Latest Articles
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySpo0A Suppresses sin Locus Expression in Clostridioides difficileClostridioides difficile is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrheal disease in the United States. During infection, C. difficile spores germinate, and the vegetative bacterial cells produce toxins that damage host tissue. In...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyIn Situ Imaging of Candida albicans Hyphal Growth via Atomic Force MicroscopyCandida albicans is one of the most common pathogens of humans. One important virulence factor of C. albicans is its ability to form elongated hyphae that can invade host tissues and cause disseminated infections. Here, we show the effect of different physiologically relevant temperatures and common...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyEnhanced Enterovirus D68 Replication in Neuroblastoma Cells Is Associated with a Cell Culture-Adaptive Amino Acid Substitution in VP1Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) causes mild to severe respiratory disease and is associated with acute flaccid myelitis since 2014. Currently, the understanding of the ability of EV-D68 to replicate in the central nervous system (CNS), and whether it is associated with a specific clade of EV-D68 viruses or specific viral factors, is lacking. Comparing different EV-D68 clades did not reveal clade-specific phenotypic characteristics. However, we...
Observation | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDissemination and Stability of the blaNDM-5-Carrying IncX3-Type Plasmid among Multiclonal Klebsiella pneumoniae IsolatesThe emergence and spread of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-producing Enterobacteriaceae have been a serious challenge to public health, and NDM-5 shows increased resistance to carbapenems compared with other variants. NDM-5 has been identified mostly in E. coli but has rarely been described in...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyDiscovering the Molecular Determinants of Phaeobacter inhibens Susceptibility to Phaeobacter Phage MD18Bacteriophages are useful nonantibiotic therapeutics for bacterial infections as well as threats to industries utilizing bacterial agents. This study identified Phaeobacter virus MD18, a phage antagonist of Phaeobacter inhibens, a bacterium with promising use as a probiotic for aquatic farming industries. Genomic analysis suggested that Phaeobacter phage MD18...
Observation | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceNovel Effective Bacillus cereus Group Species “Bacillus clarus” Is Represented by Antibiotic-Producing Strain ATCC 21929 Isolated from SoilThe B. cereus group comprises numerous closely related lineages with various degrees of pathogenic potential and industrial relevance. Species-level taxonomic classification of B. cereus group strains is important for risk evaluation and communication but remains challenging. Biochemical and...
Resource Report | Applied and Environmental ScienceConjugal DNA Transfer in Sodalis glossinidius, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse FliesTsetse flies are the insect vectors of T. brucei, the causative agent of African sleeping sickness—a zoonotic disease that inflicts a substantial economic cost on a broad region of sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, tsetse flies can be infected with the bacterium S. glossinidius to establish an asymptomatic chronic infection. This infection can be inherited by...
Commentary | Applied and Environmental ScienceMetagenome Proteins and Database ContaminationContinued influx of metagenome-derived proteins with misannotated taxonomy into conventional databases, including RefSeq, threatens to eliminate the value of taxonomy identifiers. To prevent this, urgent efforts should be undertaken by submitters of metagenomic data sets as well as by database managers.
Letter to the Editor | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyIncompletely Reported Important Methodological Details and Inaccurate Description of the Formulation That the Control Arms Received in a Gardasil Vaccine Trial
Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSediment Metagenomes as Time Capsules of Lake MicrobiomesLakes are critical freshwater resources under mounting pressure from climate change and other anthropogenic stressors. The reconstruction of ecological time series from sediment archives with paleolimnological techniques has been shown to be an effective means of understanding how humans are modifying lake ecosystems over extended timescales. In this study, we combined shotgun DNA sequencing with a novel comparative analysis of surface...