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Analysis of four Wolbachia strains that have co-diverged with their host lineage for ∼2 million years suggests a ∼200 Ma origin for supergroups A and B and reveals evidence for a recent lateral transfer of a complete biotic synthesis operon.
Genomic analysis suggests pandemic Vibrio cholerae probably originated from a subset of environmental strains with alleles compatible with host colonization.
Viability polymerase chain reaction based on the photoreactive DNA-intercalating dye propidium monoazide revealed that on average 40% of prokaryotic and fungal DNA in soil is extracellular, or from cells no longer intact, confounding estimates of richness and taxon relative abundance.
Influenza virus infection produces double-stranded RNA precursors that are converted to small interfering RNAs by host Dicer; this RNA interference mechanism is inhibited by viral protein NS1.
Study of the genetically diverse Collaborative Cross (CC) mouse system reveals that early life history impacts mouse gut microbiome composition and although dietary changes have only a moderate effect on the microbiome, it does shape the gut metabolome.
Removal of thiamin (vitamin B1), a compound previously considered essential to all living organisms, does not impact the growth or survival of the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi.
Palindromic nucleotide sequences are not present at individual integration sites for the retroviruses HTLV-1 and HIV-1, but arise in the population average owing to a non-palindromic motif found in roughly equal proportions on the plus and minus strands.
A steady-state evolutionary model is used to investigate archaeal genome evolution, finding two classes of microbial genes—one with instantaneous gene replacement and another with finite, distributed replacement rates.
Optimization of culturing techniques has allowed the identification of 1,057 prokaryotic species within the human gut microbiome repertoire, doubling the previous number of isolated species from the human gut.
Inflammatory bowel disease dysbiosis networks were different between humans and dogs, with some species switching from positive to negative between groups. Stool samples were sufficient for dog-classification, whereas mucosal samples are required in humans.
Hydraulic conditions result in selective taxonomic pressures that determine the formation of biofilm or aggregate communities in experimental fluvial systems.
Intermediate colistin production in E. coli maximizes the benefit of inhibiting sensitive neighbours while minimizing competition from resistant cheaters.
7.7 million non-redundant genes have been documented in the pig gut microbiome gene catalogue, revealing a 96% similarity in functional pathways to the human catalogue and influences from sex, age, host genetics and antibiotic treatments.
The symbiotic cyanobacterium UCYN-A was found to contribute to ∼20% of the nitrogen fixation in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean, and is more widely distributed throughout tropical, temperate and polar oceans than previously thought.
The number of ribosomal RNA operons in bacterial genomes is positively related to maximum reproductive rate and negatively related to carbon use efficiency, and can also predict traits such as chemotaxis and genome streamlining.
The structure of Aichi virus — a poorly characterized picornavirus that causes severe gastroenteritis in children — shows intermediate features between those of enteroviruses and cardioviruses, and provides clues into its cellular receptor.
The mycobacterial glutamine amidotransferase GatCAB complex mediates the translational fidelity of glutamine and asparagine codons and strains with mutations in gatA show increased mistranslation, with associated antibiotic tolerance.