Biology subjects

McDaniel, E. A.

Publications and source records attributed to McDaniel, E. A..

14 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Enabling predictive modeling of molecular connections between fermented foods and human inflammation through a paired dataset of cell-based models and multi-omics approaches

Fermented foods are recognized for their rich microbial diversity and bioactive metabolites, which have recently been linked to anti-inflammatory effects and increased gut microbiome diversity. Despite extensive research on fermented foods including large-scale metagenomic surveys and metabolite characterization, a comprehensive mechanistic understanding of how diverse fermented foods, their microbes, and resulting metabolites interact with human biological pathways remains limited. Here, we systematically profiled over 100 commercially available fermented foods for their potential to prevent inflammation using a human cell-based model. We then generated bulk RNA sequencing of the human cells under these treatment conditions, along with metagenomic sequencing and metabolomics of the fermented foods used in the assays. By generating sample-matched multi-omics data, our work aims to lay the scientific groundwork that will enable scientists to generate predictive models and testable hypotheses about the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of fermented foods. This open-source resource comprising all raw data and parsed intermediary files allows the community to begin elucidating the molecular mechanisms between fermented foods and human biology, paving the way for new, scientifically informed strategies for the user of fermented foods as functional foods.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2026

Leveraging publicly available datasets and machine learning approaches for predicting the health benefits of fermented foods

Fermented foods are an ancient, near universal component of human dietary culture and are increasingly recognized for their health benefits. Bioactive peptides and biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) produced by microbes during fermentation have been shown to be key mediators of human health benefits, such as ACE inhibitors and antibacterial bacteriocins. To broadly map this potential, we leveraged the growing abundance of publicly available fermented food datasets alongside recent advances in machine learning models for bioactivity prediction. We collected, curated, and re-analyzed multiple publicly available multi-omics datasets from diverse fermented foods, enabling cross-food comparisons of microbial and molecular profiles. Our analyses include profiling a curated database of [~]1,300 species-representative genomes across hundreds of fermented food metagenomes, predicting genome-encoded BGCs and peptides from 11,500 bacterial genomes, and applying machine learning classification models to predict the bioactivity of thousands of genome-encoded and peptidomics-detected peptides. These models predict 17 different bioactivities, providing novel, testable predictions for downstream experimental characterization. Most importantly, all curated resources, underlying computational tools, and resulting datasets are publicly available to the community, with an emphasis on creating tools and resources that are user-friendly and empower the community to generate more efficient and predictive models for future fermented foods research. A descriptive list of all generated resources is available below, with all computational tools available on GitHub at https://github.com/MicrocosmFoods and all raw files and datasets available on Zenodo at https://zenodo.org/communities/microcosmfoods/. ResourcesO_LIDataset with [~]13,500 genomes from [~]3,000 different samples representing 150 foods and 50 countries C_LIO_LISpecies-representative dataset with [~]1,300 genomes based on 95% ANI, with full functional annotations available as an explorable collection on SeqHub C_LIO_LIStrain-level representative dataset with [~]4,300 genomes based on 99% ANI, available as a free and publicly available narrative on KBase for users to run their own analyses with C_LIO_LIWorkflows for profiling metagenomic samples, performing functional annotation on bacterial genomes, and predicting peptide bioactivity using ML models C_LIO_LIPredicted biosynthetic gene clusters and peptides for [~]11,500 bacterial genomes C_LIO_LIPredicted bioactivities of peptides from [~]11,500 bacterial genomes and 5 proteomics datasets of fermented foods C_LI

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Loss of white matter tracts and persistent microglial activation in the chronic phase of ischemic stroke in female rats and the effect of miR-20a-3p treatment

