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Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyInteractions of PatA with the Divisome during Heterocyst Differentiation in AnabaenaAnabaena is a cyanobacterial model that represents an ancient and simple form of biological multicellularity. The Anabaena organism is a filament of cohesive and communicating cells that can include cells specialized in different tasks. Thus, under conditions of nitrogen scarcity, certain cells of the filament differentiate into heterocysts, which fix atmospheric nitrogen and provide organic nitrogen to the rest of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyEvaluation of the Efficacy of the Brucella canis RM6/66 ΔvjbR Vaccine Candidate for Protection against B. canis Infection in MiceCanine brucellosis, caused by Brucella canis, is the primary cause of reproductive failure in dogs and represents a public health concern due to its zoonotic nature. Cases in dogs in the United States have been increasing due to the persistent nature of the bacterium, deficiencies in current diagnostic testing, and, most importantly, the lack of a protective vaccine....
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHIV Is Associated with Modified Humoral Immune Responses in the Setting of HIV/TB CoinfectionTB is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent globally, followed by HIV. Furthermore, TB represents the leading cause of death among people with HIV. HIV is known to cause severe defects in T cell immunity, rendering HIV/TB-coinfected individuals more susceptible to TB disease progression and complicating accurate TB disease diagnosis. Here, we demonstrate that HIV infection is additionally associated with severely...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceLong-Term Nutrient Enrichment of an Oligotroph-Dominated Wetland Increases Bacterial Diversity in Bulk Soils and Plant RhizospheresOver the last century, humans have substantially altered nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Use of synthetic fertilizer and burning of fossil fuels and biomass have increased nitrogen and phosphorus deposition, which results in unintended fertilization of historically low-nutrient ecosystems. With increased nutrient availability, plant biodiversity is expected to decline, and the abundance of copiotrophic taxa is anticipated to increase...
EditorialPandemics and People
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceExtreme Viral Partitioning in a Marine-Derived High Arctic LakeThe Arctic is warming at an accelerating pace, and the rise in temperature has increasing impacts on the Arctic biome. Lakes are integrators of their surroundings and thus excellent sentinels of environmental change. Despite their importance in the regulation of key microbial processes, viruses remain largely uncharacterized in Arctic lacustrine environments. We sampled a highly stratified meromictic lake near the northern limit of the...
Minireview | Therapeutics and PreventionCOVID-19: Learning from Lessons To Guide Treatment and Prevention InterventionsCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and first emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Since then, the virus has rapidly spread to many countries. While the outbreak in China appears to be in decline, the disease has spread across the world, with a daily increase in the number of confirmed cases and infection-related deaths....
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceGenome Sequencing and Analysis of the Fungal Symbiont of Sirex noctilio, Amylostereum areolatum: Revealing the Biology of Fungus-Insect MutualismSirex noctilio (F.), together with Amylostereum areolatum, a wood-decaying symbiotic fungus, causes severe damage to Pinus species worldwide. In China, it causes extensive death of Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var....
Opinion/Hypothesis | Therapeutics and PreventionCan Unconventional Immunomodulatory Agents Help Alleviate COVID-19 Symptoms and Severity?Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of the respiratory infection known as COVID-19. From an immunopathological standpoint, coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2 induce increased levels of a variety of T-helper 1 (Th1) and inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, CCL2 protein, and CXCL10 protein. In the absence of proven antiviral agents or an...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIron Metabolism, Pseudohypha Production, and Biofilm Formation through a Multicopper Oxidase in the Human-Pathogenic Fungus Candida parapsilosisC. parapsilosis is the second or third most common opportunistic human-pathogenic Candida species, being responsible for severe fungal infections among immunocompromised patients, especially low-birth-weight infants (0 to 2 years of age). Among the major virulence factors that pathogenic fungi possess is the ability to compete with the host for essential...