Browse Articles

In this Progress article, Stephanie Karst describes how the gut microbiota promotes intestinal infection by enteric viruses. She discusses direct mechanisms by which bacteria stabilize viral particles and facilitate viral attachment to host cells, and indirect mechanisms by which the microbiota suppresses antiviral immune responses.

A humanized mouse model shows that consumption of a low-fibre diet results in the progressive loss of microbial diversity with each generation.

Genome analysis of 38 differentLegionellaspecies has identified a vast repertoire of effectors, many of which are species-specific and were probably acquired from amoeba hosts or co-infecting pathogens.

African trypanosomes produce extracellular membrane vesicles that transfer virulence factors to neighbouring parasites and host cells.

This study examines how bacteria fine-tune quorum sensing activity to adapt group behaviours such as biofilm formation to local flow conditions.

Advances in whole-genome sequencing have enabled within-host genome evolution to be studied with unprecedented detail. In this Review article, Didelot, Wilson and colleagues discuss how these studies have altered our view of host adaptation and antibiotic resistance during bacterial infection.

Transposon insertion sequencing (TIS) enables genome-wide definition of loci that are required for growth in diverse conditions. In this article, Waldor and colleagues discuss the benefits and limitations of different experimental approaches to TIS analyses.

An increasing number of countries in the Americas are reporting cases of Zika virus.

A genetic suppressor screen inEscherichia coliidentifies the methionine sulfoxide reductase that repairs proteins in the cell envelope, in a mechanism that uses the respiratory chain as a novel source of electrons.

Although the mechanisms of CRISPR–Cas interference have largely been elucidated, how new sequence memories are stored had remained unknown. In this Progress article, Amitai and Sorek discuss recent advances in the study of this adaptation stage of CRISPR immunity.

This study shows that targeting the microbiota enzymes that are involved in the production of trimethylamine (TMA) reduces the levels of TMAN-oxide (TMAO) and is a potential therapeutic strategy for cardiovascular disease.

The analysis of mammalian genomes provides new insights into the interactions of endogenous retroviruses with other viruses and their hosts.

The spatial organization of microbial communities can affect their function, both in the environment and during infections. In this article, Whiteley and colleagues review the factors that govern biogeography during polymicrobial infections and how spatial positioning can influence bacterial virulence. They also discuss how targeting biogeography can be used as a therapeutic strategy.

This study shows that herpes simplex virus hijacks a neuron-specific JNK stress response pathway to reactivate the expression of latent virus.