Our previous studies showed that intravenous injections of the small non-coding RNA mir-20a-3p is neuroprotective for stroke in the acute phase and attenuates long-term cognitive impairment in middle-aged female rats. In this study, we evaluated postmortem brain pathology at 100+d after stroke in a set of behaviorally characterized animals. This included Sham (no stroke) controls or stroke animals that received either mir20a-3p at 4h, 24h and 70d iv post stroke (MCAo+mir20a-3p) or a scrambled oligo (MCAo+Scr). Brain volumetric features were analyzed with T2 weighted and Diffusion Tensor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) followed by histological analysis. Principal component analysis of Fractional Anisotropy (FA)-diffusion tensor MRI measures showed that MCAo+Scr and MCAo+mir20a-3p groups differed significantly in the volume of white matter but not gray matter. Weil myelin-stained sections confirmed decreased volume of the corpus callosum, internal capsule and the anterior commissure in the ischemic hemisphere of MCAo+Scr animals compared to the non-ischemic hemisphere, while sham and MCAo+Mir-20a-3p showed no hemispheric asymmetries. The MCAo+Scr group also exhibited asymmetry in hemisphere and lateral ventricle volumes, with ventricular enlargement in the ischemic hemisphere as compared to the non-ischemic hemisphere. The numbers of microglia were significantly elevated in white matter tracts in the MCAo+Scr group, with a trend towards increased myelin phagocytic microglia in these tracts. Regression analysis indicated that performance on an episodic memory test (novel object recognition test; NORT) was associated with decreased white matter volume and increased microglial numbers. These data support the hypothesis that stroke-induced cognitive impairment is accompanied by white matter attrition and persistent microglial activation and is consistent with reports that cognitive deterioration resulting from vascular diseases, such as stroke, is associated with secondary neurodegeneration in regions distal from the initial infarction.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Signatures of Microbial Diversity at Multiple Scales of Resolution within Engineered Enrichment Communities

Microbial community dynamics are dictated by both abiotic environmental conditions and biotic interactions. These communities consist of individual microorganisms across the continuum of phylogenetic diversity, ranging from coexisting members of different domains of life and phyla to multiple strains with only a handful of single nucleotide variants. Ecological forces act on a shifting template of population-level diversity that is shaped by evolutionary processes. However, understanding the ecological and evolutionary forces contributing to microbial community interactions and overall ecosystem function is difficult to interrogate for complex, naturally occurring microbial communities. Here, we use two time series of lab-scale engineered enrichment microbial communities simulating phosphorus removal to explore signatures of microbial diversity at multiple phylogenetic scales. We characterized microbial community dynamics and diversity over the course of reactor start-up and long-term dynamics including periods of eubiosis and dysbiosis as informed by the intended ecosystem function of phosphorus removal. We then compared these signatures to lineages from full-scale WWTPs performing phosphorus removal. We found that enriched lineages in lab-scale bioreactors harbor less intra-population diversity than lineages from the full-scale WWTP overall. Our work establishes a foundation for using engineered enrichment microbial communities as a semi-complex model system for addressing the fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes necessary for developing stable microbiome based biotechnologies.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2022

Expanded diversity of tfdA harboring bacteria across the natural and built environment

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is an herbicide commonly used in aquatic and terrestrial environments that is degraded by bacteria through the TFD pathway. Previous work has relied on culture-based methods to develop primers for qPCR analysis of the gene cassette in environmental samples. In this study, we combined molecular and genomic approaches to examine the accuracy of established tfdA qPCR primers on environmental samples and update the phylogeny of tfdA genes detected in bacterial genomes. We found most putative 2,4-D degraders are within the Proteobacteria but also found several novel degraders including members of the phyla Candidatus Rokubacteria and Candidatus Eremiobacteraeota. In silico analysis of established primers showed potential amplification of < 5% of putative degrader sequences but 52-100% of experimentally verified degraders when allowing for three and one mismatches between template and primer sequences, respectively. Overall, our work expands the diversity of putative 2,4-D degraders and demonstrates the limitations of culture-based tools for investigating functional diversity of microorganisms in the environment. ImportanceCultivation-based methods can misrepresent the diversity of environmental microorganisms. Our work showcases one example of how culture-based development of molecular tools underestimates the full spectrum of 2,4-D degrading microorganisms. Accurately identifying microorganisms with 2,4-D degradation potential is crucial for understanding the biodegradation potential of a commonly used herbicide across terrestrial, aquatic, and subsurface environments. Additionally, this work reinforces well-documented pitfalls associated with relying on cultured representatives when constructing primers and the challenges of translating findings from a few cultured representatives to understudied or unknown microorganisms in complex environments.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2022

Environmental predictors of electroactive bacterioplankton in small boreal lakes.

