Research Highlights in 2023

This study set out to increase our understanding of how viruses might mediate responses of microbial communities to climate warming.

This study evaluates the efficacy of exogenous pegylated IFNλ in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.

This study shows that the orphan kinesin KLIF is a non-processive dimeric kinesin that bundles microtubules in Trypanosoma brucei.

Vincent et al. investigate the impact of viral infection on the microbial communities of algal blooms and carbon cycling.

Khan et al. show that mycelial nutrients can promote bacterial biodegradation of hexachlorocyclohexane pesticide in nutrient-deprived habitats.

Brown et al. perform a randomized trial with 218 women and show that the copper intrauterine device contraceptive disrupts the vaginal microbiota.

This study shows that Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus faecalis can evade phage predation by transient conversion to a cell wall-deficient L-form state.

Mazzolini and colleagues have developed an engineered Mycoplasma pneumoniae strain to treat and prevent Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in the lung.

Yang et al. present the fluorogenic reversible reporter SURF to monitor real-time interactions between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and ACE2, and identify compounds that block such interaction.

This study reports that Acinetobacter baumannii establishes intracellular reservoirs in the bladder that can seed recurrent infections following catheterization.

Choi et al. demonstrate there is a mutualistic interaction between Pseudomonas aeruginosa and cancer cells that modulates tumour homeostasis.

This study reports the finding that the commensal Streptococcus salivarius exacerbates allergic rhinitis.

A recent study found that the Helicobacter pylori genome evolves during disease progression and that these genomic changes select for effective colonizers of gastric metaplasia.

A recent study reports the development of a biomarker-responsive engineered bacterium that can diagnose, record and treat inflammatory bowel disease in mice.

Xie et al. show that the harmaline metabolite produced by Akkermansia muciniphila modulates nuclear factor-κB signalling and reduces severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome severity.

Thaiss and colleagues report a gut–brain connection in mice that regulates the motivation for exercise, linking the intestinal microbiome to midbrain dopamine signalling.