Once overlooked, small proteins are now recognized as widespread and functionally important players in prokaryotic biology. This reading list highlights recent discoveries in the field and offers a preview of an upcoming microLife thematic issue on the same topic. Sign up for our newsletters to be notified when the collection is published.
Elisa Venturini and others
microLife, Volume 6, 2025, uqae026, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqae026
AlphaFold structure of the Salmonella small protein YjiS and electron microscopy visualization of flagella of a yjiS deletion mutant.
Donata C L E Remme and others
microLife, Volume 6, 2025, uqaf023, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqaf023
Conserved small proteins modulate bacterial phosphate homeostasis by interacting with the sensor kinase PhoR of the phosphate uptake system.
Liz Maria Luke and Kai Papenfort
microLife, Volume 6, 2025, uqaf034, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqaf034
In this review, we discuss the diverse regulatory and physiological roles of dual-function RNAs in bacteria.
Ana Natriashvili and others
microLife, Volume 6, 2025, uqaf030, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqaf030
The synthesis of small membrane proteins protects bacterial cells by reducing their metabolic activity.
Jing Yuan and others
microLife, Volume 6, 2025, uqaf035, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqaf035
Membrane insertion and functional diversity of bacterial small membrane proteins.
Eva Herdering and others
microLife, Volume 6, 2025, uqaf038, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqaf038
M. mazei proteomics detects 234 small proteins across different growth conditions, including small ribosomal proteins, ferredoxins with Fe-S cluster motifs and validated zinc-binding proteins.
Jürgen Bartel and others
microLife, Volume 7, 2026, uqaf043, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqaf043
Jürgen Bartel and others
microLife, Volume 7, 2026, uqag002, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqag002
This study systematically evaluates methods for improving the identification and quantification of small proteins using bottom-up mass spectrometry, providing a comprehensive dataset of proteins from Clostridioides difficile.
Luna Alvarenga-Lucius and others
microLife, Volume 7, 2026, uqag003, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqag003
The lack of the small high-light-induced protein SliP4 has a marked impact on the acclimation response of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 to high light.
Pedro H C Franco and others
microLife, Volume 7, 2026, uqag005, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsml/uqag005
Proteomics analysis of multiple zinc-finger µ-protein deletion strains suggests their role in the regulation of cell motility, biofilm formation, and additional biological processes.
The official journal of the European Academy of Microbiology, microLife showcases groundbreaking research across all microbial life, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists, parasites, and viruses.
Led by an international community of experts, the journal operates a Gold Open Access model. Its focus on impact, novelty, and significance makes it a home for studies that move the field forward and open new avenues of inquiry.
It provides a trusted, high-visibility platform for sharing influential discoveries and shaping the future of microbiology.
Open access is key to supporting the FEMS mission of disseminating high quality research as widely as possible: when high quality, peer reviewed sound science is open access, anyone, anywhere in the world with an internet connection, can read it. All but one of the not-for-profit FEMS journals are fully open access (OA), with one journal, FEMS Microbiology Letters, offering free-to-publish and OA options.