Extracellular electron transfer (EET) by electroactive bacteria in anoxic soils and sediments is an intensively researched subject, but EETs function in planktonic ecology has been less considered. Following the discovery of an unexpectedly high prevalence of EET genes in a bog lakes bacterioplankton, we hypothesized that the redox capacities of dissolved organic matter (DOM) enrich for electroactive bacteria by mediating redox chemistry. We developed the bioinformatics pipeline FEET (Find EET) to identify and summarize EET proteins from metagenomics data. We then applied FEET to several bog and thermokarst lakes and correlated EET protein occurrence values with environmental data to test our predictions. Our results provide evidence that DOM participates in EET by bacterioplankton. We found a similarly high prevalence of EET genes in most of these lakes, where oxidative EET strongly correlated with DOM. Numerous novel clusters of multiheme cytochromes that may enable EET were identified. Taxa previously not considered EET-capable were found to carry EET genes. We conclude that EET and DOM interactions are of major ecological importance to bacterioplankton in small boreal lakes, and that EET, particularly by methylotrophs and phototrophs, should be further studied and incorporated into both conceptual and quantitative methane emission models of melting permafrost.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

Re-evaluation of the phylogenetic diversity and global distribution of the genus Candidatus Accumulibacter

Candidatus Accumulibacter was the first microorganism identified as a polyphosphate-accumulating organism (PAO), important for phosphorus removal from wastewater. This genus is diverse, and the current phylogeny and taxonomic framework appears complicated, with the majority of publicly available genomes classified as "Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis", despite notable phylogenetic divergence. The ppk1 marker gene allows for a finer scale differentiation into different "types" and "clades", nevertheless taxonomic assignments remain confusing and inconsistent across studies. Therefore, a comprehensive re-evaluation is needed to establish a common understanding of this genus, both in terms of naming and basic conserved physiological traits. Here, we provide this re-assessment using a comparison of genome, ppk1, and 16S rRNA gene-based approaches from comprehensive datasets. We identified 15 novel species, along with the well-known Ca. A. phosphatis, Ca. A. deltensis and Ca. A. aalborgensis. To compare the species in situ, we designed new species-specific FISH probes and revealed their morphology and arrangement in activated sludge. Based on the MiDAS global survey, Ca. Accumulibacter species were widespread in WWTPs with phosphorus removal, indicating the process design as a major driver for their abundance. Genome mining for PAO related pathways and FISH-Raman microspectroscopy confirmed the potential for the PAO metabolism in all Ca. Accumulibacter species, with detection in situ of the typical PAO storage polymers. Genome annotation further revealed fine-scale differences in the nitrate/nitrite reduction pathways. This provides insights into the niche differentiation of these lineages, potentially explaining their coexistence in the same ecosystem while contributing to overall phosphorus and nitrogen removal. ImportanceCandidatus Accumulibacter is the most studied PAO organism, with a primary role in biological nutrient removal. However, the species-level taxonomy of this lineage is convoluted due to the use of different phylogenetic markers or genome sequencing. Here, we redefined the phylogeny of these organisms, proposing a comprehensive approach which could be used to address the classification of other diverse and uncultivated lineages. Using genome-resolved phylogeny, compared to 16S rRNA gene- and other phylogenetic markers phylogeny, we obtained a higher resolution taxonomy and established a common understanding of this genus. Furthermore, genome mining of gene and pathways of interest, validated in situ by application of a new set of FISH probes and Raman micromicrospectroscopy, provided additional high-resolution metabolic insights into these organisms.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

TbasCO: Trait-based Comparative 'Omics Identifies Ecosystem-Level and Niche-Differentiating Adaptations of an Engineered Microbiome

