Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera are the second most common cause of death among children under 5 years of age globally. In this Review article, Andrew Camilli and colleagues discuss the contributions of host susceptibility,Vibrio choleraevirulence and lytic phage to the dynamic nature of cholera outbreaks.
Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) are found in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and generally comprise 12 protein components that are organized into ATP-powered, double-membrane-spanning complexes. Here, Fronzes, Christie and Waksman review the structural data of many T4SS components and propose a model for the assembly of a functional type IV secretion apparatus.
Production of biofuels is becoming increasingly important. In this Review, Alper and Stephanopoulos describe the advantages and disadvantages of the use of native strains and engineered model microorganisms for the production of biofuels.
c-di-GMP is a ubiquitous second messenger that is used by most bacteria to switch between a planktonic and a biofilm-related lifestyle. Here, Schirmer and Jenal review the most recent structural and functional data on GGDEF-, EAL- and PLZ domain-containing proteins, the key components of the c-di-GMP signalling network.
Leptospirosis is a neglected disease that has emerged as a widespread problem in impoverished populations in developing countries and tropical regions. Here, Picardeau and colleagues discuss the progress that has been made in our understanding of the pathogenesis of leptospirosis as a result of the recent availability of complete genome sequences forLeptospiraspp. and the development of genetic tools for the analysis of this zoonotic species.
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.
