News & Comment

A study looking at a common cold coronavirus suggests that it evolved over time to evade human immunity.

This study finds that a bacterium commonly found in cold environmental habitats evolved from a mammalian pathobiont.

This study reports that ICEBs1, which is an integrative and conjugative element of Bacillus subtilis, provides a selective advantage to its host cells during two developmental processes: biofilm formation and sporulation.

This month’s Genome Watch highlights how metagenomics could link the gut microbiota and COVID-19 disease outcomes and track emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, with the potential to inform clinical practice and public health policy.

This study found that bacteria induce skin regeneration via inflammatory cytokine IL-1β signalling.

This study identifies a cyanobacterial toxin that causes mass mortality of eagles and other birds.

A recent study found that Akkermansia muciniphila secretes a glucagon-like peptide-1-inducing protein that improves glucose homeostasis and ameliorates metabolic disease in mice.

A recent study found that an archaeal virus interferes with the cell cycle of its host, leading to asymmetric cell division and cell gigantism, transforming hosts into giant virion-producing factories.

This month’s Under the Lens discusses how combining cryo-electron tomography with cross-linking mass spectrometry has allowed elucidation of the mechanisms of transcription-coupled translation in bacteria.

This study reports that antigens derived from intracellular bacteria are presented by tumour cells and activate the immune system.

This study reveals that mites reduce emission of nitrous oxide (N₂O) from soil by feeding on N₂O-producing fungi, so modulating mite abundance might represent a way to mitigate anthropogenic N₂O emissions in agriculture.

This study examines microbial evolution, in the form of biofilm-producing ability, in the context of microbiome ecology and shows that both have an impact on host fitness.

This study demonstrates that an N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) modification in the internal ribosome entry site of the hepatitis C virus RNA genome affects translation initiation through the action of the m⁶A reader protein YTHDC2 and its interaction with the La antigen.

This study reports the development of a skin commensal bacterium as a bacteriotherapy for atopic dermatitis and finds that it is safe and potentially effective in a phase I clinical trial.

This study reports that there is a seasonal transition in soil microbiome composition and functioning in alpine regions and that climate change may alter the timing of this transition and affect biogeochemical cycling and nutrient availability.

This study reports the discovery of an anaerobic ciliate with reduced mitochondria that secondarily acquired a bacterial endosymbiont enabling the host to generate energy by denitrification.

This month’s Genome Watch highlights how metagenomics can be used for surveillance and studying infections with respiratory pathogens.

This study uncovered mutations in core metabolic genes that confer resistance to antimicrobials in clinically relevant pathogens, suggesting that metabolic adaptation may represent a new general mechanism of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria.

This study identifies a promising preclinical candidate for the treatment of Dengue virus infection.

This study provides evidence that membrane lipids are important in regulating the dynamics of the bacterial mechanosensitive channel MscS in response to changes in membrane tension.