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To survive at temperatures as low as −45°C, all components of psychrophilic archaea must be adapted to function in cold conditions. Rick Cavicchioli highlights the diverse roles of archaea in cold environments and reviews the molecular mechanisms of cold adaptation revealed by genomic and functional studies.
Since the publication of the complete genome sequence ofPlasmodium falciparumin 2002, many comparative genome analyses and transcriptome and proteome studies have followed. Here, the authors review the data published to date, and discuss its application to the development of new malaria therapeutics.
EPEC and EHEC encode both the ligand and receptor required to trigger actin-pedestal assembly in intestinal epithelial cells. Here, the authors discuss the latest data on this interaction and how this system can be used to model eukaryotic transmembrane receptor signalling processes, including immunological synapse and focal-adhesion formation.
Despite major differences in the life cycles of the seven different classes of known viruses, the genome-replication processes of certain positive-strand RNA viruses, double-stranded RNA viruses and reverse-transcribing viruses show striking parallels. Paul Ahlquist highlights these similarities and discusses their intriguing evolutionary implications.
Roberts and colleagues review the roles of extracytoplasmic stress responses (ESRs) in the pathogenesis of Gram-negative bacteria. ESRs respond to perturbations in the cell envelope and are mediated by the alternative sigma factor σE(RpoE), the two-component regulator CpxAR, the BaeSR system and phage shock proteins (PSPs).
Bacteriophages are often devastating to bacterial cultures used in fermentation and bioprocessing. Relying on comparative genomic analysis of bacteriophages, customized phage-defence systems can be constructed and used to inhibit virulent phage propagation, thereby increasing the longevity of industrially important bacteria.
TheTombusvirus-encoded p19protein (P19) was once thought irrelevant, but is now recognized as a potent suppressor of RNA interference. In this Timeline article, Herman Scholthof takes us through the experimental and cognitive 'twists and turns' that transformed our perceptions of P19.
