Latest Articles
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceExperimental Evidence for Adaptation to Species-Specific Gut Microbiota in House MiceThe communities of bacteria that reside within mammalian guts are deeply integrated with their hosts, but the impact of this gut microbiota on mammalian evolution remains poorly understood. Experimental transplantation of the gut microbiota between mouse species revealed that foreign gut microbiotas lowered the host growth rate and upregulated the expression of an immunomodulating cytokine. In addition, foreign gut microbiotas increased...
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologymSphere of Influence: Adenosine in Host Defense against Bacterial Pneumonia—Friend or Foe?Elsa N. Bou Ghanem works in the field of innate immune senescence, inflammation, and host defense. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how “Adenosine A2B receptor deficiency promotes host defenses against Gram-negative bacterial pneumonia” by Barletta et al. (K. E. Barletta, R. E. Cagnina, M. D. Burdick, J. Linden, and B. Mehrad, Am J Respir Crit Care Med 186:1044–1050, 2012,...
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologymSphere of Influence: Systematically Decoding Microbial Chemical CommunicationLaura A. Mike works in the field of bacterial pathogenesis. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how “Insights into Secondary Metabolism from a Global Analysis of Prokaryotic Biosynthetic Gene Clusters” by P. Cimermancic et al. (Cell 158:412–421, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.06.034) and “A Systematic Analysis of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in the Human...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyFitness Restoration of a Genetically Tractable Enterococcus faecalis V583 Derivative To Study Decoration-Related Phenotypes of the Enterococcal Polysaccharide AntigenE. faecalis strain VE14089 was derived from V583 cured of its plasmids. Although VE14089 had no major DNA rearrangements, it presented significant growth and host adaptation differences from the reference strain V583 of our collection. To construct a strain with better fitness, we sequenced the genome of VE14089, identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and...
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologymSphere of Influence: Clearing a Path for High-Resolution Visualization of Host-Pathogen Interactions In VivoShumin Tan works in the field of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-host interactions. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the paper “Single-cell phenotyping within transparent intact tissue through whole-body clearing” by B. Yang et al. (Cell 158:945–958, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.07....
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHigh-Throughput Sequence Analysis of Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas Indicates Subtype-Specific Viral Gene Expression Patterns and Immune Cell MicroenvironmentsIn this study, we utilized next-generation sequencing data from 7 different studies of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) patient samples to globally assess viral associations, provide insights into the contributions of EBV gene expression to the tumor phenotype, and assess the unique roles of EBV in modulating the immune cell tumor microenvironment. These studies revealed potential roles for EBV replication genes in some PTCL subtypes,...
Observation | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyStaphylococcus aureus Coproporphyrinogen III Oxidase Is Required for Aerobic and Anaerobic Heme SynthesisHeme is a critical molecule required for aerobic and anaerobic respiration by organisms across kingdoms. The human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus has served as a model organism for the study of heme synthesis and heme-dependent physiology and, like many species of the phyla Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, generates heme through a coproporphyrin...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyAnti-Factor H Antibody Reactivity in Young Adults Vaccinated with a Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine Containing Factor H Binding ProteinMeningococci are bacteria that cause sepsis and meningitis. Meningococcal species are subdivided into serogroups on the basis of different sugar capsules. Vaccines that target serogroup A, C, Y, and W capsules are safe and highly effective. New serogroup B (MenB) vaccines target a bacterial protein that can bind to a blood protein called complement factor H (FH). While serogroup B vaccines appear to be safe and effective, there is a...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Nuclear Export Receptors TbMex67 and TbMtr2 Are Required for Ribosome Biogenesis in Trypanosoma bruceiThe nuclear export of ribosomal subunits (60S and 40S) depends in part on the activity of the essential auxiliary export receptors TbMtr2 and TbMex67. When these proteins are individually depleted from the medically and agriculturally significant parasite Trypanosoma brucei, distinct alterations in the processing of the rRNAs of the large subunit (60S) are observed as...
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologymSphere of Influence: Finding a Direction—How Do Mitochondria Know Where To Go?Lena Pernas works in the field of metabolism of infection. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how work by Brian Cunniff (B. Cunniff, A. J. McKenzie, N. H. Heintz, and A. K. Howe, Mol Biol Cell 27:2662–2674, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e16-05-0286) and Thomas Schwarz (G. Pekkurnaz, J. C. Trinidad, X. Wang, D. Kong, and T. L. Schwarz, Cell 158:54–68, 2014,...