Bacteria articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many bacteria use TonB-dependent outer membrane receptors to scavenge iron from their host during infection. Here, the authors report on the structure and function of FusA, which is a bacterial receptor that is used to obtain iron from plants.

    • Rhys Grinter
    • , Inokentijs Josts
    •  & Daniel Walker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The role of NLRP12 in immunity to bacterial infection is controversial as varied and contrasting results have been published using C57BL/6 mice. Here the authors shed light on this issue, showing that unlike C57BL/6N mice, C57BL/6J mice have a missense point mutation in NLRP12 that is associated with defective neutrophil recruitment.

    • Tyler K. Ulland
    • , Nidhi Jain
    •  & Fayyaz S. Sutterwala

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The bacterial cell wall is important for cell shape and stability, but how the activities of the biosynthetic machinery are coordinated are not clear. Here the authors use single-molecule imaging and chemical perturbations to determine factors that affect the localization dynamics of penicillin-binding proteins (PBP)1A and PBP1B.

    • Timothy K. Lee
    • , Kevin Meng
    •  & Kerwyn Casey Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Viruses commonly exchange genetic material with their hosts, but not with species from other domains of life. Here, the authors find that the bacteriophage WO of Wolbachiacontains eukaryotic-like genes, implicating lateral genetic transfer between eukaryotes and viruses infecting bacteria.

    • Sarah R. Bordenstein
    •  & Seth R. Bordenstein

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Type IV pili are present on a wide range of bacterial pathogens and mediate diverse functions. Here the authors report a high resolution crystal structure of the pilin subunit PilE, and a cryoEM reconstruction of the Type IV pilus filament from N. meningitidisthat offer insight into pilus assembly and functions.

    • Subramania Kolappan
    • , Mathieu Coureuil
    •  & Lisa Craig

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cyclic-di-GMP is a bacterial second messenger that binds to the regulatory domain of ATPases of some bacteria. Here, the authors report the crystal structure of this interaction, identify a cyclic-di-GMP binding mode, and show that this interaction might be important for bacterial biofilm formation.

    • Yu-Chuan Wang
    • , Ko-Hsin Chin
    •  & Shan-Ho Chou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells sense riboflavin biosynthetic intermediate antigens with a semi-invariant MR1-restricted T-cell receptor (TCR). Here the authors identify a new MR1-restricted TCR that senses cells infected with S. pyogenes, a bacteria unable to biosynthesize riboflavin.

    • Erin W. Meermeier
    • , Bruno F. Laugel
    •  & David M. Lewinsohn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Several inhibitors of the electron transport chain (ETC) are active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Here, Lamprecht et al. show that a combination of known inhibitors (bedaquiline, Q203 and clofazimine) displays synergistic effects on the M. tuberculosis ETC and improved antibacterial activity in vitro.

    • Dirk A. Lamprecht
    • , Peter M. Finin
    •  & Adrie J. C. Steyn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The stressosome is a multiprotein complex that regulates the expression of stress response genes in Gram-positive bacteria. Here the authors characterize a stressosome from a Gram-negative bacterium, showing that one of the protein components senses oxygen through a bound haem.

    • Xin Jia
    • , Jian-bo Wang
    •  & Emily E. Weinert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The genome of some bacteria consists of two or more chromosomes or replicons. Here, diCenzo et al. integrate genome-scale metabolic modelling and growth data from a collection of mutants of the plant symbiont Sinorhizobium melilotito estimate the fitness contribution of each replicon in three environments.

    • George C. diCenzo
    • , Alice Checcucci
    •  & Marco Fondi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Counteracting oxidative stress is essential in all organisms. Here, the authors outline a mechanism used by actinomycete bacteria in which oxidation of zinc-binding RsrA blocks its interaction with σR by sequestering hydrophobic residues used to bind σRwithin its own core.

    • Karthik V. Rajasekar
    • , Konrad Zdanowski
    •  & Colin Kleanthous

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Aerolysin is a secreted bacterial pore forming toxin that inserts into the host plasma membrane, potentially leading to cell death. Here the authors present Cryo-EM structures of aerolysin arrested at different stages of the pore formation process that provide insight into the conformational changes that allow pore formation.

