Microorganisms maintain crowding homeostasis
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 309 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.17
Authors: Jonas van den Berg, Arnold J. Boersma & Bert Poolman
Macromolecular crowding affects the mobility of biomolecules, protein folding and stability, and the association of macromolecules with each other. Local differences in crowding that arise as a result of subcellular components and supramolecular assemblies contribute to the structural organization of the cytoplasm. In this Opinion (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 27, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Jonas van den Berg Arnold J. Boersma Bert Poolman Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
Structural biology: In situ architecture of the type III secretion system
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 256 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.36
Author: Shimona Starling
Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are multi-protein assemblies that traverse the inner and outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria and deliver effectors into host cells. They comprise an outer membrane needle complex, an inner membrane export apparatus and a cytoplasmic sorting platform. High-resolution structures of the (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 27, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Shimona Starling Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Viral evolution: On the origin of capsids
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 256 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.35
Author: Ashley York
The origin and evolution of viruses is a topic of debate; in particular, the timing and relationship of cellular and viral evolution are controversial. To identify cellular homologues of viral proteins, Krupovic and Koonin performed an analysis of sequences and structures of capsid and nucleocapsid (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 27, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Environmental microbiology: Is evidence for ancient microbial life set in stone?
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 256 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.34
Author: Shimona Starling
Ancient oceanic hydrothermal vents may have been one of the earliest habitable environments on Earth. Dodd et al. examined ferruginous sedimentary rock from the Nuvvuagittuq supracrustal belt (NSB) in Quebec, Canada, for the presence of microfossils that are suggestive of early microbial life. The (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 27, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Shimona Starling Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Bacterial physiology: When things turn sour for Helicobacter
This study reports that BabA-mediated adherence to gastric epithelial cells is acid-sensitive and enables efficient adaptation to changes in gastric mucosal pH. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 27, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Evolve and survive
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 258 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.31
Author: Alena Pance
This month's Genome Watch explores how in vitro directed evolution can be used to identify the target of a drug for the treatment of Chagas disease, which is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 27, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Alena Pance Tags: News and Analysis Source Type: research
Xerotolerant bacteria: surviving through a dry spell
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 285 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.16
Authors: Pedro H. Lebre, Pieter De Maayer & Don A. Cowan
Water is vital for many biological processes and is essential for all living organisms. However, numerous macroorganisms and microorganisms have adapted to survive in environments in which water is scarce; such organisms are collectively termed xerotolerant. With increasing global desertification due to climate change and (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 20, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Pedro H. Lebre Pieter De Maayer Don A. Cowan Tags: Review Source Type: research
The microbiota of the respiratory tract: gatekeeper to respiratory health
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 259 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.14
Authors: Wing Ho Man, Wouter A.A. de Steenhuijsen Piters & Debby Bogaert
The respiratory tract is a complex organ system that is responsible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The human respiratory tract spans from the nostrils to the lung alveoli and is inhabited by niche-specific communities of bacteria. The microbiota of the respiratory tract (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 20, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Wing Ho Man Wouter A.A. de Steenhuijsen Piters Debby Bogaert Tags: Review Source Type: research
Bringing Treponema into the spotlight
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 196 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.23
Authors: Isobel Everall & Leonor Sánchez-Busó
This month's Genome Watch highlights how culture-independent selective enrichment approaches coupled to whole-genome sequencing enable the analysis of unculturable microorganisms. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 12, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Isobel Everall Leonor S ánchez-Busó Tags: News and Analysis Source Type: research
Symbiosis: Wolbachia's matchmaking secret revealed
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 194 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.25
Author: Ursula Hofer
Two new studies identify the basis of cytoplasmic incompatibility, a process by which obligate intracellular Wolbachia bacteria favour their inheritance in their female insect hosts. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 12, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ursula Hofer Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Bacterial physiology: Treadmilling runs bacterial division
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 193 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.24
Author: Ashley York
Two new studies show that FtsZ treadmilling controls and organizes cell wall synthesis to drive bacterial cell division. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 12, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Virulence of the zoonotic agent of leptospirosis: still terra incognita?
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 297 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.5
Author: Mathieu Picardeau
Pathogenic leptospires are the bacterial agents of leptospirosis, which is an emerging zoonotic disease that affects animals and humans worldwide. The success of leptospires as pathogens is explained by their spiral shape and endoflagellar motility (which enable these spirochetes to rapidly cross connective tissues and (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - March 6, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Mathieu Picardeau Tags: Review Source Type: research
Nuclear landscape of HIV-1 infection and integration
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 254 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.22
Author: Marina Lusic & Robert F. Siliciano
Nature Reviews Microbiology15, 69–82 (2017)In the first paragraph of the section 'Sequence specificity and chromatin determinants', at the end of the sixth sentence an incorrect reference is cited. In the following sentence accurate information is now provided (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 26, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Marina Lusic Robert F. Siliciano Tags: Corrigendum Source Type: research
Mimivirus: leading the way in the discovery of giant viruses of amoebae
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 243 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2016.197
Authors: Philippe Colson, Bernard La Scola, Anthony Levasseur, Gustavo Caetano-Anollés & Didier Raoult
The accidental discovery of the giant virus of amoeba — Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus (APMV; more commonly known as mimivirus) — in 2003 changed the field of virology. Viruses were previously defined by their submicroscopic size, which probably prevented the search for giant viruses, which (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 26, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Philippe Colson Bernard La Scola Anthony Levasseur Gustavo Caetano-Anoll és Didier Raoult Tags: Review Source Type: research
Anti-trypanosomatid drug discovery: an ongoing challenge and a continuing need
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 217 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2016.193
Authors: Mark C. Field, David Horn, Alan H. Fairlamb, Michael A. J. Ferguson, David W. Gray, Kevin D. Read, Manu De Rycker, Leah S. Torrie, Paul G. Wyatt, Susan Wyllie & Ian H. Gilbert
The WHO recognizes human African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease and the leishmaniases as neglected tropical diseases. These diseases are caused by parasitic trypanosomatids and range in severity from mild and self-curing to near invariably fatal. Public health advances have substantially decreased the effect of these diseases (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 26, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Mark C. Field David Horn Alan H. Fairlamb Michael A. J. Ferguson David W. Gray Kevin D. Read Manu De Rycker Leah S. Torrie Paul G. Wyatt Susan Wyllie Ian H. Gilbert Tags: Review Source Type: research
