Volume 20 Issue 6, June 2022

An in vitro study shows that activated coagulation factors can promote SARS-CoV-2 infection by cleaving spike.

A CRISPR–Cas screen identifies a novel C. difficile toxin receptor.

This study shows that although colistin resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae is associated with a fitness defect in gut colonization, it increases bacterial survival outside the host, thus enabling efficient host-to-host transmission.

A recent study shows how tumour-resident intracellular bacteria enhance survival and the metastatic capacities of circulating tumour cells by protecting them from mechanical stress.

This study suggests that fungicide treatment of stored fruit could contribute to the selection of resistant Candida auris.

This study uncovers how Yersinia pestis is protected from engulfment by macrophages by the capsule-like antigen F1.

This study reports the discovery of two new DNA defence modules, termed DdmABC and DdmDE, in Vibrio cholerae.

This month’s Under the Lens discusses new strategies to image the spatial geography of microbial communities.

In this Review, Harvey and Holmes explore our changing understanding of the structure, diversity and evolution of the animal virome. They also outline the factors that determine the phylogenetic diversity and genomic structure of animal viruses on evolutionary timescales and show how these impact assessment of the risk of disease emergence.

Toxin–antitoxin systems are composed of a toxin that inhibits an essential cellular process and an antitoxin that counteracts its cognate toxin. In this Review, Van Melderen and colleagues summarize the recent progress in understanding the biology and evolution of these small genetic elements, and discuss how genomic conflicts could shape the diversification of toxin–antitoxin systems.

The role of CRISPR–Cas systems in defence against mobile genetic elements is well established, but there is increasing evidence that these systems have alternative functions beyond adaptive immunity. In this Review, Staals, van der Oost and colleagues explore these non-canonical functions of CRISPR–Cas systems with relevant consequences for CRISPR-based genome editing applications.

Microbiome-based therapeutics hold great promise for reducing disease susceptibility and enhancing disease resistance. In this Review, Sorbara and Pamer explore the major bacterial phyla associated with health benefits and the potential of microbiome-based therapeutics, including faecal microbiota transplantation, bacterial consortia, engineered symbiotic bacteria, diet and prebiotics, and microbiome-derived proteins and metabolites. They also discuss the challenges confronting therapeutic development as well as the regulatory hurdles for clinical trials and manufacturing.