Review Articles

Why have multi-partner endosymbioses evolved on several independent occasions in plant sap-feeding insects? In this Review, Douglas discusses the composition and functions of these endosymbioses, and considers the processes and adaptive forces that drive their evolution.

Fungal genomics studies have shown that ectomycorrhizal fungi have arisen in approximately 60 independent saprotrophic lineages. In this Review, Martin and colleagues describe the functional gains and losses that have occurred during the evolution of ectomycorrhizal symbioses.

Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, is extremely well adapted to its host. In this Review, Radolf and colleagues discuss how this pathogen has streamlined its cell envelope, metabolism and genome to thrive and cause disease in humans.

In this Review, Claassenset al. discuss recent advances in microbial autotrophic production platforms, in particular the genetic engineering of autotrophic systems in autotrophic microorganisms, the transplantation of partial or complete CO₂fixation pathways and autotrophic energy-harvesting systems into heterotrophs, and the large potential of hybrid systems as autotrophic production platforms. They also explore strategies for the design, quantitative analysis and modular experimental implementation of autotrophic cell factories.

Mycobacteria use ESX systems to secrete substrates across their cell envelopes. In this Review, Brosch and colleagues describe the roles of ESX systems in host–pathogen interactions and consider how studies of ESX systems might inform vaccine design and therapy development.

Magnetosomes are unique organelles that 'magnetize' bacteria. In this Review, Uebe and Schüler discuss our current understanding of the mechanisms of magnetosome biogenesis, and consider how recent genetic advances in this area may lead to the development of exciting biotechnological applications.

Microorganisms with electron transfer capabilities, such as metal-reducing microorganisms, use specialized systems to exchange electrons between minerals and cells. In this Review, Shiet al. summarize the underlying molecular mechanisms, such as cytochromes and nanowires, and biotechnological applications.

Treating infection withClostridium difficileand post-antibiotic disease can be difficult. In this Review, Abt, McKenney and Pamer show how insights into spore germination, virulence and interactions with the host and microbiota can help to combat this pathogen.

Quorum sensing is used to control the behaviour of bacterial communities. In this Review, Papenfort and Bassler highlight recent discoveries about quorum sensing in Gram-negative bacteria, such as novel autoinducers and signalling networks that promote communication that ranges from intra-species to inter-kingdom.

Numerous metabolic functions, social interactions and survival mechanisms are specific to, or more pronounced in, biofilms than in planktonic cells. In this Review, Flemming and colleagues highlight the central role of the self-produced matrix in establishing these 'emergent properties' of biofilms.

The dominant lifestyle of most bacteria involves little or no growth. In this Review, Newman and colleagues discuss the physiology of these little-studied growth states, including changes to metabolism, transcription and translation, and the maintenance of genome replication and integrity.

In this Review, Browning and Busby describe the advances that have been made in recent years in understanding the molecular details of how transcription initiation is regulated to fine tune gene expression, highlighting factors that relate both to the RNA polymerase and to the promoter.

Microbial biofilms exhibit vast complexity in terms of both resident species composition and phenotypic diversity. Here, Foster and colleagues discuss theoretical and experimental work that reveals how the spatial arrangement of genotypes within microbial communities influences the cooperative and competitive cell–cell interactions that define biofilm form and function.

In this Review, te Velthuis and Fodor detail the recently obtained high-resolution structures of the influenza virus RNA polymerase and the insights that have been gained into the mechanisms of viral transcription and replication. They also discuss how these structural data could help to identify novel antiviral targets.

Metagenome-wide association studies (MWAS) are designed to detect associations between the human microbiome and disease. In this Review, Jia and Wang describe the principal findings of MWAS of human diseases, and consider how these findings might be integrated into medical research and practice.

Plasmodiumparasites alter the physiology and morphology of erythrocytes by exporting hundreds of proteins into the host cell. In this Review, de Koning-Wardet al. discuss how these parasites use distinct protein trafficking motifs, protease-mediated polypeptide processing, a novel translocon and membranous structures to induce host cell remodelling and promote their own survival.

Insights into coronavirus emergence, replication and pathogenesis gained from the SARS and MERS outbreaks have guided the development of preventive and therapeutic measures. In this Review, Munster and colleagues highlight recent achievements and areas that need to be addressed to combat novel coronaviruses.

Molecular-based studies of fungal biodiversity have revealed fundamental differences from the biodiversity of bacteria, plants and animals. In this Review, Peay and colleagues consider the roles of ecology and fungal biology in determining fungal biodiversity at different spatial scales.

Many host structures are vital for viral infection and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), in particular, is essential. In this Review, Tsai and colleagues highlight examples of subversion of the ER by diverse viruses to promote all stages of their life cycle, from entry to egress.

In this Review, McDonaldet al. describe the mechanisms and outcomes of reassortment for three well-studied viral families — Cystoviridae, Orthomyxoviridae and Reoviridae— and discuss how these findings provide new perspectives on the replication and evolution of segmented RNA viruses.