Showing 109 results for Author: Mircea Podar
Aug, 2026
Journal
The Microbial Dark Matter Symposium held on August 28–29, 2025, in Laguna Beach, Orange County, CA, convened a multidisciplinary group of scientists to address the vast unknowns in microbial life—from uncultured taxa and uncharacterized proteins to elusive viruses and spacefaring microbes. Set against a scenic coastal backdrop, the symposium highlighted advances in single-…
Feb, 2026
Journal
We report the complete genome sequences of five Variovorax strains isolated from the roots of Populus species in greenhouse and field settings. Genome sizes range from 7.44 to 7.71 Mbp and encode 6,077–6,879 predicted protein-coding genes. These genome assemblies expand the known genomic catalog of Variovorax in plant-associated environments.
Nov, 2025
Journal
In diverse environments, microbes drive a myriad of processes, from geochemical and nutrient cycling to interspecies interactions, including associations with plants and animals. Their physiological state is dynamic and impacted by abiotic and biotic conditions, responding to environmental fluctuations by changes in cellular metabolism, according to their genetic potential…
Mar, 2025
Journal
Cancer therapy-induced oral mucositis is a frequent major oncological problem, secondary to cytotoxicity of chemo-radiation treatment. Oral mucositis commonly occurs 7–10 days after initiation of therapy; it is a dose-limiting side effect causing significant pain, eating difficulty, need for parenteral nutrition and a rise of infections. The pathobiology derives from compl…
Dec, 2024
Journal
Promicromonospora sp. strain Populi is an actinobacterium isolated from the rhizosphere of a black cottonwood tree, Populus trichocarpa. We completely sequenced its 5.2-Mbp chromosome using Oxford Nanopore long reads and predicted it to encode 4,685 proteins, 3 rRNA operons, and 54 tRNAs and noncoding RNAs.
Nov, 2024
Journal
Luteolibacter sp. strain Populi is a bacterium from the phylum Verrucomicrobiota, isolated from the rhizosphere of a black cottonwood tree, Populus trichocarpa, from the Cascade mountains in Washington. Its 6.6-Mb chromosome was completely sequenced using Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing and is predicted to encode 5,301 proteins and 60 RNAs.
Jul, 2024
Journal
Municipal drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) and associated premise plumbing (PP) systems are vulnerable to proliferation of opportunistic pathogens, even when chemical disinfection residuals are present, thus presenting a public health risk. Monitoring the structure of microbial communities of drinking water is challenging because of limited continuous access to…
Mar, 2024
Journal
An enrichment of sulfidic sediments from Zodletone spring was sequenced as a metagenome. Draft genomes representing Cloacimonadota, Deltabacterota, Firmicutes, and Patescibacteria were binned and annotated and will aid functional genomics and cultivation efforts.
Feb, 2024
Journal
The mammalian mouth is colonized by complex microbial communities, adapted to specific niches, and in homeostasis with the host. Individual microbes interact metabolically and rely primarily on nutrients provided by the host, with which they have potentially co-evolved along the mammalian lineages. The oral environment is similar across mammals, but the diversity, specific…
Dec, 2023
Journal
Predicting the range of substrates accepted by an enzyme from its amino acid sequence is challenging. Although sequence‐ and structure‐based annotation approaches are often accurate for predicting broad categories of substrate specificity, they generally cannot predict which specific molecules will be accepted as substrates for a given enzyme, particularly within a class o…
Dec, 2023
Journal
Bacteria and archaea possessing the hgcAB gene pair methylate inorganic mercury (Hg) to form highly toxic methylmercury. HgcA consists of a corrinoid binding domain and a transmembrane domain, and HgcB is a dicluster ferredoxin. However, their detailed structure and function have not been thoroughly characterized. We modeled the HgcAB complex by combining metagenome sequen…
Dec, 2023
Journal
The hgcAB gene pair encodes mercury (Hg) methylation capability in a diverse group of microorganisms, but its evolution and transcriptional regulation remain unknown. Working from the possibility that the evolutionary function of HgcAB may not be Hg methylation, we test a possible link to arsenic resistance. Using model Hg methylator Pseudodesulfovibrio mercurii ND132, we…