Latest Articles
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionDisarming Pore-Forming Toxins with Biomimetic Nanosponges in Intraocular InfectionsEndophthalmitis is a blinding consequence of bacterial invasion of the interior of the eye. Because of increases in the numbers of ocular surgeries and intraocular injections, the incidence of endophthalmitis is steadily increasing. Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis,...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIdentification of an Immunogenic Broadly Inhibitory Surface Epitope of the Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein Ligand DomainVivax malaria is the second leading cause of malaria worldwide and the major cause of non-African malaria. Unfortunately, efforts to develop antimalarial vaccines specifically targeting Plasmodium vivax have been largely neglected, and few candidates have progressed into clinical trials. The Duffy binding protein is considered a leading blood-stage vaccine candidate...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyFungiculture in Termites Is Associated with a Mycolytic Gut Bacterial CommunityUnderstanding functional capacities of gut microbiomes is important to improve our understanding of symbiotic associations. Here, we use peptide-based functional annotation to show that the gut microbiomes of fungus-farming termites code for a wealth of enzymes that likely target the fungal diet the termites eat. Comparisons to other termites showed that fungus-growing termite guts have relatively more fungal cell wall-degrading enzyme...
Observation | Applied and Environmental ScienceA Novel Trimethoprim Resistance Gene, dfrA36, Characterized from Escherichia coli from CalvesThe presence of dfrA36 associated with ISCR2 in Escherichia coli from animals, as well as its presence in other E. coli strains from different sources and countries and in Acinetobacter, highlights the global...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAn Ssd1 Homolog Impacts Trehalose and Chitin Biosynthesis and Contributes to Virulence in Aspergillus fumigatusThe incidence of life-threatening infections caused by the filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus is increasing along with an increase in the number of fungal strains resistant to contemporary antifungal therapies. The fungal cell wall and the associated carbohydrates required for its synthesis and maintenance are attractive drug targets given that many genes...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceEffects of Dairy Manure-Based Amendments and Soil Texture on Lettuce- and Radish-Associated Microbiota and ResistomesA controlled, integrated, and replicated greenhouse study, along with comprehensive metagenomic analysis, revealed that multiple preharvest factors, including antibiotic use during manure collection, composting, biological soil amendment, and soil type, influence vegetable-borne resistomes. Here, radishes, a root vegetable, carried a greater load of ARGs and species richness than lettuce, a leafy vegetable. However, the lettuce...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGenomewide Profiling of the Enterococcus faecalis Transcriptional Response to Teixobactin Reveals CroRS as an Essential Regulator of Antimicrobial ToleranceTeixobactin is a new antimicrobial with no known mechanisms of resistance. Understanding how resistance could develop will be crucial to the success and longevity of teixobactin as a new potent antimicrobial. Antimicrobial tolerance has been shown to facilitate the development of resistance, and we show that E. faecalis is intrinsically tolerant to teixobactin at high...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyZika Virus Infects Trabecular Meshwork and Causes Trabeculitis and Glaucomatous Pathology in Mouse EyesOcular complications due to ZIKV infection remains a major public health concern because of their ability to cause visual impairment or blindness. Most of the previous studies have shown ZIKV-induced ocular pathology in the posterior segment (i.e., retina) of the eye. However, some recent clinical reports from affected countries highlighted the importance of ZIKV in affecting the anterior segment of the eye and causing congenital...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyComplete Assembly of Escherichia coli Sequence Type 131 Genomes Using Long Reads Demonstrates Antibiotic Resistance Gene Variation within Diverse Plasmid and Chromosomal ContextsDrug-resistant bacteria are a major cause of illness worldwide, and a specific subtype called Escherichia coli ST131 causes a significant number of these infections. ST131 bacteria become resistant to treatments by modifying their DNA and by transferring genes among one another via large packages of genes called plasmids, like a game of pass-the-parcel. Tackling...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyInternalization of Erythrocyte Acylpeptide Hydrolase Is Required for Asexual Replication of Plasmodium falciparumNearly half a million deaths were attributed to malaria in 2017. Protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium cause disease in humans while replicating asexually within the host’s erythrocytes, with P. falciparum responsible for most of the mortality. Understanding how Plasmodium spp. have adapted to their unique host erythrocyte environment is...