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The rise of the 'citizen science' movement in microbiology provides an opportunity for public engagement and the chance to gather essential data on a large scale.
Three studies report that ppGpp binds at the interface between the ω-subunit and the β′ subunit of RNA polymerase, suggesting that this nucelotide modulates RNA polymerase activity by an allosteric mechanism.
Identification of the endothelial receptor responsible for sequestration ofPlasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in blood vessels during severe childhood malaria.
Plasmodium falciparummay use the release of extracellular vesicles as a social mechanism of sensing a hostile host environment and triggering sexual differentiation.
This month's Genome Watch highlights recent studies demonstrating that genomic analyses of pathogens in clinical samples are not limited to culture-friendly bacteria.
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.
To survive in oxic environments, all organisms require mechanisms to degrade toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this Review, James Imlay describes the oxidative stress response ofEscherichia coliand considers the damage caused by ROS and the adaptive strategies used by this bacterium to minimize intracellular ROS accumulation.
Katze and colleagues provide an overview of the evolution of systems virology and the insights obtained from using such methodologies to study virus–host interactions. Combining systems, mathematical and computational approaches with traditional virology research will offer a better understanding of how viruses cause disease and will help in the development of therapeutics.
Lipid A is the bioactive component of the Gram-negative outer membrane and is extensively remodelled to enable the bacterium to subvert the immune system of the host. Here, Needham and Trent describe the regulation of lipid A-modifying enzymes, the host defences that target lipid A and the strategies that bacterial pathogens use to avoid immune detection.
Hepatitis C virus infection is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer, and current therapies are often ineffective or have severe side effects. Here, Bartenschlager and colleagues review how structural and functional insights into the viral life cycle have allowed the development of novel direct-acting antiviral agents.
The human genome encodes very few enzymes involved in the digestion of complex polysaccharides, and this deficit is compensated for by the myriad of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) encoded by members of the gut microbiome. In this Analysis article, Henrissat and colleagues characterize the CAZymes present in a representative human mini-microbiome.
