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Quorum sensing (QS) systems in bacteria coordinate collective behaviour through the use of secreted signal molecules called autoinducers. Here, the authors identify conditions under which flow can activate or repress QS in S. aureus and V. cholera.
A crystal structure of the C. difficile toxin TcdA reveals a requirement for zinc during autoprocessing and a delivery domain involved in the pH-dependent pore formation that allows the toxin to exit the endosome.
Bacterial symbionts in natural populations of the stinkbug Plautia stali are undergoing an evolutionary transition from a free-living lifestyle in the environment to obligate mutualism.
A survey of federally supported microbiome research in the United States of America over fiscal years 2012–2014 and implications for the funding of future microbiome research in the US and beyond.
Natural populations of Saccharomyces paradoxus in which rapid evolution of chromosome architecture and contact between nascent species drove the formation of a new species through homoploid hybrid speciation.
Genome-wide 3ʹ-end mapping shows that Bacillus subtilis terminators that depend on NusA have weak hairpins and/or distal U-tract interruptions, suggesting NusA is directly involved in the termination mechanism.