In this Review, Thiel and colleagues summarize our emerging knowledge of the SARS-CoV-2 intracellular life cycle and the molecular functions of the viral proteins, as well as their interaction with the host cell.

In this Review, Philippot et al. explore how soil microorganisms can affect the physical and chemical properties of soil and discuss the ecological and evolutionary consequences of these microbially driven shifts in soil properties. They also explore how microbially mediated changes in soil properties can be used to combat threats to soil health and other environmental challenges.

In this Review, White and Sears examine recent evidence showing the link between the gut microbiota and colorectal cancer (CRC) and discuss the roles and mechanisms of specific microorganisms as well as of complex microbial communities in the pathogenesis of CRC.

This Genome Watch article highlights the recent use of large-scale monitoring of natural microbiomes to examine feedback between environmental change and microbial adaptation.

This study reports a mechanism whereby Wolbachia bacteriophage proteins modulate macromolecules of developing Drosophila melanogaster.

This study shows that hyphae formation is critical for Candida albicans gut colonization in the presence of commensal bacteria owing to the production of a hyphal-associated factor.

In this study, Armani-Tourret et al. show that the combination of panobinostat and pegylated interferon-α2a transforms the structure and composition of the HIV-1 reservoir and could potentially counter it.

In this study, Liu et al. explore the interplay between a fungal effector and a plant cysteine protease and design a small-molecule compound aimed at targeting this effector to combat rice blast disease.

In this Journal Club, Salvador Almagro-Moreno discusses a study by Kirn et al., which explores the emergence of virulence traits in Vibrio cholerae and demonstrates how the ability of this pathogen to colonize the host shares a common mechanism to its capacity to thrive in natural environments.