Latest Articles
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyNovel Multiplex Immunoassays for Quantification of IgG against Group B Streptococcus Capsular Polysaccharides in Human SeraGroup B streptococcal infections can cause death in neonates up to 3 months of age. Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis in GBS-colonized mothers has limited early infections but has no impact after the first week of life. The development of a maternal vaccine to address this unmet medical need has been identified as a priority by the World Health Organization, and the GBS CPSs are considered the best antigen targets. However, to date...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceWhole-Genome Sequencing-Based Characterization of 100 Listeria monocytogenes Isolates Collected from Food Processing Environments over a Four-Year PeriodThis study extends current understanding of the genetic diversity among L. monocytogenes from various food products and food processing environments. Application of WGS-based strategies facilitated tracking of this pathogen of importance to human health along the production chain while providing insights into the pathogenic potential for some of the...
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologyNeighbors Working Together: a Toxoplasma Rhoptry Protein That Facilitates Dense Granule Protein Translocation into the Host CellThe opportunistic pathogen Toxoplasma gondii is highly adept at manipulating host cell functions. While inside a host cell, Toxoplasma divides within a parasitophorous vacuole from which it secretes numerous effector proteins from its dense granules. Many of these so-called GRA proteins are translocated from the parsitophorous vacuole into the host cell where...
Minireview | Therapeutics and PreventionCombined Antifungal Resistance and Biofilm Tolerance: the Global Threat of Candida aurisThe enigmatic yeast Candida auris has emerged over the last decade and rapidly penetrated our consciousness. The global threat from this multidrug-resistant yeast has generated a call to arms from within the medical mycology community. Over the past decade, our understanding of how this yeast has spread globally, its clinical importance, and how it tolerates and...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySignal Sensing and Transduction Are Conserved between the Periplasmic Sensory Domains of BifA and SagSBiofilms have been associated with more than 60% of all recalcitrant and chronic infections and can render bacterial cells up to a thousand times more resistant to antibiotics than planktonic cells. Although it is known that the transition from the planktonic to the biofilm mode of growth involves two-component regulatory systems, increased c-di-GMP levels, and quorum sensing systems among others, the exact signaling events that lead to...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Anchored DFG Family Is Essential for the Insertion of Galactomannan into the β-(1,3)-Glucan–Chitin Core of the Cell Wall of Aspergillus fumigatusThe fungal cell wall is a complex and dynamic entity essential for the development of fungi. It is composed mainly of polysaccharides that are synthetized by protein complexes. Enzymes involved in postsynthesis polysaccharide modifications, such as cleavage, elongation, branching, and cross-linking, are essential for fungal life. Here, we investigated in Aspergillus...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyTranslocation of Dense Granule Effectors across the Parasitophorous Vacuole Membrane in Toxoplasma-Infected Cells Requires the Activity of ROP17, a Rhoptry Protein KinaseWhen Toxoplasma infects a cell, it establishes a protective parasitophorous vacuole surrounding it. While this vacuole provides protection, it also serves as a barrier to the export of parasite effector proteins that impact and take control of the host cell. Our discovery here that the parasite rhoptry protein ROP17 is necessary for export of these effector proteins provides a distinct, novel function for ROP17 apart from its...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary SciencePlasticity in the Human Gut Microbiome Defies Evolutionary ConstraintsThe results of this study indicate a discordance between gut microbiome composition and evolutionary history in primates, calling into question previous notions about host genetic control of the primate gut microbiome. Microbiome similarities between humans consuming nonindustrialized diets and monkeys characterized by subsisting on eclectic, omnivorous diets also raise questions about the ecological and nutritional drivers shaping the...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIn Silico Modeling of Biofilm Formation by Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae In VivoMultiple respiratory illnesses are associated with formation of biofilms within the human airway by NTHI. However, a substantial amount of our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie NTHI biofilm formation is obtained from in vitro studies. Our in silico model that describes biofilm formation by NTHI within the middle ears of Chinchilla lanigera...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceEnterococcus faecalis CRISPR-Cas Is a Robust Barrier to Conjugative Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination in the Murine IntestineCRISPR-Cas is a type of immune system in bacteria that is hypothesized to be a natural impediment to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. In this study, we directly assessed the impact of CRISPR-Cas on antibiotic resistance dissemination in the mammalian intestine and under different in vitro conditions. We observed a robust effect of CRISPR-Cas on in vivo but not in vitro dissemination of antibiotic...