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A recent study uncovered the geographical origins of the Black Death pandemic, offering a new perspective on the phylogenetic polytomy that served as a foundation for the expansion of Yersinia pestis across Eurasia and North Africa more than 600 years ago.

Bacteriophages are obligate parasites of their bacterial hosts; nevertheless, on a population level, phage–bacterium interactions can have beneficial outcomes. In this Review, Shkoporov, Turkington and Hill discuss the evidence for such mutualistic interactions in the gut microbiota and their roles.

This study finds that toxin–antitoxin systems can protect bacteria from phages by inducing abortive infection.

A study with honey bee larvae shows that a bacterial symbiont can protect them from nutritional stress.

A microfluidics study shows that bacterial biofilms form wrinkles when they grow and detach from a solid surface.

Two recent studies highlight the potential of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies for the long-term control of HIV in the absence of antiretroviral therapy.

A single-cell microfluidics study shows that phenotypic heterogeneity and fast growth can reduce antibiotic susceptibility.

A study in hamsters shows prolonged inflammatory changes after COVID-19.

A study in mice links a metabolite of the gut microbiota to age-related microglia death.

A study in mice finds that antibiotic treatment predisposes to infection with bacteria that are associated with hospital-acquired infection.

A retrospective analysis of seven cases of monkeypox describes virus loads over time and looks at potential management options.

An analysis of the economic impact of biofilms estimates it at almost US$4,000 billion per year globally.

Trace metals are essential micronutrients required for survival across all kingdoms of life. In this Review, Murdoch and Skaar discuss the strategies whereby vertebrate hosts limit metal or induce excess metal to prevent bacterial proliferation, a process termed nutritional immunity, and they discuss adaptive mechanisms that bacterial pathogens have evolved to survive in conditions of metal depletion or excess.

This study reports that a short prokaryotic argonaute protein from the archaeon Sulfolobus islandicus and its genetically associated proteins Aga1 and Aga2 confer antiviral defence by abortive infection.

Marine biofilms grow on diverse marine surfaces, ranging from particles to animals and ships. In this Review, Qian and colleagues discuss the diversity and composition of marine biofilms and their role in the development of marine benthos and biofouling.

This study shows that upon urinary tract infections, uropathogenic Escherichia coli persist and subsequently adapt to the distinct physiological conditions encountered in the gastrointestinal and urinary environments.

A study looking at the Tibetan Plateau finds that microbial shifts might contribute to irreversible soil degradation.

This study used engineered bacteria to record the transcriptional responses of transiting bacteria in the gut environment.

A study in mice shows that antibiotic treatment predisposes to invasive fungal infection through gut dysbiosis and barrier dysfunction.