Review Articles in 2010

The formation ofCandida albicans biofilms on implanted medical devices is a major source of infection. Here, Finkel and Mitchell review the latest insights into the mechanisms and regulatory pathways that govern C. albicansbiofilm formation and biofilm-based drug resistance.

Non-coding DNA motifs play a central part in the bacterial cell cycle. El Karoui and colleagues review the roles of such motifs in replication, DNA segregation, DNA repair, cell division and DNA uptake, and explain how their distribution can be analysed quantitatively.

Infections involving slow-growing and persistent bacteria, includingMycobacterium tuberculosisand biofilms, are difficult to treat. Here, Hurdle and colleagues argue that developing antibiotics to target the bacterial membrane and membrane functions is a promising approach for the treatment for these difficult-to-treat infections.

In this Review, Mahadevan, Palsson and Lovley describe how genome-scale metabolic modelling ofGeobacterspp. has improved our understanding of the metabolism and physiology of these environmentally important bacteria and discuss the implications for applications such as bioremediation.

The Archaea evolved over 3 billion years ago but were only formally proposed as a domain 20 years ago. Today, many of the unique features and many of those that are shared with either the Bacteria or the Eukarya are well understood. Here, Ricardo Cavicchioli describes some of the important events in our appreciation of this fascinating group of organisms.

The composition of the human microbiota at various body sites can become altered following injury, infection and antibiotic treatment. In this Review, Gregor Reid and colleagues describe how a healthy microbiota can be restored, either naturally or aided by probiotic treatment, following such challenge.

Translation fidelity is a highly regulated event in the cell. Reynolds, Lazazzera and Ibba describe the steps which ensure that the correct amino acid is incorporated in a nascent polypeptide, and discuss how changes in the translational fidelity can be beneficial for the cell.

Pathogenic bacteria need to respond rapidly to changes in their environment to adjust their gene expression and physiology. Johansson and colleagues review the role of RNAs, including 5′ untranslated regions (UTRs), 3′ UTRs,cis-acting antisense RNAs and trans-acting small non-coding RNAs, as regulatory molecules of bacterial virulence.

The great structural diversity of polyketide natural products stems from their mode of synthesis by polyketide synthases. Crawford and Townsend review the latest progress in our understanding of the mode of action of fungal polyketide synthases, including starter unit selection, chain length control and cyclization specificity.

Viral security proteins are structurally and biochemically unrelated proteins that function to counteract host defences. Here, Agol and Gmyl consider the impact of the picornavirus security proteins on viral reproduction, pathogenicity and evolution.

In terms of disability-adjusted life years, the disease burden resulting from hookworm infection and schistosomiasis is considerable. In this Review, Hotez and colleagues outline the pathology of these parasitic infections and discuss recent progress in vaccine development.

Glycosylation, the most abundant polypeptide chain modification in nature, was first identified in bacteria and archaea in the 1970s. Here, Nothaft and Szymanski review recent progress in our understanding of the bacterialN-glycosylation and O-glycosylation systems.

Organotypic three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models are becoming more widely used in infectious-disease research, as they mimic the 3D architecture ofin vivotissues more faithfully than traditional 2D cell culture. Cheryl Nickerson and colleagues review one such 3D model system, the rotating wall vessel bioreactor, and its applications in the study of microbial pathogenesis and host–pathogen interactions.

Climate change can affect microbial processes, which are, in turn, known to affect greenhouse gas flux. Singh and colleagues review the feedback responses between climate change and terrestrial microbial processes and discuss the potential to exploit microorganisms to mitigate anthropogenic climate change.

Transmission of viruses between species can lead to severe disease in the new host. However, little is known about the requirements for cross-species transmission. Pepin and colleagues describe the experiments required to improve our understanding of this process and how this can identify markers that can be used to predict transmission.

The plasmid-encoded ParMRC system is one of the best characterized plasmid segregation systems and comprises just three components: an actin-like protein, ParM, a DNA-binding adaptor protein, ParR, and a centromere-like region,parC. Here, the authors review the molecular mechanisms by which the components of this system interact to achieve bipolar DNA segregation.

Electrical current can be used to drive microbial metabolism, opening the door to a range of applications, including the electricity-driven synthesis of chemical compounds. Here, Rabaey and Rozendal introduce the principle of microbial electrosynthesis and discuss the associated challenges and opportunities.

Pathogenic bacteria have evolved numerous effectors and toxins to specifically interact with host cell death signalling pathways, many of which act directly at the mitochondria. Here, Thomas Rudel and colleagues summarize our understanding of the interactions between bacterial pathogens and mitochondrial cell death pathways.

To circumvent the blood–brain barrier and invade the central nervous system, many pathogens enter neurons at the nerve terminal and travel the length of the axon to reach the cell body. Here, Kremer and colleagues review the neuronal trafficking pathways that are subverted by neurotropic viruses and toxins.