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SARS-CoV-2 infection can be associated with ‘brain fog’ and persistent neurologic disease, especially in the elderly, with the possibility of direct viral particle interference with normal synaptic transmission.
We characterize the activity of fluorofolin, a potent inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase, against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. By exploiting a divergence in thymidine metabolism, fluorofolin becomes selective for P. aeruginosa in the presence of thymine, demonstrating that it can be a narrow-spectrum antibiotic for this bacterial pathogen.
Extracellular vesicles carrying phosphatidylserine on their surface, found in large quantities in semen, saliva and breast milk, but not in blood, provide an innate defence strategy by blocking viral entry through competition for binding to cellular phosphatidylserine receptors, explaining why many viruses are transmitted by blood rather than by these body fluids.
A ‘reverse translation’ strategy using gnotobiotic mice ascertains cause and effect relationships between bacterial members of the gut microbiota, dietary components and host physiology, which are difficult to establish in human nutritional trials.
Characterizing bacterial responses to mixtures of chemical pollutants reveals interactive effects among pollutants. Our study highlights the predictability and resilience of microbial responses to complex mixtures of pollutants, offering the potential for improvements in ecotoxicological assessments.
Two studies describe the discovery of proteins that harbour a photosynthetic reaction centre barrel domain and play pivotal roles in FtsZ-mediated cell division in archaea, with the photosynthetic reaction centre fold itself emerging as a key player in executing cytokinesis across archaea.
Active hydrothermal vents are hotspots of life in the deep sea, but even after hot springs go extinct, highly productive microbial communities continue to thrive on the chemical energy in the minerals left behind.
Human norovirus infection is a major global health concern, but a suitable animal model is lacking. We have established repeated infection with human norovirus in rhesus macaques via oral challenge. Animals demonstrate virus shedding in the stool and subsequent serum antibody responses, and virus replication is detected in the small intestine.
Decomposer microbiomes are universal across cadavers regardless of environmental conditions, and they use complex cross-feeding and interkingdom interactions to break down organic matter.
Metabolomics and feeding experiments demonstrate the host’s active role in sharing organic acids with a gut microbiota member, revealing host–microbe interactions that foster symbiosis.
Sensing of brain glucose by the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans alters lipid metabolism and membrane composition in the fungus, rendering it drug tolerant.
Cases of Buruli ulcer in southeastern Australia have increased over the past 10 years. Native possums are a reservoir for Mycobacterium ulcerans (the cause of Buruli ulcer), but the route of transmission to humans is unclear. Our findings identify mosquitoes as the vector of M. ulcerans from possums to humans.
The antimicrobial agent epifadin, which is produced by the nasal commensal Staphylococcus epidermidis, has— despite its short half-life — broad-spectrum activity, including against Staphylococcus aureus.
Bacteroides fragilis employs two different mechanisms, secreted microbe- and host-targeting toxins, that facilitate successful colonization of the mammalian gastrointestinal tract.
