Opinion in 2013

In this Opinion article, Kenneth Bayles describes our current knowledge of programmed cell death in bacteria and argues that the processes involved are functionally analogous to eukaryotic systems. On the basis of recent observations, a testable model to guide further investigations in the field is presented.

Antonio Cassone outlines why he thinks univalent subunit vaccines targetingCandida albicansare unlikely to succeed and argues that the development of a multivalent vaccine could be a better approach.

Richards and Talbot propose that in osmotrophic eukaryotic microorganisms, horizontal gene transfer has had a major role in reconfiguring osmotrophic functions, which involve the production and acquisition of public goods.

Assessing the genetic variation of bacteria has become ever more complex as more sequencing data has become available. Here, Maiden and colleagues propose a gene-by-gene approach of analysing whole-genome data; this approach is based on their experience with multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and reflects the functional and evolutionary relationships among bacteria.

In budding yeast, growth at the neck region connecting the mother and daughter cell is prevented by a septin ring inside the cell membrane and a chitin ring in the cell wall. Cabib and Arroyo describe recent work supporting the hypothesis that the attachment of the chitin ring to β-1,3-glucan is crucial for the control of morphogenesis at the neck.

Although the gut microbiota has been linked to a wide range of diseases in humans, including type 2 diabetes and obesity, moving from correlation to causation is notoriously difficult. In this Opinion article, Liping Zhao discusses some of the correlations that have been made between the microbiota and obesity to date, and how to move towards causation using the conceptual framework of Koch's postulates.

Although great progress has been made in the field of dengue research, there are still many unanswered questions concerning the interactions between dengue virus and the human immune system. In this Opinion article, Gubler and colleagues discuss the gaps in our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of dengue virus and call for a reassessment of the animal models used in the preclinical stages of dengue research.

The bacterial nucleoid was first described more than 50 years ago, but the recent application of new imaging technologies and physical analytical methods has brought fresh insights to the structure of the DNA within the nucleoid. Here, Charles Dorman discusses these insights and argues that, in addition to DNA topology and nucleoid-associated proteins, gene regulation is an important organizing principle of nucleoid architecture.

Perturbations in the gut microbiota can lead to a state of dysbiosis, which may involve 'blooming' of potentially harmful bacteria. Here, Hardt and colleagues propose that such bacteria blooms promote horizontal gene transfer between members of the gut ecosystem, thereby facilitating pathogen evolution.

In this Opinon article, Cornforth and Foster argue that several of the major bacterial stress responses detect ecological competition directly through competition sensing, a physiological response that detects harm caused by other cells and that evolved, at least in part, for that purpose. In support of this argument, they show that bacteriocins and antibiotics are frequently upregulated by stress responses to nutrient limitation and cell damage but not by responses to abiotic stress.