Host-Microbe Biology
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyLight Capture, Skeletal Morphology, and the Biomass of Corals’ Boring EndolithsMicrobial communities living inside the skeletons of living corals play a variety of important roles within the coral meta-organism, both symbiotic and parasitic. Properly contextualizing the contribution of these enigmatic microbes to the life history of coral reefs requires knowledge of how these endolithic biofilms vary between coral species.
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyOuter Membrane Structural Defects in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Affect Neutrophil Chemokinesis but Not ChemotaxisNeutrophils are the first responders to invading pathogens; thus, understanding their migratory response to live pathogens is crucial. We developed a microfluidic assay that separates bacteria from phagocytic neutrophils while maintaining chemical communication between the two populations.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyTranscription Repressor Protein ZBTB25 Associates with HDAC1-Sin3a Complex in Mycobacterium tuberculosis-Infected Macrophages, and Its Inhibition Clears Pathogen by AutophagyFollowing infection with M. tuberculosis, levels of HDAC1 go up in macrophages, and it is recruited to the promoter of IL-12B where it hypoacetylates histone H3, leading to the downregulation of the gene. Here, we show that host transcriptional repressor protein ZBTB25 and transcriptional corepressor Sin3a associate with HDAC1 in the silencing complex.
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Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAn Expanded Gene Catalog of Mouse Gut MetagenomesWe established an expanded gene catalog of the mouse gut metagenome not only to increase the sample size compared to that in existing catalogs but also to provide a more comprehensive reference data set of the mouse gut microbiome for bioinformatic analysis. The expanded gene catalog comprises more than 5.8 million unique genes, as well as a wide range of taxonomic and functional information.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAspergillus fumigatus Strain-Specific Conidia Lung Persistence Causes an Allergic Broncho-Pulmonary Aspergillosis-Like Disease PhenotypeAllergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) patients often present with long-term colonization of Aspergillus fumigatus. Current understanding of ABPA pathogenesis has been complicated by a lack of long-term in vivo fungal persistence models.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyTranscription Profiles Associated with Inducible Adhesion in Candida parapsilosisInvasive Candida infections are frequent complications of the immunocompromised and are associated with substantive morbidity and mortality. Although C. albicans is the best-studied species, emerging infections by non-albicans Candida species have led to increased efforts to understand aspects of their pathogenesis that are unique from...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIdentification and Characterization of Novel Antibody Epitopes on the N2 NeuraminidaseThe influenza virus neuraminidase is an emerging target for universal influenza virus vaccines. However, in contrast to influenza virus hemagglutinin, we know little about antibody epitopes and antigenic sites on the neuraminidase. Characterizing and defining these sites is aiding vaccine development and helping to understand antigenic drift of NA.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyInvestigation of Heterochromatin Protein 1 Function in the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum Using a Conditional Domain Deletion and Swapping ApproachMalaria is caused by unicellular Plasmodium species parasites that repeatedly invade and replicate inside red blood cells. Some blood-stage parasites exit the cell cycle and differentiate into gametocytes that are essential for malaria transmission via the mosquito vector.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyA Secreted NlpC/P60 Endopeptidase from Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida Cleaves the Peptidoglycan of Potentially Competing BacteriaPeptidoglycan (PG) is a major component of the bacterial cell wall formed by long chains of two alternating sugars interconnected by short peptides, generating a mesh-like structure that enwraps the bacterial cell. Although PG provides structural integrity and support for anchoring other components of the cell envelope, it is constantly being remodeled through the action of specific enzymes that cleave or join its components.
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Observation | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Role of the Histone Methyltransferase PfSET10 in Antigenic Variation by Malaria Parasites: a Cautionary TaleThe identification of specific epigenetic regulatory proteins in infectious organisms has become a high-profile research topic and a focus for several drug development initiatives. However, studies that define specific roles for different epigenetic modifiers occasionally report differing results, and we similarly provide evidence regarding the histone methyltransferase PfSET10 that is in stark contrast with previously published results...