Volume 12 Issue 10, October 2014

A fungal pathogen evolves transient resistance to an antimicrobial drug using a novel RNAi-mediated pathway that generates reversible epimutations.

Salmonella entericasubsp.entericaserovar Typhi escapes host defences by inhibiting complement activation and neutrophil chemotaxis.

A new study identifies inflammatory caspases as the cytoplasmic LPS receptors that trigger non-canonical inflammasome activation.

Andrew Camilli and colleagues provide the first evidence that phage predation drives genomic diversification ofV. cholerae in vivo.

This month's Genome Watch explores the interactions of bee bacterial symbionts with each other and with their apian hosts.

Accumulating evidence suggests that the gut microbiota has a role in the aetiology of colorectal cancer (CRC). In this Review, Flint and colleagues discuss the complex interplay between diet, the microbiota and microbial metabolites and argue that the combined metabolome of the microbiota has both protective and detrimental effects on inflammation and the progression of CRC.

Orthobunyaviruses are transmitted by arthropod vectors and can infect humans, animals and crops. In this Review, Elliott describes recent genetic and structural advances that have revealed important insights into the composition of orthobunyavirus virions, viral transcription and replication, and viral interactions with the host innate immune response.

Marine phytoplankton blooms are annual spring events that are accompanied by a surge in heterotrophic bacteria, primarily roseobacters, flavobacteria and members of the Gammaproteobacteria, which recycle most of the carbon that is fixed by the primary producers. In this Review, Buchanet al. describe the emerging physiological features and functions of these bacterial communities and their interactions with phytoplankton.

The Hawaii Ocean Time-series programme recently completed 25 years of continuous operation. Matthew Church and David Karl look back on some of the major discoveries that have come from this long-term programme and its contribution to our evolving understanding of microbial oceanography.

Kirchhoff and colleagues discuss the discovery of novel antimicrobial peptides by systematic screening of complex peptide and protein libraries that have been derived from human bodily fluids and tissues, with a focus on the isolation of endogenous agents that affect HIV-1 infection.