A grand challenge in microbial ecology is disentangling the traits of individual populations within complex communities. Various cultivation-independent approaches have been used to infer traits based on the presence of marker genes. However, marker genes are not linked to traits with complete fidelity, nor do they capture important attributes, such as the timing of expression or coordination among traits. To address this, we present an approach for assessing the trait landscape of microbial communities by statistically defining a trait attribute as shared transcriptional pattern across multiple organisms. Leveraging the KEGG pathway database as a trait library and the Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (EBPR) model microbial ecosystem, we demonstrate that a majority (65%) of traits present in 10 or more genomes have niche-differentiating expression attributes. For example, while 14 genomes containing the high-affinity phosphorus transporter pstABCS display a canonical attribute (e.g. up-regulation under phosphorus starvation), we identified another attribute shared by 11 genomes where transcription was highest under high phosphorus conditions. Taken together, we provide a novel framework for revealing hidden metabolic versatility when investigating genomic data alone by assigning trait-attributes through genome-resolved time-series metatranscriptomics.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2021

Microbial cysteine degradation is a source of hydrogen sulfide in oxic freshwater lakes

The sulfur-containing amino acid cysteine is abundant in the environment including in freshwater lakes. Biological cysteine degradation can result in hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a toxic and ecologically relevant compound that is a central player in biogeochemical cycling in aquatic environments. Here, we investigated the ecological significance of cysteine in oxic freshwater lake environments, using isolated cultures, controlled growth experiments, and multi-omics. We screened bacterial isolates enriched from natural lake water for their ability to produce H2S when provided cysteine. In total, we identified 29 isolates that produced H2S and belonged to the phyla Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. To understand the genomic and genetic basis for cysteine degradation and H2S production, we further characterized 3 freshwater isolates using whole-genome sequencing (using a combination of short-read and long-read sequencing), and quantitatively tracked cysteine and H2S levels over their growth ranges: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (Gammaproteobacteria), Stenotrophomonas bentonitica (Gammaproteobacteria) and Chryseobacterium piscium (Bacteroidetes). We observed a decrease in cysteine and increase in H2S, and identified genes involved in cysteine degradation in all 3 genomes. Finally, to assess the presence of these organisms and genes in the environment, we surveyed a five-year time series of metagenomic data from the same isolation source (freshwater Lake Mendota, WI, USA) and identified their presence throughout the time series. Overall, our study shows that sulfur-containing amino acids can drive microbial H2S production in oxic environments. Future considerations of sulfur cycling and biogeochemistry in oxic environments should account for H2S accumulation from degradation of organosulfur compounds. ImportanceHydrogen sulfide (H2S), a naturally occurring gas with biological origins, can be toxic to living organisms. In aquatic environments, H2S production typically originates from anoxic (lacking oxygen) environments such as sediments, or the bottom layers of thermally stratified lakes. However, the degradation of sulfur-containing amino acids such as cysteine, which all cells and life forms rely on, can be a source of ammonia and H2S in the environment. Unlike other approaches for biological H2S production such as dissimilatory sulfate reduction, cysteine degradation can occur in the presence of oxygen. Yet, little is known about how cysteine degradation influences sulfur availability and cycling in freshwater lakes. In our study, we identified diverse bacteria from a freshwater lake that can produce H2S in the presence of O2. Our study highlights the ecological importance of oxic H2S production in natural ecosystems and necessitates a change in our outlook of sulfur biogeochemistry.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Metabolic differentiation of co-occurring Accumulibacter clades revealed through genome-resolved metatranscriptomics

