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This issue marks the publication of a Consensus Statement that proposes the integration of viruses that are only characterized by metagenomic data into virus taxonomy.
This study shows that co-culturingStreptomyces venezuelae with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae triggers a previously unknown growth mode in S. venezuelaethat enables cells to explore their environment.
The authors of this study report that phages ofBacillusspecies use a peptide-based communication system to decide whether to enter the lytic or lysogenic life cycle.
This month's Genome Watch discusses the potential of selective whole-genome amplification for overcoming the challenges of whole-genome sequencing of malaria parasites in clinical samples in which they are low in abundance.
Recent studies have provided insights into the antagonistic roles of cyclic-di-GMP (c-di-GMP) and the alarmones guanosine tetraphosphate and guanosine pentaphosphate (collectively referred to as (p)ppGpp) in the regulation of the cell cycle in Alphaproteobacteria. In this Review, Viollier and colleagues discuss how those second messengers control the initiation of DNA replication and cytokinesis by modulating the synthesis and proteolysis of key regulators of the cell cycle.
Bacteria have to overcome many obstacles to invade the meninges from the bloodstream. This Review considers how extracellular pathogens such asNeisseria meningitides and Streptococcus pneumoniaebypass the blood–brain barriers, the understanding of which may lead to improved methods for delivering drugs into the brain.
Although viral sequences are important in taxonomy, classification has typically also required biological properties, thus excluding viruses that were identified by metagenomics. The proposals in this Consensus Statement, which are supported by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), enable viruses that are discovered by sequence alone to be incorporated into virus classification.
Class 2 CRISPR–Cas systems are characterized by effector modules that consist of a single multidomain protein. In this Analysis, using a computational pipeline, the authors discover three novel families of class 2 effectors that correspond to three new CRISPR–Cas subtypes and present a comprehensive census of class 2 systems that are encoded in complete and draft bacterial and archaeal genomes.
Sequencing viral DNA and RNA is an important part of clinical practice, although, so far, mostly subgenomic fragments have been sequenced. In this Opinion article, Houldcroft, Beale and Breuer highlight the potential that sequencing whole viral genomes has for clinical applications.
