The evolution of seasonal influenza viruses
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 47 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.118
Authors: Velislava N. Petrova & Colin A. Russell
Despite decades of surveillance and pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions, seasonal influenza viruses continue to cause epidemics around the world each year. The key process underlying these recurrent epidemics is the evolution of the viruses to escape the immunity that is induced by prior infection or (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 30, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Velislava N. Petrova Colin A. Russell Tags: Review Source Type: research
Genome watch: Microbiota shuns the modern world
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 710 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.136
Authors: Nitin Kumar & Samuel C. Forster
This month's Genome Watch highlights the variation in gut microbiota across different human communities and explores how this is associated with lifestyle and diet. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 30, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Nitin Kumar Samuel C. Forster Tags: News and Analysis Source Type: research
Techniques & applications: Expanding the genetic toolbox for fungi
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 709 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.141
Author: Andrea Du Toit
Candida albicans is a common fungal pathogen of humans, but genetic interaction analysis has been limited in this diploid organism. To overcome the technical restrictions, Shapiro, Chavez et al. developed a CRISPR–Cas9-based gene drive array (GDA) platform that can efficiently generate homozygous double-gene (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 30, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Marine microbiology: Synchronized rhythms in the ocean
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 709 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.140
Author: Andrea Du Toit
Viruses are key components of marine ecosystems; however, the temporal dynamics, diversity and variability of viruses in these ecosystems are not well understood. The authors surveyed the diversity and temporal dynamics of viral assemblages over daily and seasonal timescales in waters of the North Pacific (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 30, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Viral evolution: Closely monitoring influenza virus
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 709 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.139
Author: Andrea Du Toit
Human infections with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H7N9 viruses have been detected in China, which raises concerns of a future pandemic, particularly if these viruses acquire efficient human-to-human transmissibility. However, the replication capacity, pathogenicity and transmissibility of human HPAI H7N9 isolates in mammals were (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 30, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Microbiome: The microbiota's cryptic message
This study shows how the crypt microbiota and the LPS that they produce alter epithelial proliferation and differentiation in the colon. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 30, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ursula Hofer Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
New opportunities for managing acute and chronic lung infections
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 111 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.122
Authors: William O. C. M. Cookson, Michael J. Cox & Miriam F. Moffatt
Lung diseases caused by microbial infections affect hundreds of millions of children and adults throughout the world. In Western populations, the treatment of lung infections is a primary driver of antibiotic resistance. Traditional therapeutic strategies have been based on the premise that the healthy lung (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 24, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: William O. C. M. Cookson Michael J. Cox Miriam F. Moffatt Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
Anti-CRISPR: discovery, mechanism and function
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 12 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.120
Authors: April Pawluk, Alan R. Davidson & Karen L. Maxwell
CRISPR–Cas adaptive immune systems are widespread among bacteria and archaea. Recent studies have shown that these systems have minimal long-term evolutionary effects in limiting horizontal gene transfer. This suggests that the ability to evade CRISPR–Cas immunity must also be widespread in phages and other mobile (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 24, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: April Pawluk Alan R. Davidson Karen L. Maxwell Tags: Progress Source Type: research
Bacterial pathogenesis: Activating Helicobacter effector delivery
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 708 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.135
Author: Irene Vacca
A recent study revealed how H. pylori opens cell-to-cell junctions and traverses the gastric epithelium to bind to basolateral integrins, thereby activating the assembly and function of its type IV secretion system. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 24, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Irene Vacca Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Diagnosing antimicrobial resistance
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 697 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.103
Authors: Carey-Ann D. Burnham, Jennifer Leeds, Patrice Nordmann, Justin O'Grady & Jean Patel
Antimicrobial resistance constitutes a global burden and is one of the major threats to public health. Although the emergence of resistant microorganisms is a natural phenomenon, the overuse or inappropriate use of antimicrobials has had a great effect on resistance evolution. Rapid diagnostic tests that (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 12, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Carey-Ann D. Burnham Jennifer Leeds Patrice Nordmann Justin O'Grady Jean Patel Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
Novel vaccine vectors for HIV-1
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 696 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.134
Author: Dan H. Barouch & Louis J. Picker
Nature Reviews Microbiology12, 765–771 (2014)On page 768 of the article, the text has been changed to clarify that all vaccinated and control animals were challenged until documentation of SIV infection by virological and/or immunological criteria.Furthermore, (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 12, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Dan H. Barouch Louis J. Picker Tags: Corrigendum Source Type: research
The commensal lifestyle of Staphylococcus aureus and its interactions with the nasal microbiota
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 675 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.104
Authors: Bernhard Krismer, Christopher Weidenmaier, Alexander Zipperer & Andreas Peschel
Although human colonization by facultative bacterial pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, represents a major risk factor for invasive infections, the commensal lifestyle of such pathogens has remained a neglected area of research. S. aureus colonizes the nares of approximately 30% of the human (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 12, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Bernhard Krismer Christopher Weidenmaier Alexander Zipperer Andreas Peschel Tags: Review Source Type: research
Fungal physiology: Two for the price of one
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 643 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.132
Author: Ashley York
Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen that forms part of the commensal microbiota. After initial colonization, C. albicans adapts to environmental changes, particularly in response to stresses, such as antifungal treatment. For example, gain-of-function mutations in fungal transcription factors confer new phenotypes and (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 12, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Bacterial physiology: Making a memory
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 643 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.131
Author: Ashley York
CRISPR–Cas immune systems integrate short fragments of foreign DNA into CRISPR arrays within the host genome as a record against future encounters. Integration into the CRISPR locus is mediated by the CRISPR integrase, a heterohexameric complex of four Cas1 and two Cas2 proteins, and requires (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 12, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Microbiome: Diving deeper into the communities
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 643 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.130
Author: Andrea Du Toit
The Human Microbiome Project has improved our understanding of microbial and functional diversity. Lloyd-Price, Mahurkar et al. now report an expanded data set from the study, comprising 1,631 new metagenomes (2,355 total) from diverse body sites at multiple time points in 265 individuals. Strain-level (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - October 12, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
