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Not all isolates of a species contain the same set of genes. In this Opinion article, Rodriguez-Valera and colleagues propose the constant-diversity model to account for these differences. In this model, predation by phages promotes bacterial diversity and allows more efficient use of the nutrients in the environment.
The mechanisms by which bacteria alter the dynamics of their cell cycle to accommodate changes in nutrient availability have puzzled microbiologists for nearly 50 years. In this Opinion article, Wang and Levin summarize efforts to examine the links between nutrient availability, metabolic status, cell division and cell growth.
To repair double-strand breaks in DNA, homologous DNA sequences must find each other. According to Minsky and colleagues, random diffusion of DNA molecules is too slow for timely repair of these breaks, and instead they propose that the packaging of genomes in highly radiation-resistant organisms is crucial for repair of double-strand breaks.
Information about ancient microbial ecosystems can be obtained by using fossil lipids found in ancient sedimentary rocks as biomarkers. In this Opinion article, Jochen Brocks and Jillian Banfield describe how environmental genomic approaches are set to revolutionize the study of these microbial ecosystems and improve our understanding of the evolution of ancient communities of microorganisms.
The evolution and molecular characteristics of theMycobacterium tuberculosiscomplex are hotly debated. Here, Noel Smith and colleagues address several misconceptions about the origins of tuberculosis that have arisen over the years.
Using large-scale, systems biology approaches, we can now systematically map synergistic and antagonistic interactions between drugs. Consequently, drug antagonism is providing us with insight into the functions and relatedness of cellular components, mechanisms of drug action and novel ways to inhibit the evolution of antibiotic resistance.
The mammalian intestine is colonized by complex indigenous bacterial communities that establish beneficial symbiotic relationships with their host, making important contributions to host metabolism and digestive efficiency. In this Opinion article, Lora Hooper explores the roles of immune suppression, evasion and subversion in the establishment of these important symbiotic relationships.
The pathogenesis of HIV-1 is markedly different to that of most simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs). Frank Kirchhoff proposes a model in which the presence ofvpuin HIV-1 and a small number of SIV strains allowed changes in the Nef proteins that contribute to these differences.
Rhizobia are a diverse group of soil bacteria that induce the formation of nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots of legumes. In this Opinion article, a group of proteins that are secreted by rhizobia, some of which have homologues in bacterial pathogens, are used to support the hypothesis that some pathogenic pathways have been co-opted by rhizobia for symbiotic purposes.
Viruses are widespread and come in many shapes and sizes. They play an important part in the evolution of many species. But are they alive and should they be included as part of the tree of life? Moreira and López-García discuss ten reasons why they should be excluded.
Synthetic biology will provide the potential to redesign, or even build from scratch, specialized organisms to carry out complex tasks. In this Opinion article, Nitin Baliga and colleagues argue that to achieve the integrated framework for such complex bioengineering, a convergence of the fields of synthetic biology and systems biology will be required.
Our understanding of the relationship between molecular properties of antimicrobial peptides and macroscopic effects on bacterial membranes remains limited. In this Opinion, Castanho and colleagues propose that even under physiological conditions, millimolar local peptide concentrations can be reached at the membrane, which enables the minimum inhibitory concentration to be related to peptide concentration thresholds for bacterial membrane disruption.
How some organisms can withstand extreme levels of radiation has been a long-standing question. In this Opinion article, Michael Daly makes the case that high levels of intracellular manganese complexes allow the cell to repair itself by preventing protein oxidation caused by iron-dependent reactive oxygen species during irradiation.
UsingSalmonella enterica infection as a model, Mastroeni and colleagues discuss how developing an understanding of bacterial proliferation and dissemination in a host during infection is a prerequisite for the development of targeted drugs and vaccines. They also highlight a new technique for monitoring the spread of a bacterial population in vivo.
Despite bleak news on the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) strains in Eastern Europe and southern Africa, there are signs that drug-resistant TB can be controlled. Evidence suggests that good control programmes, using the current suite of anti-TB drugs, can cut the number of multiply resistant TB cases even more quickly than drug-sensitive cases.
