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1. Genome sequence of Pyrococcus woesei DSM 3773 ^T —an anaerobic, hyperthermophilic archaeum from heated marine solfataras

   https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00528-25  

   Drew, Suzie; St_John, Emily; Bartlett, Michael (October 2025, Microbiology Resource Announcements)

   Stewart, Frank J (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT Here, we report the circularized complete genome ofPyrococcus woeseiDSM 3773^T(1,856,505 bp, G + C 40.7%). This genome contains 1,955 protein-coding regions and 46 tRNAs.P. woeseiis the closest known relative to the archaeal model organismP. furiosus. 

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2. Draft genome sequence of Mesonia hippocampi DSM 29568 ^T isolated from the brood pouch of a diseased male seahorse

   https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00047-25  

   Bond, Eva; Reines, Claudia; Thiel, Vera; Göker, Markus; Stamatis, Dimitrios; Seshadri, Rekha; Luna_Lopez, Carlos; Read, Betsy (May 2025, Microbiology Resource Announcements)

   Thrash, J Cameron (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT Mesonia hippocampiwas isolated from the brood pouch of a diseased seahorse,Hippocampus barbouri, and the 498,773,430 bp genome encoding 2,377 proteins was sequenced. Understanding the role ofM. hippocampican inform conservation strategies to improve the health and survival of wild and captiveH. barbouri. 

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3. Complete genome sequence of Planococcus koreensis isolated from soil in Fort Collins, Colorado

   https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00193-25  

   Gruber, Paige; Freedman, Ashley; Malmstrom, Kendall; Borlee, Bradley R; Mehaffy, Carolina (May 2025, Microbiology Resource Announcements)

   Roux, Simon (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT The complete genome ofPlanococcus koreensiswas obtained using Nanopore MinION sequencing after isolation from soil in Colorado. The assembled genome contains one circular contig with 3,519,105 bp, 3,606 genes, 419 pseudogenes, and 47.62% guanine-cytosine content. This discovery provides a fully assembledP. koreensisgenome available at the National Center for Biotechnology Information. 

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4. Draft genome sequence of Nitrosomonas sp. ANs5, an extremely alkali-tolerant ammonia-oxidizing bacterium isolated from Mongolian soda lakes

   https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00330-25  

   Valera, Jose R; Sorokin, Dimitry Y; Santoro, Alyson E (September 2025, Microbiology Resource Announcements)

   Dunning_Hotopp, Julie C (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT The draft genome of a chemolithoautotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacterium of the genusNitrosomonasis reported.Nitrosomonassp. strain ANs5, previously classified as a strain ofN. halophila, is an alkali-tolerant ammonia-oxidizing bacterium isolated from the soda lakes of northeast Mongolia. 

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5. Biophysical modeling reveals the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of Spo0A, the master regulator in starving Bacillus subtilis

   https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00072-25  

   Zhang, Yujia; Palma, Cristina_S D; Chen, Zhuo; Zarazúa-Osorio, Brenda; Fujita, Masaya; Igoshin, Oleg A; Eichenberger, Patrick (May 2025, mSystems)

   Svensson, Sarah L (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT In starvingBacillus subtilisbacteria,the initiation of two survival programs—biofilm formation and sporulation—is controlled by the same phosphorylated master regulator, Spo0A~P. Its gene,spo0A,is transcribed from two promoters, Pvand Ps,that are, respectively, regulated by RNA polymerase (RNAP) holoenzymes bearing σ^Aand σ^H. Notably, transcription is directly autoregulated by Spo0A~P binding sites known as 0A1, 0A2, and 0A3 box, located in between the two promoters. It remains unclear whether, at the onset of starvation, these boxes activate or repressspo0Aexpression, and whether the Spo0A~P transcriptional feedback plays a role in the increase inspo0Aexpression. Based on the experimental data of the promoter activities under systematic perturbation of the promoter architecture, we developed a biophysical model of transcriptional regulation ofspo0Aby Spo0A~P binding to each of the 0A boxes. The model predicts that Spo0A~P binding to its boxes does not affect the RNAP recruitment to the promoters but instead affects the transcriptional initiation rate. Moreover, the effects of Spo0A~P binding to 0A boxes are mainly repressive and saturated early at the onset of starvation. Therefore, the increase inspo0Aexpression is mainly driven by the increase in RNAP holoenzyme levels. Additionally, we reveal that Spo0A~P affinity to 0A boxes is strongest at 0A3 and weakest at 0A2 and that there are attractive forces between the occupied 0A boxes. Our findings, in addition to clarifying how the sporulation master regulator is controlled, offer a framework to predict regulatory outcomes of complex gene-regulatory mechanisms. IMPORTANCECell differentiation is often critical for survival. In bacteria, differentiation decisions are controlled by transcriptional master regulators under transcriptional feedback control. Therefore, understanding how master regulators are transcriptionally regulated is required to understand differentiation. However, in many cases, the underlying regulation is complex, with multiple transcription factor binding sites and multiple promoters, making it challenging to dissect the exact mechanisms. Here, we address this problem for theBacillus subtilismaster regulator Spo0A. Using a biophysical model, we quantitatively characterize the effect of individual transcription factor binding sites on eachspo0Apromoter. Furthermore, the model allows us to identify the specific transcription step that is affected by transcription factor binding. Such a model is promising for the quantitative study of a wide range of master regulators involved in transcriptional feedback. 

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