Volume 12 Issue 1, January 2014

Two studies report novel approaches to eradicate bacterial persisters, both of which involve proteolysis by the ClpP protease.

In the archaeonHaloferax volcanii, origin depletion results in a fitness advantage and replication is initiated by homologous recombination.

A study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis shows a potential role of the gut bacteriumPrevotella copriin the development of this autoimmune disease.

A study in transplant recipients shows that virome composition and size depends on immunocompetence.

Two newStaphylococcus aureusvirulence factors convert neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) to deoxyadenosine, which triggers macrophage apoptosis.

A new study shows that, in mice, motile commensal bacteria are prevented from crossing the mucosal barrier by the TLR5-induced production of anti-flagellin antibodies, which both immobilize the bacteria and downregulate flagellar gene expression.

A 'multi-omics', systems-based approach reveals the details of electron flow in a syntrophic relationship between twoGeobacterspecies.

This month's Genome Watch highlights recent studies that have characterized the reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes in the human gut microbiota.

Here, Gahlmann and Moerner describe single-molecule imaging in live bacterial cells, which has transformed the study of bacterial cell biology. They discuss the insights that have been gained about the bacterial cytoskeleton, nucleoid organization and chromosome segregation and partitioning, as well as transcription and translation.

Oncolytic viruses can infect and destroy tumour tissues; however, many have proven less effective in clinical trials than anticipated. Miest and Cattaneo outline strategies to enhance the efficacy of next-generation virotherapy and to provide the clinic with a range of viruses that are engineered to safely and specifically destroy cancer cells.

The ribosome is one of the primary antibiotic targets in the bacterial cell. Here, Daniel Wilson discusses how high-resolution crystal structures of antibiotic–ribosome complexes have provided molecular insight into the mechanisms of antibiotic action and bacterial resistance, in addition to the approaches being pursued for the development of improved and novel ribosome-targeting antibiotics.

Staphylococcus aureusis an important human pathogen that can cause invasive, potentially fatal infections.S. aureus expresses several virulence factors, which include cell wall-anchored surface proteins. Here, Foster and colleagues review the structural characteristics and functions of these proteins and how this knowledge can be used to combat S. aureusinfection.

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.