Volume 1 Issue 8, August 2016

Multi-omic techniques are often seen as the future of microbiome studies. We argue that recent strategies for simplifying complex omic-derived data will need to be combined with improved cultivation techniques to pave the way towards a more targeted approach for understanding microbial communities.

Few science writers capture the attention of readers quite like Ed Yong, columnist for The Atlantic, author of soon-to-be-published I Contain Multitudes, and all-round nice guy. We asked Ed a few questions; it felt like taking Lewis Hamilton out for a Sunday drive.

Whole genome sequencing is often used to determine the presence of known antimicrobial resistance genes and identify new resistance mechanisms. However, without phenotypic confirmation of resistance, caution needs to be taken in attributing relevance to any genes hitherto not shown to confer drug resistance.

Following the success of the inaugural games, the Microbial Olympics return with a new series of events and microbial competitors. The games may have moved to a new hosting venue, but the dedication to training, fitness, competition (and yes, education and humour) lives on.

Scientific analysis of funding support suggests that interdisciplinary research proposals are less successful than those focused on single disciplines. This has negative implications for the development of interdisciplinary research such as microbiology, and may hinder our ability to solve society's grand challenges.

The surprising discovery of viable mutants that retain a peptidoglycan cell wall but lack the essential director of normal cytokinesis, FtsZ, reveals that Escherichia coli can proliferate in a completely unexpected manner.

Deep sequencing of hydrothermal vent and upper ocean water samples further implicate the ocean as a microbial ‘seed bank’. Do these data finally reveal that everything is everywhere? To some extent, but questions remain as to whether these ocean-borne microbes are, in fact, viable and colonize distant locales.

A new study provides clues to the physiological function of amyloid-β (Aβ), the plaque-forming peptide associated with Alzheimer's disease and finds a role for Aβ in fighting infection in the brain, by entangling pathogens in a web of amyloid fibrils. These data add to a growing appreciation of the role of microorganisms in neurodegenerative disease.

The interconnected processes in Escherichia coli K12 governing protein transport, folding and membrane insertion are reviewed.

Influenza virus PB2 and M1 induce translocation of host protein CLUH from the cytoplasm to SC35-positive speckles in the nucleoplasm where it has a role in subnuclear transport of the viral ribonucleoprotein.

Pelagibacter simultaneously produces the biogenic gases methanethiol and dimethyl sulfide from dimethylsulfoniopropionate, regulated by a kinetic switch that balances DMSP allocation between each pathway depending on cellular sulfur demands.

Systems level analysis finds two transcription factors, Rv0324 and Rv0880, are required for Mycobacterium tuberculosis tolerance to bedaquiline.

Orphan CRISPR4 arrays contain anti-cas spacers that prevent uptake of additional CRISPR–Cas systems.

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) gHgLgO trimer binds with high affinity through the gO subunit to platelet-derived growth factor-α receptor (PDGFRα), which is expressed on fibroblasts but not on epithelial cells.

Bioinformatic analysis discovers five new anti-CRISPR–Cas families, including one that targets both CRISPR–Cas I-F and I-E systems.

Organisms previously thought to be endemic to marine hydrothermal vents have been found in the pelagic realm, albeit at low abundance, supporting the open ocean seed bank hypothesis for the colonization of geographically distant vent habitats.

A manually curated metabolic module framework for (meta)genomic data analysis identifies species-function relationships in gut microbial genomes and microbiomes, revealing significant genus-level metabolic diversification linked to bacterial life-strategy.

A lentiviral screening platform for camelid-derived antibody fragments (VHHs) identifies 19 antiviral VHHs that protect human cells from influenza A virus or vesicular stomatitis virus by preventing vRNP nuclear import or mRNA transcription.

Branched growth and division of bacteria with a cell wall but without a Z-ring may shed light on the evolution of bacterial morphogenesis.

Clostridium difficile CDT toxin suppresses protective host eosinophilic responses through TLR2 signalling to induce inflammation.