Natural microbial communities consist of closely related taxa that may exhibit phenotypic differences and inhabit distinct niches. However, connecting genetic diversity to ecological properties remains a challenge in microbial ecology due to the lack of pure cultures across the microbial tree of life. Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis is a polyphosphate-accumulating organism that contributes to the Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (EBPR) biotechnological process for removing excess phosphorus from wastewater and preventing eutrophication from downstream receiving waters. Distinct Accumulibacter clades often co-exist in full-scale wastewater treatment plants and lab-scale enrichment bioreactors, and have been hypothesized to inhabit distinct ecological niches. However, since individual strains of the Accumulibacter lineage have not been isolated in pure culture to date, these predictions have been made solely on genome-based comparisons and enrichments with varying strain composition. Here, we used genome-resolved metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to explore the activity of co-existing Accumulibacter strains in an engineered bioreactor environment. We obtained four high-quality genomes of Accumulibacter strains that were present in the bioreactor ecosystem, one of which is a completely contiguous draft genome scaffolded with long Nanopore reads. We identified core and accessory genes to investigate how gene expression patterns differed among the dominating strains. Using this approach, we were able to identify putative pathways and functions that may confer distinct functions to Accumulibacter strains and provide key functional insights into this biotechnologically significant microbial lineage. IMPORTANCE Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis is a model polyphosphate accumulating organism that has been studied using genome-resolved metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metaproteomics to understand the EBPR process. Within the Accumulibacter lineage, several similar but diverging clades are defined by shared sequence identity of the polyphosphate kinase (ppk1) locus. These clades are predicted to have key functional differences in acetate uptake rates, phage defense mechanisms, and nitrogen cycling capabilities. However, such hypotheses have largely been made based on gene-content comparisons of sequenced Accumulibacter genomes, some of which were obtained from different systems. Here, we performed time-series genome-resolved metatranscriptomics to explore gene expression patterns of co-existing Accumulibacter clades in the same bioreactor ecosystem. Our work provides an approach for elucidating ecologically relevant functions based on gene expression patterns between closely related microbial populations.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2020

Mercury methylation trait dispersed across diverse anaerobic microbial guilds in a eutrophic sulfate-enriched lake

Mercury (Hg) methylation is a microbially mediated process that converts inorganic Hg into the bioaccumulative neurotoxin methylmercury (MeHg). Exploring the diversity and metabolic potential of the dominant Hg-methylating microorganisms can provide insights into how biogeochemical cycles and water quality parameters underlie MeHg production. However, our understanding of the ecophysiology of methylators in natural ecosystems is still limited. Here, we used shotgun metagenomics paired with biogeochemical data to identify likely hotspots for MeHg production in a lake with elevated sulfate levels and characterize the microbial methylators and the flanking microbial community. Identified putative methylators were dominated by hgcA sequences divergent from those in canonical, experimentally confirmed methylators. Using genome-resolved metagenomics, these sequences were identified within genomes associated with Bacteroidetes and the recently described phylum Kiritimatiellaeota. Over half of the hgcA abundance comes from genomes corresponding to obligately fermentative organisms, many of which have a large number of glucoside hydrolases for polysaccharide degradation. Sulfate-reducing genomes encoding hgcA were also identified, but only accounted for 22% of the abundance of hgcA+ genomes. This work highlights the diverse dispersal of the methylation trait across the microbial anoxic food web.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2020

Expanded Phylogenetic Diversity and Metabolic Flexibility of Microbial Mercury Methylation

Methylmercury is a potent, bioaccumulating neurotoxin that is produced by specific microorganisms by methylation of inorganic mercury released from anthropogenic sources. The hgcAB genes were recently discovered to be required for microbial methylmercury production in diverse anaerobic bacteria and archaea. However, the full phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of mercury methylating microorganisms has not been fully explored due to the limited number of cultured, experimentally verified methylators and the limitations of primer-based molecular methods. Here, we describe the phylogenetic diversity and metabolic flexibility of putative mercury methylating microorganisms identified by hgcA sequence identity from publicly available isolate genomes and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), as well as novel freshwater MAGs. We demonstrate that putative mercury methylators are much more phylogenetically diverse than previously known, and the distribution of hgcA is most likely due to several independent horizontal gene transfer events. Identified methylating microorganisms possess diverse metabolic capabilities spanning carbon fixation, sulfate reduction, nitrogen fixation, and metal resistance pathways. Using a metatranscriptomic survey of a thawing permafrost gradient from which we identified 111 putative mercury methylators, we demonstrate that specific methylating populations may contribute to hgcA expression at different depths. Overall, we provide a framework for illuminating the microbial basis of mercury methylation using genome-resolved metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to identify methylators based upon hgcA presence and describe their putative functions in the environment. IMPORTANCESpecific anaerobic microorganisms among the Deltaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Euryarchaeota have been shown to produce the bioaccumulating neurotoxin methylmercury. Accurately assessing the sources of microbial methylmercury production in the context of phylogenetic identification, metabolic guilds, and activity in the environment is crucial for understanding the constraints and effects of mercury impacted sites. Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies have enabled large-scale, cultivation-independent surveys of diverse and poorly characterized microorganisms of numerous ecosystems. We used genome-resolved metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to highlight the vast phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of putative mercury methylators, and their depth-discrete activities in the environment. This work underscores the importance of using genome-resolved metagenomics to survey specific putative methylating populations of a given mercury-impacted ecosystem.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

