Latest Articles
Special Issue Perspective | Applied and Environmental SciencePrecision Food Safety: a Paradigm Shift in Detection and Control of Foodborne PathogensThe implementation of whole-genome sequencing in food safety has revolutionized foodborne pathogen tracking and outbreak investigations. The vast amounts of genomic data that are being produced through ongoing surveillance efforts continue advancing our understanding of pathogen diversity and genome biology.
Special Issue Perspective | Synthetic BiologyToward Autonomous Antibiotic DiscoveryMachines hold the potential to replace humans in many societal endeavors, and drug discovery is no exception. Antibiotic innovation has been stalled for decades, which has coincided with an alarming increase in multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceThe Power of Metabolism for Predicting Microbial Community DynamicsQuantitative understanding and prediction of microbial community dynamics are an outstanding challenge. We test the hypothesis that metabolic mechanisms provide a foundation for accurate prediction of dynamics in microbial systems. In our research, metabolic models have been able to accurately predict species interactions, evolutionary trajectories, and response to perturbation in simple synthetic consortia.
Special Issue Perspective | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyTowards Translational Epidemiology: Next-Generation Sequencing and Phylogeography as Epidemiological Mainstays...Next-generation sequencing, coupled with the development of user-friendly software, has achieved a level of accessibility that is revolutionizing the way we approach epidemiological investigations. We can sequence pathogen genomes and conduct phylogenetic analyses to assess transmission, identify from which country or city a pathogen originated, or which contaminated potluck item resulted in widespread foodborne illness.
Special Issue Perspective | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Vibrio-Squid Symbiosis as a Model for Studying Interbacterial CompetitionThe symbiosis between Euprymna scolopes squid and its bioluminescent bacterial symbiont, Vibrio fischeri, is a valuable model system to study a natural, coevolved host-microbe association. Over the past 30 years, researchers have developed and optimized many experimental methods to study both...
Special Issue Perspective | Novel Systems Biology TechniquesDetermining Microbial Niche Breadth in the Environment for Better Ecosystem Fate PredictionsIntegrated omics applied to microbial communities offers a great opportunity to analyze the niche breadths (i.e., resource and condition ranges usable by a species) of constituent populations, ranging from generalists, with a broad niche breadth, to specialists, with a narrow one. In this context, extracellular metabolomics measurements describe resource spaces available to microbial populations; dedicated analyses of metagenomics data...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMulti-omics Signature of Candida auris, an Emerging and Multidrug-Resistant PathogenCandida auris was first described in Japan in 2009 and has now been the cause of significant outbreaks across the globe. The high number of isolates that are resistant to one or more antifungals, as well as the high mortality rates from patients with bloodstream infections, has attracted the attention of the medical mycology, infectious disease, and public health...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyAlteration of Proteomes in First-Generation Cultures of Bacillus pumilus Spores Exposed to Outer SpaceSpore-forming bacteria are well known for their resistance to harsh environments and are of concern for spreading contamination to extraterrestrial bodies during future life detection missions. Bacillus pumilus has been regularly isolated from spacecraft-associated surfaces and exhibited unusual resistance to ultraviolet light and other sterilization techniques. A...
Research Article | Synthetic BiologySystems Analyses Reveal the Resilience of Escherichia coli Physiology during Accumulation and Export of the Nonnative Organic Acid CitramalateCitramalate is an attractive biotechnology target because it is a precursor of methylmethacrylate, which is used to manufacture Perspex and other high-value products. Engineered E. coli strains are able to produce high titers of citramalate, despite having to express a foreign enzyme and tolerate the presence of a nonnative biochemical. A systems analysis of the...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceProteomic Profiling, Transcription Factor Modeling, and Genomics of Evolved Tolerant Strains Elucidate Mechanisms of Vanillin Toxicity in Escherichia coliA particular problem for the biotechnological production of many of the valuable chemicals that we are now able to manufacture in bacterial cells is that these products often poison the cells producing them. Solutions to improve product yields or alleviate such toxicity using the techniques of modern molecular biology first require a detailed understanding of the mechanisms of product toxicity. Here we have studied the economically...
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mSystems®, an open access journal from the American Society for Microbiology, publishes the best research in single-cell and community microbial systems biology, new computational and laboratory approaches, and synthetic biology.
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