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A new large-scale genomics study reports a vastly expanded tree of life that is based on genomic data from over 3,000 species, including many uncultivated and poorly characterized prokaryotes.
Multidrug tolerant bacterial persister cells frequently arise in response to the activation of toxin–antitoxin systems. However, this prevailing view may be less general than assumed. ATP depletion may mediate another route to the persister state for the Gram-positive pathogen Staphylococcus aureus.
World Immunization Week 2016 gives us a chance to take stock of the current vaccine landscape, celebrate some notable successes made in recent years and face up to the challenges remaining in closing the gap to ensure that the full benefits of immunization are extended to all infants worldwide.
Integration of multiple ‘omics’ technologies will allow researchers to gain a more complete picture of the constituents and functions of microbial communities and provide far richer information for predictive modelling of community phenotypes.
A linear-mixed modelling genome-wide association approach for detecting genes and genetic variants underlying antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens heralds a new era for microbial genome-wide association studies.
Analysis of 60 sites in three ocean basins suggests that overgrowth of fleshy algae on coral reefs supports higher microbial abundances dominated by copiotrophic, potentially pathogenic bacteria via the provision of dissolved inorganic carbon.
Using a bacteriophage infection model that allows physical separation between growth and mutagenesis, this study provides support for the natural selection of random mutations as a basis for adaptation to stress.
Using Volta phase plate cryo-electron tomography, influenza virus haemagluttinin is shown to induce two independent pathways of viral membrane fusion, through lipidic junctions or through a fusion pore.
High fidelity, ultra-deep sequencing of a modified replicon system revealed >1000-fold differences in mutation rate across the hepatitis C virus genome, with extreme variation even between adjacent nucleotides.
An update to the ‘tree of life’ has revealed a dominance of bacterial diversity in many ecosystems and extensive evolution in some branches of the tree. It also highlights how few organisms we have been able to cultivate for further investigation.
The fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum is shown to use a functional homologue of the plant regulatory peptide RALF (rapid alkalinization factor) to induce alkalinization and cause disease in plants.
Antibiotic-mediated selection may promote or suppress conjugation dynamics, dependent on the population structure, physiological status of cells and energy availability.
Comparative genomic analyses suggest that Lokiarchaeota, the closest known prokaryotic relative of eukaryotes, are hydrogen dependent, supporting the ‘hydrogen hypothesis’ for the origin of eukaryotic cells.
Enrichment of oral microbiota in the bronchoalveolar lavage of apparently healthy people is associated with a pro-inflammatory phenotype, suggesting that aspiration-derived microbiota play a role in regulating basal inflammatory status.
A GWAS method that captures lineage-level associations even when locus-specific associations cannot be fine-mapped, detects genes and genetic variants underlying resistance to antimicrobials in M. tuberculosis, S. aureus, E. coli and K. pneumoniae.
The Nature Microbiology Community provides a space for researchers to freely share information and discuss ideas. We hope that this initiative encourages greater discourse and engagement with the microbiology research field.
Methylation of HIV RNA has been identified as a way to modulate export of viral transcripts, thereby impacting viral gene expression and particle production. Thus epitranscriptomics adds a new layer of complexity in viral gene expression regulation and also new opportunities for developing therapeutic strategies.
