Microreviews, Review
A holobiont view on thrombosis: unravelling the microbiota’s influence on arterial thrombus growth
Giulia Pontarollo1, Klytaimnistra Kiouptsi1 and Christoph Reinhardt1,2
In this article, the authors comment on the study "The microbiota promotes arterial thrombosis in low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice" by Kiouptsi et al. (mBio, 2019) that showed that commensal microbiota, intricately linked to host physiology, may influence cardiovascular disease, as shown by studies using germ-free atherosclerosis-prone mice to examine how microbial presence and diet affect arterial thrombosis and lesion development.
The role of Lactobacillus species in the control of Candida via biotrophic interactions
Isabella Zangl1, Ildiko-Julia Pap2, Christoph Aspöck2 and Christoph Schüller1,3
Microbial communities, including Candida and Lactobacillus species, play a crucial role in human health, particularly in the context of mucosal infections, but our understanding of their interactions and effects is still incomplete due to the variability of species and isolates as well as the complexity of the human host.
Tribal warfare: Commensal Neisseria kill pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae using its DNA
Magdalene So1 and Maria A. Rendón1
This article comments on work published by Kim et al (Cell Host Microbe, 2019), which adds a new dimension to the concept of commensal protection. It shows that commensal Neisseria kill the closely related pathogen N. gonorrhoeae through an unexpected mechanism, one that involves genetic competence, DNA methylation state and recombination.
Yet another job for the bacterial ribosome
Andrea Origi1,2, Ana Natriashivili1,2, Lara Knüpffer1, Clara Fehrenbach1, Kärt Denks1,2, Rosella Asti1 and Hans-Georg Koch1
This article comments on work published by Knüpffer et al (mBio, 2019), which revealed the intricate interaction of uL23 with yet another essential player in bacteria, the ATPase SecA, which is best known for its role during post-translational secretion of proteins across the bacterial SecYEG translocon
Gut microbial metabolites in depression: understanding the biochemical mechanisms
Giorgia Caspani1, Sidney Kennedy2-5, Jane A. Foster6 and Jonathan Swann1
This article shows how the gut microbiota contributes to the pathophysiology of depression and examines the mechanisms by which microbially-derived molecules may influence depressive behavior, highlighting the potential of dietary interventions as novel therapeutic strategies.
The multiple functions of the numerous Chlamydia trachomatis secreted proteins: the tip of the iceberg
Joana N. Bugalhão1 and Luís Jaime Mota1
CThis article shows an in-depth review on the current knowledge and outstanding questions about secreted proteins from Chlamydia trachomatis, detailing their roles in host cell interaction and immune response evasion.
Inhibiting eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis: Mining new tools for basic research and medical applications
Lisa Kofler1, Michael Prattes1 and Helmut Bergler1
This article comments on work published by Awad et al (BMC Biology, 2019), which screened for novel inhibitors of the ribosome biogenesis pathway in yeast.
Diverse conditions support near-zero growth in yeast: Implications for the study of cell lifespan
Jordan Gulli1, Emily Cook1, Eugene Kroll1, Adam Rosebrock2,3, Amy Caudy2 and Frank Rosenzweig1
This review discusses alternative cultivation methods for baker's yeast to study its chronological lifespan, with the aim of better understanding the ageing of non-dividing cells and their potential implications for the lifespan of multicellular eukaryotes such as humans.
Evolution of the bacterial nucleosidase PpnN and its relation to the stringent response
René Lysdal Bærentsen1, Ditlev Egeskov Brodersen1 and Yong Everett Zhang2
This article comments on work published by Zhang et al (Mol Cell, 2019), which discovered an interesting mode of regulation of purine metabolism unique to Proteobacteria.
New insights in the mode of action of anti-leishmanial drugs by using chemical mutagenesis screens coupled to next-generation sequencing
January 21, 2020
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Coupling chemical mutagenesis to next generation sequencing for the identification of drug resistance mutations in Leishmania" by Bhattacharya et al. (Nat Commun, 2019), which introduces Mut-seq, a chemical mutagenesis and sequencing approach, to uncover drug resistance mechanisms in Leishmania, revealing links between lipid metabolism genes and miltefosine resistance, and a protein kinase involved in translation conferring paromomycin resistance.
Microfluidic techniques for separation of bacterial cells via taxis
January 15, 2020
Microfluidic tools, ideal for studying microbial motility due to their control over laminar flows at microscopic scales, enable precise analysis of various taxis behaviors and have advanced applications in synthetic biology, directed evolution, and medical microbiology.
Influence of delivery and feeding mode in oral fungi colonization – a systematic review
January 7, 2020
A systematic review of oral fungal colonization in infants found that while breastfeeding did not significantly affect the oral mycobiome, vaginal delivery was associated with higher oral yeast colonization, particularly of Candida albicans.
A holobiont view on thrombosis: unravelling the microbiota’s influence on arterial thrombus growth
January 6, 2020
In this article, the authors comment on the study "The microbiota promotes arterial thrombosis in low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice" by Kiouptsi et al. (mBio, 2019) that showed that commensal microbiota, intricately linked to host physiology, may influence cardiovascular disease, as shown by studies using germ-free atherosclerosis-prone mice to examine how microbial presence and diet affect arterial thrombosis and lesion development.
The role of Lactobacillus species in the control of Candida via biotrophic interactions
November 25, 2019
Microbial communities, including Candida and Lactobacillus species, play a crucial role in human health, particularly in the context of mucosal infections, but our understanding of their interactions and effects is still incomplete due to the variability of species and isolates as well as the complexity of the human host.
Tribal warfare: Commensal Neisseria kill pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae using its DNA
October 19, 2019
This article comments on work published by Kim et al (Cell Host Microbe, 2019), which adds a new dimension to the concept of commensal protection. It shows that commensal Neisseria kill the closely related pathogen N. gonorrhoeae through an unexpected mechanism, one that involves genetic competence, DNA methylation state and recombination.
Yet another job for the bacterial ribosome
October 17, 2019
This article comments on work published by Knüpffer et al (mBio, 2019), which revealed the intricate interaction of uL23 with yet another essential player in bacteria, the ATPase SecA, which is best known for its role during post-translational secretion of proteins across the bacterial SecYEG translocon
Gut microbial metabolites in depression: understanding the biochemical mechanisms
September 27, 2019
This article shows how the gut microbiota contributes to the pathophysiology of depression and examines the mechanisms by which microbially-derived molecules may influence depressive behavior, highlighting the potential of dietary interventions as novel therapeutic strategies.
The multiple functions of the numerous Chlamydia trachomatis secreted proteins: the tip of the iceberg
August 21, 2019
CThis article shows an in-depth review on the current knowledge and outstanding questions about secreted proteins from Chlamydia trachomatis, detailing their roles in host cell interaction and immune response evasion.
Inhibiting eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis: Mining new tools for basic research and medical applications
August 20, 2019
This article comments on work published by Awad et al (BMC Biology, 2019), which screened for novel inhibitors of the ribosome biogenesis pathway in yeast.