Host-Microbe Biology

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram-positive bacterium that normally inhabits the human nasopharynx asymptomatically. However, it is also a major cause of pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis. The transition from pneumonia to bacteremia is critical, as patients that develop septicemia have ~20% mortality rates. Previous studies have shown that while neutrophils, a...

Fusobacterium spp. are Gram-negative, oral bacteria that are increasingly associated with human pathologies as diverse as periodontitis, preterm birth, and colorectal cancer. While a recent surge in F. nucleatum research has increased our understanding of this human pathogen, a lack of complete genomes has hindered the identification and characterization of...

Clostridium difficile has become the most common single cause of hospital-acquired infection over the last decade in the United States. Colonization resistance to the nosocomial pathogen is primarily provided by the gut microbiota, which is also involved in clearing the infection as the community recovers from perturbation. As distinct antibiotics are associated with...

Adenoviruses are common human mucosal pathogens of the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and genitourinary tracts and ocular surface. Here, we report finding Chi-like sequences in adenovirus recombination hot spots. Adenovirus coinfection in the presence of bacterial RecA protein facilitated homologous recombination between viruses. Genetic recombination led to evolution of an important external feature on the adenoviral capsid, namely,...