Table of contents
In this issue
p645 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1983
Editorial: Culture media
p646 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1981
Research Highlights
Sociomicrobiology: Anti-social bacteria | PDF (131 KB)
p647 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1974
Archaea: Kings of the sea floor? | PDF (157 KB)
p648 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1973
Viral pathogenesis: microRNA rides tandem | PDF (145 KB)
p648 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1977
Bacterial genetics: A hidden GEMM | PDF (137 KB)
p649 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1976
In brief
Prions | Biofilms | Bacterial pathogenesis | PDF (129 KB)
p649 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1980
Parasitology: Antigen switching joins the DOTs | PDF (153 KB)
p650 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1975
Pathogenesis: Buzzkill | PDF (160 KB)
p650 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1979
HIV: Editing HIV entry | PDF (157 KB)
p651 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1970
News and Analysis
Genome watch
Opportunity knocks | PDF (207 KB)
p652 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1985
Disease watch
In the News | PDF (225 KB)
p654 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1984
Reviews
Revisiting the host as a growth medium
Stacie A. Brown, Kelli L. Palmer & Marvin Whiteley
p657 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1955
What makes the human body a good growth medium for bacterial pathogens? In this Review, Brown, Palmer and Whiteley outline how the host growth environment affects disease and discuss the potential for targeting host metabolic pathways for therapeutic development.
Molecular mechanisms of mechanosensing and their roles in fungal contact sensing
Carol A. Kumamoto
p667 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1960
The ability to sense contact with an appropriate surface contributes to the ability of fungal pathogens such as Magnaporthe grisea and Candida albicans to cause disease in their respective hosts. This Review discusses molecular mechanisms of mechanosensitivity, the proteins involved and their putative roles in fungal contact sensing.
Towards nanomicrobiology using atomic force microscopy
Yves F. Dufrêne
p674 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1948
The nanoscale analysis of microbial cells using atomic force microscopy (AFM) is emerging as an exciting, rapidly evolving research field. Specifically, AFM allows us to address fundamental microbiological questions by observing membrane proteins and live cells at high resolution.
Protein-based organelles in bacteria: carboxysomes and related microcompartments
Todd O. Yeates, Cheryl A. Kerfeld, Sabine Heinhorst, Gordon C. Cannon & Jessup M. Shively
p681 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1913
Bacterial microcompartments consist of a protein shell that encapsulates enzymes to form an 'organelle'. Recent structural analyses have begun to provide insights into how one of these microcompartments, the carboxysome, which houses ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) and carbonic anhydrase, is built. This Review describes the structure and function of bacterial microcompartments by focusing on carboxysomes.
Perspectives
Article series: Systems Microbiology
Timeline
Molecular eco-systems biology: towards an understanding of community function
Jeroen Raes & Peer Bork
p693 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1935
Metagenomics has enabled researchers to compile inventories of viruses, bacteria and archaea that inhabit specific niches. Here, the authors discuss the tools that are needed for us to progress to an integrated understanding of microbial ecosystems biology.
Opinion
Architects of assembly: roles of Flaviviridae non-structural proteins in virion morphogenesis
Catherine L. Murray, Christopher T. Jones & Charles M. Rice
p699 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1928
The authors discuss a new hypothesis, based on a body of evidence that has accumulated over the past 10 years, that non-structural proteins of RNA viruses, such as hepatitis C and dengue, have roles in virion maturation and assembly.
