (“Die” score) suggested which taxa would prevail in a defined microbiome. T he working hypothesis was examined by correlating the calculated Die scores, to the abundance of bacterial taxa from gut microbiomes from different states of health and disease. Eleven publicly available 16S rRNA datasets and a dataset from a full shotgun metagenomics served for the analysis. The overall conclusion was that AMPs encrypted within bacterial proteomes affected the predominance of bacterial taxa in chemospheres.</p