Progress in 2013

Energy-coupling factor transporters mediate the uptake of essential micronutrients in prokaryotes. On the basis of recent structural studies, Dirk Slotboom discusses a testable model for the unusual mechanism of transport that is involved and considers the implications for our understanding of membrane transporters.

Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) are staphylococcal toxins with multiple roles in staphylococcal infection. Here, Peschel and Otto discuss recent progress made in our understanding of the biochemical and genetic properties of PSMs and their role inStaphylococcus aureus pathogenesis.

The combination of transposon mutagenesis with next-generation sequencing has emerged as a useful tool for identifying putative gene function in a high-throughput manner. Here, van Opijnen and Camilli describe the four main techniques that are used for this purpose, with a focus on their application for uncovering bacterial gene function.

Recent studies have revealed a role for host translation inhibition in the innate immune surveillance and detection of bacterial pathogens. Lemaitre and Girardin review these findings and discuss whether translation inhibition is a direct innate immune signal or rather part of a more general metabolic stress response to infection.

N-glycosylation was first reported in archaea almost 40 years ago. However, as Jerry Eichler describes in this Progress article, it is only recently, with the ready availability of archaeal genome sequences and new and improved molecular tools, that we have begun to make major advances in our understanding of this crucial post-translational modification.