Research Highlights

A recent study found that a small RNA released by the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri modulates crucial host responses in the Hawaiian bobtailed squid Euprymna scolopes, revealing a new mode of communication in beneficial animal–bacterial symbioses.

This study provides insights into how the malaria parasite persists in its human host through the dry season in Mali to enable transmission by mosquitoes during the wet season.

Two recent studies use electron cryomicroscopy to determine the architecture of bacterial flagellum stator complexes.

In this study, the authors have used a modular approach to create synthetic acetylation-resistant streptogramins.

This study provides insights into how a mycovirus decreases the pathogenicity of its fungal host and promotes plant defences, and how this can be translated into the development of a plant vaccine.

This study shows that Aspergillus fumigatus develops spatial hypoxic microenvironments during biofilm maturation that contribute to antifungal drug resistance.

Two recent studies report the structural basis of transcription–translation coupling in Escherichia coli, and a further study reports functionally uncoupled transcription–translation in Bacillus subtilis.

This study shows that dying cells can release a signal that alerts their kin to the presence of antibiotics and makes them more resistant.

A recent study found that a bacterial metabolite is necessary to execute the cancer driving potential of ‘hotspot’ mutations in the p53 tumour suppressor gene.

This paper identifies a non-retroviral endogenous viral element in mosquitoes that has antiviral functions.

Two studies now provide insights into how surface contact and sensing stimulate the synthesis of c-di-GMP, which accelerates cell cycle progression and cell differentiation in Caulobacter crescentus.

Two studies used advanced imaging techniques to study the formation and development of bacterial biofilms.

Two recent studies shed light on the importance of heterogeneity in determining the outcome of influenza virus infections, either by shaping the immune response to infection, or by determining the potential for influenza virus to overcome species barriers.

A recent study reports that gut-colonizing commensal bacteria produce a neurotransmitter that modulates the sensory behaviour of their host.

This study suggests that double-membrane vesicles are the primary and likely only site of coronavirus viral RNA within the replication organelle.

A recent study identified a compound that shows bactericidal activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

This study shows that T6SS-mediated killing of competitors is most effective if a lytic toxin is injected.

The findings of this study suggest that plastic pollution influences the composition and function of sedimentary microbial communities, with important implications for the microbial nitrogen cycle.

Two studies provide insights into the possible roles of viruses in honey bee health and disease.

Researchers show that Plasmodium falciparum glutamic-acid-rich protein (PfGARP), a 80 kDa antigen expressed on the surface of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes, is a malaria vaccine candidate for specifically targeting the blood stage of this parasite.