Viral infection: CRISPR – Cas enhances HGT by transduction
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 186 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.28
Author: Andrea Du Toit
The major mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in bacteria are natural transformation, conjugation and transduction (phage-mediated transfer of bacterial DNA). In addition to a role in phage resistance, CRISPR–Cas systems have been shown to inhibit conjugation and transformation, whereas their role in transduction is (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 26, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Antimicrobials: Breaking ground for new antibiotics
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 186 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.27
Author: Andrea Du Toit
Antimicrobial drug discovery has focused on bacteria growing in cultures, but now, Brady and colleagues have developed a culture-independent natural product discovery platform. Using a metagenome-based approach, they analysed >2,000 soil samples from diverse environments and reported the discovery of novel antibiotics, termed malacidins. Malacidins (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 26, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Cellular microbiology: Lysozyme protects bacteria from β -lactams
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 183 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.26
Author: Ashley York
A recent study reports that host lysozyme counteracts β-lactam-mediated killing of some
bacteria by promoting efficient L-form switching. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 26, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Hopanoid lipids: from membranes to plant – bacteria interactions
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 304 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.173
Authors: Brittany J. Belin, Nicolas Busset, Eric Giraud, Antonio Molinaro, Alba Silipo & Dianne K. Newman
Lipid research represents a frontier for microbiology, as showcased by hopanoid lipids. Hopanoids, which resemble sterols and are found in the membranes of diverse bacteria, have left an extensive molecular fossil record. They were first discovered by petroleum geologists. Today, hopanoid-producing bacteria remain abundant in (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 19, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Brittany J. Belin Nicolas Busset Eric Giraud Antonio Molinaro Alba Silipo Dianne K. Newman Tags: Review Source Type: research
Ecology and evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 202 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.8
Author: Sebastien Gagneux
Tuberculosis (TB) is the number one cause of human death due to an infectious disease. The causative agents of TB are a group of closely related bacteria known as the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). As the MTBC exhibits a clonal population structure with low (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 19, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Sebastien Gagneux Tags: Review Source Type: research
A new piece in the microbiome puzzle
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 186 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.24
Authors: Lindsay J. Pike & Samuel C. Forster
This month's Genome Watch discusses the detailed analysis of the human 'archaeome' from various body sites and highlights how current sequencing methods underestimate archaeal diversity and abundance. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 19, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Lindsay J. Pike Samuel C. Forster Tags: News and Analysis Source Type: research
Bacterial pathogenesis: Channelling the host epigenome
This study reports that the P. aeruginosa type III secretion system translocon functions as a pore-forming toxin that triggers the modification of histones in eukaryotic cells. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 19, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Neisseria gonorrhoeae host adaptation and pathogenesis
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 226 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.169
Authors: Sarah Jane Quillin & H Steven Seifert
The host-adapted human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of gonorrhoea. Consistent with its proposed evolution from an ancestral commensal bacterium, N. gonorrhoeae has retained features that are common in commensals, but it has also developed unique features that are crucial to (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 12, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Sarah Jane Quillin H Steven Seifert Tags: Review Source Type: research
Rewiring cellular networks by members of the Flaviviridae family
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 125 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.170
Authors: Christopher J. Neufeldt, Mirko Cortese, Eliana G. Acosta & Ralf Bartenschlager
Members of the Flaviviridae virus family comprise a large group of enveloped viruses with a single-strand RNA genome of positive polarity. Several genera belong to this family, including the Hepacivirus genus, of which hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the prototype member, and the (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 12, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Christopher J. Neufeldt Mirko Cortese Eliana G. Acosta Ralf Bartenschlager Tags: Review Source Type: research
Viral infection: Breathing alone may spread the flu
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 123 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.23
Author: Ashley York
Influenza viruses have been proposed to spread through aerosols, but the importance of this mode of transmission between humans is unclear. Now, Yan et al. provide evidence that humans generate infectious aerosols by characterizing the virus in exhaled breath during natural breathing, prompted speech, (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 12, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Biofilms: Naturally modified cellulose in bacterial biofilms
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 123 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.22
Author: Ashley York
Cellulose, a linear polysaccharide polymer, has a structural role in bacterial biofilms by providing a scaffold that protects and supports the growth of the biofilm. A recent study reported the structure of phosphoethanolamine cellulose, a modified cellulose that is produced by Escherichia coli and (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 12, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Marine microbiology: A new tale for oceanic viruses
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 123 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.21
Author: Ashley York
Double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses that infect bacteria and archaea are thought to be the most abundant viruses in the oceans. Electron microscopy analyses have indicated that most oceanic viruses are non-tailed; however, tailed dsDNA viruses dominate sequence and culture collections, suggesting that we have a (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 12, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Bacterial physiology: Spacers go off-site
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 122 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.20
Author: Andrea Du Toit
During the CRISPR–Cas adaptation process, the Cas1–Cas2 complex inserts new spacers between the leader sequence and the first repeat of the CRISPR array. Now, Nivala et al. report that non-canonical off-target integrations can occur in vivo at CRISPR repeat-like sequences within the genome (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 12, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Antimicrobials: Bacterial enzymes 'straighten out' antibiotics
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 122 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.19
Author: Andrea Du Toit
Bacteria use diverse mechanisms to overcome antibiotics, including their destruction or chemical modification. Rifamycins, which are semi-synthetic antibiotics, adopt a characteristic basket-like structure that is essential for binding to the RNA exit tunnel of the target β-subunit of bacterial RNA polymerase to inhibit RNA synthesis. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 12, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Environmental microbiology: Attracting bacteria in the soil
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 122 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2018.18
Author: Andrea Du Toit
Plants release various secondary metabolites through their roots, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have been implicated as antimicrobials or as chemoattractants. Here, the authors developed a glass olfactometer system in which bacteria that were inoculated at one end in a soil-containing glass tube could (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - February 12, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
