Rickettsial genomics and the paradigm of genome reduction associated with increased virulence
Publication date: Available online 27 December 2017Source: Microbes and InfectionAuthor(s): Awa Diop, Didier Raoult, Pierre-Edouard FournierAbstractRickettsia species are arthropod endosymbiotic α-proteobacteria that can infect mammalian hosts during their obligate intracellular lifecycle, and cause a range of mild to severe diseases in humans. Paradoxically, during their adaptation to a bottleneck lifestyle, rickettsial genomes have undergone an evolution marked by a progressive chromosomic and plasmidic degradation resulting in a genome reduction from 1.5 to 1.1 Mb, with a coding capacity of 69–84%. A striking findin...
Source: Microbes and Infection - July 10, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Application of our understanding of pathogenesis of herpetic stromal keratitis for novel therapy
Publication date: Available online 9 January 2018Source: Microbes and InfectionAuthor(s): Naveen K. Rajasagi, Barry T. RouseAbstractHSV-1 ocular infection can cause herpes stromal keratitis (SK), an immunopathological lesion. Frequent recurrences can lead to progressive corneal scaring which can result in vision impairment if left untreated. Currently, the acute and epithelial forms of SK are usually controlled using anti-viral drugs. However, chronic forms of SK which are inflammatory in nature, require the addition of a topical corticosteroid to the anti-viral treatment regimen. In this review, we highlight the essential...
Source: Microbes and Infection - July 10, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Tick-borne pathogen detection: what’s new?
Publication date: Available online 9 January 2018Source: Microbes and InfectionAuthor(s): Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz, Muriel Vayssier-Taussat, Gilbert GreubAbstractTicks and the pathogens they transmit constitute a growing burden for human and animal health worldwide. Traditionally, tick-borne pathogen detection has been carried out using PCR-based methods that rely in known sequences for specific primers design. This approach matches with the view of a ‘single-pathogen’ epidemiology. Recent results, however, have stressed the importance of coinfections in pathogen ecology and evolution with impact in pathogen transmission...
Source: Microbes and Infection - July 10, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Phenotypic heterogeneity: a bacterial virulence strategy
Publication date: Available online 1 February 2018Source: Microbes and InfectionAuthor(s): W.A. Weigel, P. DerschAbstractGrowing knowledge of the complexity of the host-pathogen interactions during the course of an infection revealed an amazing variability of bacterial pathogens within the same host tissue site. This heterogeneity in bacterial populations is either the result of a different bacterial response to a slightly divergent tissue microenvironment or is caused by a genetic circuit in which small endogenous fluctuations in a small number of transcription factors drive gene expression in combination with a positive ...
Source: Microbes and Infection - July 10, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Abscisic acid: new perspectives on an ancient universal stress signaling molecule
Publication date: Available online 1 February 2018Source: Microbes and InfectionAuthor(s): Cassandra L. Olds, Elizabeth K.K. Glennon, Shirley LuckhartAbstractFew biological molecules have as far reaching and dynamic effects as abscisic acid (ABA). In this review, we draw together the often segregated fields of plant, animal, and human biology to highlight ABA biosynthesis, signaling and physiological effects with examples of host-pathogen interactions to emphasize the cross-kingdom biology of this ancient signaling molecule. (Source: Microbes and Infection)
Source: Microbes and Infection - July 10, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