    • Ioan Iacovache
    • , Sacha De Carlo
    •  & Benoît Zuber

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In most bacteria and archaea, a broadly conserved mitotic-like apparatus assures the inheritance of duplicated genetic material before cell division. Here, the authors use super-resolution microscopies to dissect the activities required for proper DNA segregation through the nucleoid interior.

    • Antoine Le Gall
    • , Diego I. Cattoni
    •  & Marcelo Nollmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Particles of organic matter in the ocean harbour microbial communities that digest and recycle essential nutrients. Here, Datta et al.use model marine particles to show that the attached bacterial communities undergo rapid, reproducible successions driven by ecological interactions.

    • Manoshi S. Datta
    • , Elzbieta Sliwerska
    •  & Otto X. Cordero

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Wolbachia bacteria infect insects and could potentially be used to control populations of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. Here, the authors provide evidence that natural Wolbachia infections affect the rate of egg laying and are associated with reduced presence of malaria parasites in Anophelesmosquitoes.

    • W. Robert Shaw
    • , Perrine Marcenac
    •  & Flaminia Catteruccia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The CsrA protein binds to and represses translation of certain bacterial mRNAs. Here, Dugar et al. show for the human pathogen Campylobacter jejunithat the major flagellin mRNA acts as both a target and a regulatory 'sponge' for CsrA, and is localized at the cell poles in a translation-dependent manner.

    • Gaurav Dugar
    • , Sarah L. Svensson
    •  & Cynthia M. Sharma

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Haemophilus influenzae requires haem, and acquires it from host haemoproteins including haemopexin. Here, the authors examine the haem transport system consisting of HxuA, HxuB and HxuC via the structures of HxuA in complex with haemopexin.

    • Silvia Zambolin
    • , Bernard Clantin
    •  & Philippe Delepelaire

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neutrophil elastase cleaves thrombin generating anti-inflammatory peptides. Here the authors show that cleavage of thrombin by Pseudomonas aeruginosaelastase generates a peptide that prevents TLR dimerization and signaling, interfering with the inflammatory response to avoid host defense.

    • Mariena J. A. van der Plas
    • , Ravi K. V. Bhongir
    •  & Artur Schmidtchen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The interactions between gut bacteria and enteric pathogens are poorly understood. Here, Yoon et al. show that subinhibitory antibiotic treatment in a mouse model leads to overgrowth of an E. coli strain carrying a catalase-encoding gene that enhances infection with the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae.

    • Mi Young Yoon
    • , Kyung Bae Min
    •  & Sang Sun Yoon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The role of wild elk in the spread and persistence of bovine brucellosis in the Great Yellowstone area is unclear. Here, Kamath et al. analyse the genomic sequences of 245 Brucella abortusisolates from elk, bison and cattle, supporting the idea that elk is an important reservoir and source of livestock infections.

    • Pauline L. Kamath
    • , Jeffrey T. Foster
    •  & Paul C. Cross

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The membrane-bound kinase CckA controls the activity of the Caulobacter crescentusmaster regulator CtrA, which in turn coordinates asymmetric cell division. Here, the authors show that CckA contains two sensory domains that have distinct sensitivities to fluctuations in cyclic-di-GMP concentration and subcellular niche.

    • Thomas H. Mann
    • , W. Seth Childers
    •  & Lucy Shapiro

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Antibiotic resistance is a major clinical problem that threatens to undermine our ability to control infectious diseases. Here the authors present detailed structural analysis of Rifampin phosphotransferase from Listeria monocytogenes, yielding insight on how this class of enzyme inactivates its target antibiotics.

    • Peter J. Stogios
    • , Georgina Cox
    •  & Gerard D. Wright

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many bacteria release DNA and membrane vesicles through unclear mechanisms. Here, the authors show that a prophage endolysin is involved in the explosive lysis of a sub-population of cells in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, releasing cytoplasmic content and membrane fragments that rapidly form membrane vesicles.

    • Lynne Turnbull
    • , Masanori Toyofuku
    •  & Cynthia B. Whitchurch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms driving lung inflammation and remodelling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are incompletely understood. Here the authors show that lack of secretory IgA promotes bacterial invasion in small airways, resulting in leukocyte recruitment and a COPD-like phenotype.

