Bacterial pathogenesis: Bacteriophages, the glue that holds bacteria together
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 514 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.96
Author: Ashley York
A recent study provides a mechanism by which a bacteriophage may increase the translocation of Neisseria meningitidis into the bloodstream. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - August 7, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Bacterial physiology: Efflux pumps, fitness and virulence
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 512 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.97
Author: Andrea Du Toit
Two new studies explore the effect of overexpression of efflux pumps on bacterial fitness as well as the effect of loss of efflux function on virulence. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - August 7, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrea Du Toit Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Prediction of antibiotic resistance: time for a new preclinical paradigm?
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 689 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.75
Authors: Morten O. A. Sommer, Christian Munck, Rasmus Vendler Toft-Kehler & Dan I. Andersson
Predicting the future is difficult, especially for evolutionary processes that are influenced by numerous unknown factors. Still, this is what is required of drug developers when they assess the risk of resistance arising against a new antibiotic candidate during preclinical development. In this Opinion article, (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 31, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Morten O. A. Sommer Christian Munck Rasmus Vendler Toft-Kehler Dan I. Andersson Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
Parasite genomics: Screening for the essentials
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 513 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.94
Author: Ashley York
Functional genome-wide screens in Plasmodium spp. parasites, the causative agents of malaria, have been lacking, as they are refractory to genetic manipulation. Now, a new study by Bushell et al. reports the findings of an in vivo genetic screen that identified essential (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 31, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Viral pathogenesis: Finding the enemy within
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 513 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.93
Author: Ashley York
Ebola virus (EBOV) can persist for many months after survivors have recovered from acute EBOV disease and cause post-EBOV syndrome. Understanding EBOV persistence in vivo has been challenging owing to the lack of an animal model, but now Zeng et al. report the (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 31, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Bacterial physiology: Raising the alarm
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 513 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.92
Author: Ashley York
The targeted degradation of foreign nucleic acids by type III CRISPR–Cas systems is mediated by the multisubunit Csm interference complex. In addition, the CRISPR-associated protein Csm6 ribonuclease, which does not form part of the Csm complex, degrades foreign RNAs to provide full immunity, but how (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 31, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Biofilms: Building up the matrix
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 512 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.91
Author: Irene Vacca
Two independent recent studies have revealed how distinct components of the biofilm matrix contribute to its architectural stability and functionality. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 31, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Irene Vacca Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Prokaryotic Argonaute proteins: novel genome-editing tools?
Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 5 (2018).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.73
Authors: Jorrit W. Hegge, Daan C. Swarts & John van der Oost
Argonaute proteins constitute a highly diverse family of nucleic acid-guided proteins. They were first discovered in eukaryotes as key proteins in RNA interference systems, but homologous prokaryotic Argonaute proteins (pAgos) have also been found in archaea and bacteria. In this Progress article, we focus on (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 24, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Jorrit W. Hegge Daan C. Swarts John van der Oost Tags: Progress Source Type: research
Antimalarial drug discovery — approaches and progress towards new medicines
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 572 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.88
Author: Erika L. Flannery, Arnab K. Chatterjee & Elizabeth A. Winzeler
Nature Reviews Microbiology11, 849–862 (2013)In the above article, the structure of DSM265 in figure 3 was missing a methyl group. This has now been corrected in the PDF and online. We apologize to readers for any confusion (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 24, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Erika L. Flannery Arnab K. Chatterjee Elizabeth A. Winzeler Tags: Erratum Source Type: research
Viral infection: When two become one
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 511 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.85
Author: Ashley York
Two recent studies provide new insights into the fusion stage of HIV-1 entry. (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 24, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ashley York Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Legionella and Coxiella effectors: strength in diversity and activity
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 591 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.67
Authors: Jiazhang Qiu & Zhao-Qing Luo
Legionella pneumophila and Coxiella burnetii are two evolutionarily related intracellular pathogens that use the Dot/Icm type IV secretion system to translocate effectors into host cells. These effectors are essential for the establishment of membrane-bound compartments known as replication vacuoles, which enable the survival (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 17, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Jiazhang Qiu Zhao-Qing Luo Tags: Review Source Type: research
Structural biology: Insights into bacterial microcompartments
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 451 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.84
Author: Irene Vacca
Many bacteria have primitive proteinaceous organelles that are known as bacterial microcompartments (BMCs). All BMCs share a common architecture, with a selectively permeable protein shell that encapsulates different metabolic enzymes. Although detailed structural information is available for the single components of the shell, how the (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 13, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Irene Vacca Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Viral evolution: Every flu evolves in the same way
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 451 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.83
Author: Irene Vacca
Influenza viruses, similarly to other viruses, rapidly acquire de novo mutations when they replicate within their host cells.However, how the emergence of viral variants in the host is reflected at a global scale is still poorly understood. In a new study, Xue et al (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 13, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Irene Vacca Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Microbiota: Leishmaniasis breaks the equilibrium
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 451 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.82
Author: Irene Vacca
The skin microbiota affects wound healing, inflammatory and immune responses to infections, and chronic skin diseases. Gimblet et al. investigated the role of the skin microbiota in cutaneous leishmaniasis and found that infection with Leishmania spp. parasites caused a decrease in bacterial diversity (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 13, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Irene Vacca Tags: Research Highlight Source Type: research
Interbacterial predation as a strategy for DNA acquisition in naturally competent bacteria
Nature Reviews Microbiology 15, 621 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.66
Authors: Jan-Willem Veening & Melanie Blokesch
Natural competence enables bacteria to take up exogenous DNA. The evolutionary function of natural competence remains controversial, as imported DNA can act as a source of substrates or can be integrated into the genome. Exogenous homologous DNA can also be used for genome repair. In (Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology)
Source: Nature Reviews Microbiology - July 10, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Jan-Willem Veening Melanie Blokesch Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
