Volume 4 Issue 5, May 2019

Computational analysis of fungal genomes revealed that some early-branching fungi use selenocysteine, the selenium-containing amino acid, that was thought to be missing from proteins in this lineage.

Inflammatory molecules evolved partly to protect hosts from viruses, but increasing evidence suggests that they cause disease pathology and chronic conditions, and play a role in aging. By mitigating these effects, bats are able to both tolerate viral infections and live well beyond expectations.

A large-scale comparative genomic survey of Cryptosporidium species and subtypes reveals a cryptic anthroponotic Cryptosporidium parvum branch and a large, recent superclade of species and subtypes that undergo genetic exchange, potentially facilitating host associations.

This Review summarizes recent advances in our understanding of neutralizing antibody responses to enveloped viruses with different pathogenesis and discusses how this information is used to inform design of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

A literature-based review evaluates host and bacterial biomarkers as well as biosignatures that may be leveraged for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Selenoproteins—proteins that contain the twenty-first amino acid selenocysteine—were previously thought to be lacking in fungi. Analysis of genomes from early-branching fungal phyla identified selenocysteine machinery and selenoproteins, indicating that these proteins are present in all kingdoms of life.

Monoclonal antibody neutralization of circulating microbiota-derived peptidoglycan subunits alleviates autoimmune disease.

Interferometric scattering microscopy enables the imaging of type IV pili extension, attachment, retraction and detachment dynamics, highlighting how the retraction motor PilT and its partner ATPase PilU coordinate their activities during twitching motility.

The Vibrio parahaemolyticus toxin, thermostable direct haemolysin, utilizes secretion by both type II and type III secretion systems to induce virulence traits.

Dampened activation of the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in bat primary immune cells in response to infection with multiple zoonotic viruses is caused by decreased transcriptional priming, the presence of a unique splice variant and an altered leucine-rich repeat domain of bat NLRP3.

NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 6 (NLRP6) reduces colitis severity in a gut microbiome-dependent manner; however, in the context of murine intestinal graft-versus-host disease, NLRP6 exacerbates symptoms independently of gut microbiome composition and diversity, with NLRP6-deficient animals displaying protection against disease.

Proteomic analysis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1)-infected human primary T cells identifies P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 as an HIV-1 restriction factor, which can inhibit HIV-1 reverse transcription and block viral infectivity through incorporation in progeny virions antagonized by HIV-1 viral protein U.

A comparative analysis of Cryptosporidium genome sequences elucidates the evolutionary history of these parasites and highlights changes associated with its human adaptation.

Near-atomic resolution structure of bluetongue virus non-structural protein 1 (NS1) provides insights into its dynamic tubular assemblies and their contribution to NS1 function in viral protein synthesis.

A trait-based approach used to quantify the niches of 23 species of saprotrophic wood decomposer fungi collected throughout North America provides preliminary insight into the linkages among functional trait expression, climate and phylogeny.

Statistical mapping techniques provide insights into the spread of two key arbovirus vectors in Europe and the United States, and predict the future distributions of both mosquitoes in response to accelerating urbanization, connectivity and climate change.

Using integrated metagenomics, metaproteomics and metabolomics approaches, the authors characterize the microbial taxa and metabolic pathways facilitating lignocellulose degradation across gut compartments of a wood-feeding beetle.

By combining a deep mutational scanning strategy with molecular modelling, electron microscopy as well as cellular and biochemical approaches, the authors identify key amino acids in the C-terminal domain of the Zika virus envelope protein (E) that regulate viral replication in mosquito and human cells.

The CRISPR–Cas nucleases Cas9 and Cpf1 have nickase activity, including in vivo in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which could be explored for genome engineering.