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To successfully invade bacteria, bacteriophages and other mobile genetic elements must overcome numerous types of bacterial defence systems. Here, the authors review the discovery and mechanisms of direct inhibitors of bacterial defence systems, as well as their applications in biotechnology.
Beer et al. use multiple complementary approaches to show that declining densities of the Tasmanian devil have had evolutionary effects on gene flow and selection in the subordinate predator, the spotted-tail quoll.
In this Review, Patrick Keeling proposes that the eukaryotic-specific processes of phagocytosis and endosymbiosis are unlikely to increase the frequency of horizontal gene transfers, because most of the transferred genes will be non-essential and will thus not be selected for the long term.
In this Review, the authors summarize recent progress in cell–cell interaction (CCI) research. They describe the recent evolution in computational tools that underpin CCI studies, discuss improvements in experimental methods enabling more high-throughput analyses of CCIs, and highlight future directions for the field.
Genomic technologies have greatly improved the diagnosis of rare genetic diseases. Here, the authors review emerging approaches for the identification of disease-causal genetic variants as well as omic technologies that show great potential for variant interpretation.
In this Review, the authors summarize and discuss guidelines for omics benchmarking. They highlight common oversights and difficulties, offer guidance for frequently encountered issues and provide a structured form that can be used for comprehensive reporting of benchmarking studies.
In this Review, Hwang and co-authors outline single-molecule fluorescence imaging techniques that can be used in living cells to visualize individual molecules involved in the spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression. This Review also delves into the biological insights gained through these methodologies.
Mashaal Sohail reflects on a 2011 Nature study by Smillie et al., which analysed human microbiome data to show that microbial ecology, rather than phylogeny or geography, is a key driver of horizontal gene transfer.
Two papers in Nature Biotechnology report spatial transcriptomic methods for the simultaneous capture of host and microbial genes to study host–microorganism interactions.
This Perspective reviews large-scale genomics and longitudinal phenomics efforts and the insights they can provide into wellness. The authors describe their vision for the transformation of the current health care from disease-oriented to data-driven, wellness-oriented and personalized population health.
Aashiq Kachroo highlights a recent paper by van Loggerenberg et al. that demonstrates the experimental power of ‘humanized yeast’ to gain insight into the genetic variants underlying disease.
In this Review, the authors describe the evolutionary conservation and divergence of the meiotic recombination machinery, focusing on proteins that are required for meiotic double-strand break formation, double-strand break repair via homologous recombination and the formation of crossover and non-crossover recombinant DNA molecules.
In this Perspective, Carolyn Hogg discusses the utility of genomic data to conservation and the importance of adopting a translational mindset to ensure that genomics is used to its full potential to protect Earths’ declining biodiversity.
In this Review, the authors summarize the biological roles of chromatin remodellers and describe the complex mechanisms that underpin their specific functions, with an emphasis on evidence from large-scale genetic studies.
Segun Fatumo highlights a paper by Mahajan et al. that uses a multi-ancestry genome-wide association studies approach to uncover the genetic underpinnings of type 2 diabetes, emphasizing the importance of incorporating diverse populations in such studies.
Geopolitical instability has prompted renewed discussions on the risks of DNA technology being weaponized in international conflict. With today’s changing security environment, the authors argue that risk assessments must be broadened from genetically targeted weapons to a series of new domains.
