Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Whole genomes of 185 atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) isolates reveal 30 LEE (locus of enterocyte effacement) subtypes in 3 major lineages, varying in insertion site preference and their complement of non-LEE encoded effector genes.
Comparative genomics of 70 lethal, non-lethal symptomatic and asymptomatic enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) isolates identifies the virulence-associated genes that are significantly more prevalent in symptomatic and lethal infections.
Streptococcus pyogenes (also known as group A Streptococcus or GAS) streptolysin S (SLS)-mediated red blood cell lysis occurs through disruption of the function of major erythrocyte anion exchange protein, band 3, leading to Cl- ion influx.
Tetrahydropyrazo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carboxamide (THPP) targets the essential non-catalytic enoyl-CoA hydratase homologue EchA6 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and not MmpL3 as previously thought.
Surface topography and fluid flow combine to modify quorum sensing communication in bacterial biofilms, changing the way we think about the interaction of biofilms with external physical forces and the implications for persistence in chronic infections and industrial fouling.
A recent analysis of microbial community dynamics shows that, contrary to current assumption, too much cooperation among species can destabilize their communities. This is a first step towards understanding what makes a stable microbiome and, thus, transforming microbiome research into a more predictive science.
Advances in culturing hepatitis C virus have given hope for a universal cell culture system amenable to primary isolate replication. However, low replication efficiency needs to be overcome. The development of fully susceptible yet immunocompetent in vivo models would aid research towards a prophylactic vaccine.
The Renaissance was a time marked by renewed appreciation of the achievements that came before and the re-ignited desire to uncover new insights into the order of the natural world, a description that is equally apt for the microbiology field of today.
Michele Banks (also known as @artologica) is a US-based painter and collage artist whose works are based on scientific and medical themes, and who has a particular fascination with all things microbial. We caught up with Michele to ask about her art and the inspiration behind it.
High-throughput population genomics reveals how the evolution of chromosome arrangement and sequence divergence followed by secondary contact upon glacier retreat initiates homoploid hybrid speciation in natural populations of the budding yeast Saccharomyces paradoxus.
Combining a map of human and animal melioidosis cases and the presence of environmental Burkholderia pseudomallei in a formal modelling framework to estimate the global burden of the disease reveals that it is severely under-reported.
Most viral genomes and replicases are encased in a proteinaceous coat known as a capsid. Here, the authors identify a curious case of an obligate association between two RNA viruses in which one of the viruses misappropriates the capsid coat from the other, a process known as trans-encapsidation.
Quorum sensing (QS) systems in bacteria coordinate collective behaviour through the use of secreted signal molecules called autoinducers. Here, the authors identify conditions under which flow can activate or repress QS in S. aureus and V. cholera.
A crystal structure of the C. difficile toxin TcdA reveals a requirement for zinc during autoprocessing and a delivery domain involved in the pH-dependent pore formation that allows the toxin to exit the endosome.
Bacterial symbionts in natural populations of the stinkbug Plautia stali are undergoing an evolutionary transition from a free-living lifestyle in the environment to obligate mutualism.
A survey of federally supported microbiome research in the United States of America over fiscal years 2012–2014 and implications for the funding of future microbiome research in the US and beyond.
Natural populations of Saccharomyces paradoxus in which rapid evolution of chromosome architecture and contact between nascent species drove the formation of a new species through homoploid hybrid speciation.
Genome-wide 3ʹ-end mapping shows that Bacillus subtilis terminators that depend on NusA have weak hairpins and/or distal U-tract interruptions, suggesting NusA is directly involved in the termination mechanism.
