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  1. Abstract

    Many microorganisms are auxotrophic—unable to synthesize the compounds they require for growth. With this work, we quantify the prevalence of amino acid auxotrophies across a broad diversity of bacteria and habitats. We predicted the amino acid biosynthetic capabilities of 26,277 unique bacterial genomes spanning 12 phyla using a metabolic pathway model validated with empirical data. Amino acid auxotrophy is widespread across bacterial phyla, but we conservatively estimate that the majority of taxa (78.4%) are able to synthesize all amino acids. Our estimates indicate that amino acid auxotrophies are more prevalent among obligate intracellular parasites and in free-living taxa with genomic attributes characteristic of ‘streamlined’ life history strategies. We predicted the amino acid biosynthetic capabilities of bacterial communities found in 12 unique habitats to investigate environmental associations with auxotrophy, using data compiled from 3813 samples spanning major aquatic, terrestrial, and engineered environments. Auxotrophic taxa were more abundant in host-associated environments (including the human oral cavity and gut) and in fermented food products, with auxotrophic taxa being relatively rare in soil and aquatic systems. Overall, this work contributes to a more complete understanding of amino acid auxotrophy across the bacterial tree of life and the ecological contexts in which auxotrophy can be a successful strategy.

     
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  2. Free, publicly-accessible full text available May 9, 2024
  3. Free, publicly-accessible full text available September 12, 2024
  4. null (Ed.)
    We report measurements of the parity-conserving beam-normal single-spin elastic scattering asymmetries Bn on 12C and 27Al, obtained with an electron beam polarized transverse to its momentum direction. These measurements add an additional kinematic point to a series of previous measurements of Bn on 12C and provide a first measurement on 27Al. The experiment utilized the Qweak apparatus at Jefferson Lab with a beam energy of 1.158 GeV. The average laboratory scattering angle for both targets was 7.7∘, and the average Q2 for both targets was 0.024 37 GeV2 (Q=0.1561 GeV). The asymmetries are Bn=−10.68±0.90(stat)±0.57(syst) ppm for 12C and Bn=−12.16±0.58(stat)±0.62(syst) ppm for 27Al. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions, and are compared to existing data. When scaled by Z/A, the Q dependence of all the far-forward angle (θ<10∘) data from 1H to 27Al can be described by the same slope out to Q≈0.35 GeV. Larger-angle data from other experiments in the same Q range are consistent with a slope about twice as steep. 
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  5. A beam-normal single-spin asymmetry generated in the scattering of transversely polarized electrons from unpolarized nucleons is an observable related to the imaginary part of the two-photon exchange process. We report a 2% precision measurement of the beam-normal single-spin asymmetry in elastic electron-proton scattering with a mean scattering angle of θlab=7.9° and a mean energy of 1.149 GeV. The asymmetry result is Bn=−5.194±0.067(stat)±0.082 (syst) ppm. This is the most precise measurement of this quantity available to date and therefore provides a stringent test of two-photon exchange models at far-forward scattering angles (θlab→0) where they should be most reliable. 
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  6. null (Ed.)