    • Bradley W. Richmond
    • , Robert M. Brucker
    •  & Vasiliy V. Polosukhin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sigma factors are regulatory proteins that reprogram the bacterial RNA polymerase in response to stress conditions to transcribe certain genes, including those for other sigma factors. Here, Chauhan et al. describe the complete sigma factor regulatory network of the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

    • Rinki Chauhan
    • , Janani Ravi
    •  & Maria Laura Gennaro

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacterial DNA primarily exists in a negatively supercoiled or under-wound state. Here, by mapping the supercoiling state, the authors show that there is a gradient of supercoiling across the bacterial chromosome with the terminus being more negatively supercoiled than the origin.

    • Avantika Lal
    • , Amlanjyoti Dhar
    •  & Sankar Adhya

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Catch bonds have a role in bacterial adhesion and infection by uropathogenic E. coli.Here, the authors report crystal structures, molecular dynamics simulations, ligand binding analysis and cell tracking to characterise the catch bond interaction between the adhesin FimH and carbohydrate receptors.

    • Maximilian M. Sauer
    • , Roman P. Jakob
    •  & Rudi Glockshuber

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chlamydia trachomatis isolates causing a blinding disease (trachoma) form a single lineage that is different from the lineages causing urogenital infections. Here, Andersson et al. show however that trachoma isolates from Australia are more closely related to urogenital strains than to other trachoma isolates.

    • Patiyan Andersson
    • , Simon R. Harris
    •  & Philip M. Giffard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The division of labour—where individuals specialise on different tasks—is fundamental to many sophisticated and ancient biological systems. Here the authors show that bacteria can deploy a robust and functional division of labour in a matter of days via a single mutation.

    • Wook Kim
    • , Stuart B. Levy
    •  & Kevin R. Foster

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Opiates—the gold standard for pain relief—are currently produced by extraction from opium poppies. Here the authors show that bacteria can serve as an efficient and flexible platform for the production of opiates by demonstrating the total synthesis of Thebaine and hydrocodone from stepwise fermentation in E. coli.

    • Akira Nakagawa
    • , Eitaro Matsumura
    •  & Hiromichi Minami

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The analysis of existing metagenomic data can lead to discovery of new microorganisms. Here, Eloe-Fadrosh et al. perform a large-scale analysis of global metagenomic data, followed by genome reconstruction and single-cell genomics, to describe a new bacterial phylum that inhabits geothermal springs.

    • Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh
    • , David Paez-Espino
    •  & Natalia N. Ivanova

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteria release outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) that play important roles in pathogenesis and intercellular interactions. Here, Roier et al. provide evidence supporting that phospholipid accumulation in the outer leaflet of the outer membrane participates in OMV formation in Gram-negative bacteria.

    • Sandro Roier
    • , Franz G. Zingl
    •  & Stefan Schild

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The clinical application of new sequencing techniques is expected to accelerate pathogen identification. Here, Bradley et al. present a clinician-friendly software package that uses sequencing data for quick and accurate prediction of antibiotic resistance profiles for S. aureus and M. tuberculosis.

    • Phelim Bradley
    • , N. Claire Gordon
    •  & Zamin Iqbal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Expression of transcription factors to alter gene regulation can cause substantial changes to expression across a genome. Here the authors ‘rewire’ E. coliand analyse the global transcriptome alterations to identify novel network interactions.

    • Rebecca Baumstark
    • , Sonja Hänzelmann
    •  & Mark Isalan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacterial type III secretion systems (T3SSs) inject virulence effector proteins into eukaryotic cells and are activated by host membrane contact. Here the authors report the in situ structure of the Chlamydia trachomatisT3SS in the presence or absence of host membrane, and observe compaction of the basal body embedded in the bacterial envelope.

    • Andrea Nans
    • , Mikhail Kudryashev
    •  & Richard D. Hayward

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus invades and kills other bacteria, but it is unclear how it avoids degradation of its own cell wall. Here the authors identify the B. bacteriovorusprotein Bd3460 as an endopeptidase inhibitor that prevents hydrolysis of the predator’s peptidoglycan during invasion of prey.

    • Carey Lambert
    • , Ian T. Cadby
    •  & Andrew L. Lovering

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