Latest Articles
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologymSphere of Influence: Peering through a Keyhole into the Unseen WorldSarah Lebeis studies the assembly and function of plant microbiomes. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the paper “Functional Overlap of the Arabidopsis Leaf and Root Microbiota” (Y. Bai, D. B. Müller, G. Srinivas, R.
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyRole of Horizontal Gene Transfer in the Development of Multidrug Resistance in Haemophilus influenzaeHaemophilus influenzae colonizes the respiratory tract in humans and causes both invasive and noninvasive infections. As a threat to treatment, resistance against critically important antibiotics is on the rise in H. influenzae. Identifying mechanisms for horizontal acquisition of resistance genes...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMouse Genetic Background Affects Transfer of an Antibiotic Resistance Plasmid in the Gastrointestinal TractAntibiotic resistance is a threat to public health. Many clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes are carried on plasmids that can be transferred to other bacterial members in the gastrointestinal tract. The current study used a murine model to study the transfer of a large antibiotic resistance plasmid from a foodborne Salmonella strain to a gut commensal E...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThree-Dimensional Observations of an Aperiodic Oscillatory Gliding Behavior in Myxococcus xanthus Using Confocal Interference Reflection Microscopy3D imaging of live bacteria with optical microscopy techniques is a challenge due to the small size of bacterial cells, meaning that previous studies have been limited to observing motility behavior in 2D. We introduce the application of confocal multiwavelength interference reflection microscopy to bacteria, which enables visualization of 3D motility behaviors in a single 2D image. Using the model organism...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDiscovery of Bat Coronaviruses through Surveillance and Probe Capture-Based Next-Generation SequencingActive surveillance is both urgent and essential to predict and mitigate the emergence of bat-origin CoV in humans and livestock. However, great genetic diversity increases the chance of homologous recombination among CoVs. Performing targeted PCR, a common practice for many surveillance studies, would not reflect this diversity. NGS, on the other hand, is an expensive methodology and is prone to missing low-abundance CoV sequences....
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySaccharomyces cerevisiae: First Steps to a Suitable Model System To Study the Function and Intracellular Transport of Human Kidney Anion Exchanger 1Distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) is a common kidney dysfunction characterized by impaired acid secretion via urine. Previous studies revealed that α-intercalated cells of dRTA patients express mutated forms of human kidney anion exchanger 1 (kAE1) which result in inefficient plasma membrane targeting or diminished expression levels of kAE1. However, the precise dRTA-causing processes are inadequately understood, and alternative...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionBifidobacterium longum R0175 Protects Rats against d-Galactosamine-Induced Acute Liver FailureOur research investigated the protective and preventive roles of B. longum R0175 in a rat model of acute liver failure. The results illustrated that this probiotic strain exhibited protective effects in rats with acute liver failure. Thus, B. longum R0175 showed clinical application prospects that...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionEffect of HIV Envelope Vaccination on the Subsequent Antibody Response to HIV InfectionThere is a wealth of information on HIV-specific vaccine-induced immune responses among HIV-uninfected participants; however, data on immune responses among participants who acquire HIV after vaccination are limited. Here we show that HIV-specific binding antibody responses in individuals with breakthrough HIV infections were not affected by prior vaccination with HIV envelope-containing immunogens. We also found that these vectored...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionCorrelation between Bioassay and Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification for Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Decontamination StudiesCreutzfeldt-Jakob diseases are neurodegenerative disorders for which transmission linked to medical procedures have been reported in hundreds of patients. As prion diseases, they are characterized by an unusual resistance to conventional decontamination processes. Moreover, their large tissue distribution and the ability of prions to attach to many surfaces raised the risk of transmission in health care facilities. It is therefore of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyToxoplasma gondii Dysregulates Barrier Function and Mechanotransduction Signaling in Human Endothelial CellsToxoplasma gondii is a foodborne parasite that infects virtually all warm-blooded animals and can cause severe disease in individuals with compromised or weakened immune systems. During dissemination in its infected hosts, T. gondii breaches endothelial barriers to enter tissues and establish the...