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The Omicron variant evades vaccine-induced neutralization but also fails to form syncytia, shows reduced replication in human lung cells and preferentially uses a TMPRSS2-independent cell entry pathway, which may contribute to enhanced replication in cells of the upper airway. Altered fusion and cell entry characteristics are linked to distinct regions of the Omicron spike protein.
Structural analyses reveal that Geobacter sulfurreducens produces two different cytochrome filaments, comprised of either OmcS or OmcE, that share almost identical haem packing while having no recognizable sequence or structural similarity.
Phylogenomic analyses reveal novel environmental clades of Rickettsiales providing insights into their evolution from free-living to host-associated lifestyle.
Enteric Salmonella not only activates the ILC3–IL-22 axis upon infection to provide a competitive advantage over resident microbiota but also invades ILC3s and induces inflammatory cell death, thus limiting infection.
Studying the ocean microbiome can inform international policies related to ocean governance, tackling climate change, ocean acidification and pollution, and can help promote achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals.
Cryogenic electron tomography analysis of Chikungunya virus particle assembly reveals 12 intermediate structural stages during virus assembly/budding at the plasma membrane and shows that non-icosahedral nucleocapsid proteins serve as scaffold to induce icosahedral assembly of the glycoprotein spike lattice. Structural analysis also shows that budding-inhibiting antibodies act by interfering with lateral spike interactions.
A broad-range human antibody with neutralizing activity against various coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, targets a unique epitope within the highly conserved S2’ site and the fusion peptide of the spike protein that is exposed during interaction with the host cell. The pan-coronavirus antibody protects mice against infection with SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43 following prophylactic and therapeutic treatment.
Three different studies identify Asgardarchaeota-linked virus genomes that share commonalities with both prokaryotic and eukaryotic viruses, yet they represent independent phylogenetic groups.
Viral genomes that infected two Asgard archaeal phyla recovered from deep-sea hydrothermal sediment metagenomes reveal that these viruses have characteristics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic viruses.
The closed chromosome of an Asgard archaeon, Candidatus Odinarchaeum yellowstonii LCB_4, revealed CRISPR spacers, which were used to identify archaeal viruses.
The DarTG toxin-antitoxin system protects bacteria against phage infection via ADP-ribosylation of the viral DNA, and this can be evaded by phages via mutation of their DNA polymerase or the gp61.2 anti-DarT factor.
The pathways responsible for inositol lipid production in human gut Bacteroides are characterized and these lipids are important for capsule expression and antimicrobial peptide resistance in vitro and colonization in vivo.
Well-replicated, ecologically realistic, long-term field experiments were conducted to test the effects of warming on soil microbial diversity. Warming significantly reduced the biodiversity of soil bacteria, fungi and protists by altering environmental selections and biotic interactions, potentially disrupting the functional processes of the soil ecosystem.
Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (COV2-2196/COV2-2130) inhibited the replication of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 but not BA.1.1 variants in the lungs of Syrian hamsters. Antivirals (molnupiravir and S-217622) were effective against BA.1 in hamsters.
Combining conjugation and structural analyses, the authors show that TraN-OMP pairings determine bacterial conjugation species specificity, with implications in resistance plasmid distribution within Enterobacteriaceae.