Volume 20 Issue 10, October 2022

A study in spore-forming bacteria shows that phage-encoded sigma factors can disrupt dormancy.

This study shows that plants recruit root bacteria that can protect them from drought.

A study in mice shows that the gut microbiota can metabolize vitamin A into retinoids.

Two new studies report how plastic pollution is shaping microbial communities in the environment.

A recent study reports the targeted suppression of an inflammatory bowel disease-associated pathobiont by phage therapy for treatment of intestinal inflammation.

This study compares insect-specific flaviviruses with those that can infect both mosquitoes and humans.

This study shows how Fusobacterium nucleatum integrates a metabolic network in the oral microbiota.

A study in cell lines suggests that SARS-CoV-2 potentially spreads through tunnelling nanotubes.

This Genome Watch highlights how population genomic strategies can aid in the development of an effective syphilis vaccine.

The distinct spatial patterning of microorganisms during infection can influence infection outcomes. In this Review, Azimi et al. detail the microbiogeography of human infections and discuss approaches to study the processes that influence polymicrobial patterning.

Differential availability of oxygen, nutrients and other resources leads to metabolic and structural heterogeneity in multicellular systems, including in biofilms. In this Review, Jo et al. discuss how chemical and physical gradients can affect the physiology of microbial biofilms.

In this Review, Bjarnsholt and colleagues propose a revised conceptual model of the biofilm life cycle that encompasses the three major steps of biofilm formation — aggregation, growth and disaggregation — independently of surfaces, and initiation from single-cell planktonic bacteria, and thus represents a broader range of biofilm systems.

Chronic infections caused by microbial biofilms represent an important clinical challenge owing to the recalcitrance of microbial biofilms to antimicrobials and the immune system, causing persistence and clinical recurrence of these infections. In this Review, Ciofu and colleagues discuss our current understanding of the mechanisms of tolerance of such biofilms to the immune system as well as of tolerance and resistance to antimicrobials.