metabolisHMM: Phylogenomic analysis for exploration of microbial phylogenies and metabolic pathways

SummaryAdvances in high-throughput sequencing technologies and bioinformatic pipelines have exponentially increased the amount of data that can be obtained from uncultivated microbial lineages inhabiting diverse ecosystems. Various annotation tools and databases currently exist for predicting the functional potential of sequenced genomes or microbial communities based upon sequence identity. However, intuitive, reproducible, and user-friendly tools for further exploring and visualizing functional guilds of microbial community metagenomic sequencing datasets remains lacking. Here, we present metabolisHMM, a series of workflows for visualizing the distribution of curated and user-provided Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to understand metabolic characteristics and evolutionary histories of microbial lineages. metabolisHMM performs functional annotations with a set of curated or user-defined HMMs to 1) construct ribosomal protein and single marker gene phylogenies, 2) summarize the presence/absence of metabolic pathway markers, and 3) create heatmap visualizations of presence/absence summaries. Availability and ImplementationmetabolisHMM is freely available on Github at https://github.com/elizabethmcd/metabolisHMM and on PyPi at https://pypi.org/project/metabolisHMM/ under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2018

Independent mechanisms for acquired salt tolerance versus growth resumption induced by mild ethanol pretreatment in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

All living organisms must recognize and respond to various environmental stresses throughout their lifetime. In natural environments, cells frequently encounter fluctuating concentrations of different stressors that can occur in combination or sequentially. Thus, the ability to anticipate an impending stress is likely ecologically relevant. One possible mechanism for anticipating future stress is acquired stress resistance, where cells pre-exposed to a mild sub-lethal dose of stress gain the ability to survive an otherwise lethal dose of stress. We have been leveraging wild strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to investigate natural variation in the yeast ethanol stress response and its role in acquired stress resistance. Here, we report that a wild vineyard isolate possesses ethanol-induced cross-protection against severe concentrations of salt. Because this phenotype correlates with ethanol-dependent induction of the ENA genes, which encode sodium efflux pumps already associated with salt resistance, we hypothesized that variation in ENA expression was responsible for differences in acquired salt tolerance across strains. Surprisingly, we found that the ENA genes were completely dispensable for ethanol-induced survival of high salt concentrations in the wild vineyard strain. Instead, the ENA genes were necessary for the ability to resume growth on high concentrations of salt following a mild ethanol pretreatment. Surprisingly, this growth acclimation phenotype was also shared by the lab yeast strain despite lack of ENA induction under this condition. This study underscores that cross protection can affect both viability and growth through distinct mechanisms, both of which likely confer fitness effects that are ecologically relevant.\n\nIMPORTANCEMicrobes in nature frequently experience \"boom or bust\" cycles of environmental stress. Thus, microbes that can anticipate the onset of stress would have an advantage. One way microbes anticipate future stress is through acquired stress resistance, where cells exposed to a mild dose of one stress gain the ability survive an otherwise lethal dose of a subsequent stress. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, certain stressors can cross protect against high salt concentrations, though the mechanisms governing this acquisition of higher stress resistance are not well understood. In this study, we took advantage of wild yeast strains to understand the mechanism underlying ethanol-induced cross protection against high salt concentrations. We found that mild ethanol stress allows cells to resume growth on high salt, which involves a novel role for a well-studied salt transporter. Overall, this discovery highlights how leveraging natural variation can provide new insights into well-studied stress defense mechanisms.

microbiology↗