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Prophylaxis reimagined: innovation where vaccines and antibiotics fall short
This study demonstrates the use of a vectored immunoprophylaxis strategy using adeno-associated virus as an alternative ap...
Revisiting the life cycle of temperate phages
Revisiting the life cycle of temperate phages
Temperate bacteriophages (phages) are ubiquitous viruses that co-evolve with their bacterial hosts. They are defined by th...
Keeping off the weight with Akkermansia
In this study, Mount et al. conducted a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial and identified pasteurized Akkermansi...
Fungal diversity, ecology and functions in soil ecosystems
Fungal diversity, ecology and functions in soil ecosystems
Fungi are a key component of the microbial community in soils, forming species-rich assemblages in soils of natural ecosys...
An invasive plant reveals the importance of mycorrhizal fungi
In this Journal Club, Mark Anthony revisits a paper showing how an invasive plant disrupts mycorrhizal symbioses, reducing...
Agricultural intensification, microbial homogenization and loss of rare microbiota
Agricultural intensification, microbial homogenization and loss of rare microbiota
To meet the needs of a growing human population, agricultural management practices have undergone substantial intensificat...
Infection cycles of viruses of the phylum Nucleocytoviricota
Infection cycles of viruses of the phylum Nucleocytoviricota
The phylum Nucleocytoviricota, formerly known as nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs), comprises evolutionarily re...
Mining microbiomes for microproteins
Mining microbiomes for microproteins
This Genome Watch discusses strategies to detect small open reading frames and study microproteins encoded in microbiomes ...
Fungal biofilms in human health and disease
Fungal biofilms in human health and disease
Increased use of implanted medical devices, use of immunosuppressants and an ageing population have driven the rising freq...
RNA evolution shapes SARS-CoV-2 success
In this study, Mears et al. show that SARS-CoV-2 can evolve not only through protein changes but also through functional R...
A gut microbiome-restoring diet
A gut microbiome-restoring diet
In this study, Li et al. perform a randomized controlled feeding trial to test the effects of a microbiome restoration str...
The intruders that stole the master key
The intruders that stole the master key
This Genome Watch article highlights how genomics and different experimental approaches reveal how intracellular bacteria ...
Self-sacrificing cell death to thwart phage infection
Self-sacrificing cell death to thwart phage infection
This study describes the bacterial type IV Thoeris defence system, which contains both a Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR)...
Settling with the motion
This study reports two different mechanisms that enable bacterial surface colonization under high flow conditions.
The role of bacterial metabolism in antimicrobial resistance
The role of bacterial metabolism in antimicrobial resistance
The relationship between bacterial metabolism and antibiotic treatment is complex. On the one hand, antibiotics l...
A never-ending defence fight
A never-ending defence fight
Two recent studies provide mechanistic understanding of how bacteria employ the Gabija system for defence against phages, ...
Daughters remember to swarm
The data of the study suggest that bacteria possess a physiological iron memory that persists over multiple generations.
Staphylococcus aureus gets itchy
Staphylococcus aureus gets itchy
This study reports a mechanism whereby a Staphylococcus aureus protease induces itch by activating a host receptor on sens...
The honeybee microbiota and its impact on health and disease
The honeybee microbiota and its impact on health and disease
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are key pollinators that support global agriculture and are long-established models for develop...
Jumping between hosts
In this study, Lee et al. analyse the structure and receptor-binding features of the spike glycoprotein from a clade 3 sar...
Machine learning sheds light on microbial dark proteins
Machine learning sheds light on microbial dark proteins
This month’s Genome Watch highlights the recent use of machine learning to uncover functional ‘dark matterR...
Antibodies versus P. aeruginosa
In this study, Simonis et al. show that chronic infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa leads to development of neutralizing...
Keep calm with ammonia-producing microbiota
Keep calm with ammonia-producing microbiota
In this study, Wang et al. show that bacterium-derived intestinal ammonia modulates glutamine production in the mouse brai...
Urban malaria
This study provides evidence for a role of Anopheles stephensi in driving urban malaria outbreaks.
Machine learning for microbiologists
Machine learning for microbiologists
Machine learning is increasingly important in microbiology where it is used for tasks such as predicting antibiotic resist...
Mycobacterial cords
This study reports that intracellular cord formation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an important feature of early pathog...
Microbial murmurs — decoding hidden conversations between bacteria
Microbial murmurs — decoding hidden conversations between bacteria
This month’s Genome Watch highlights how a tailor-made search through bacterial genomes revealed the widespread pres...
Sabotage of CRISPR–Cas
Sabotage of CRISPR–Cas
This study reports the identification of an archaeal virus Acr protein that blocks the dissociation of the target RNA from...
Beneficial applications of biofilms
Beneficial applications of biofilms
Many microorganisms live in the form of a biofilm. Although they are feared in the medical sector, biofilms that are compo...
The interplay between microbial communities and soil properties
The interplay between microbial communities and soil properties
In recent years, there has been considerable progress in determining the soil properties that influence the structure of t...