Latest Articles
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHapX, an Indispensable bZIP Transcription Factor for Iron Acquisition, Regulates Infection Initiation by Orchestrating Conidial Oleic Acid Homeostasis and Cytomembrane Functionality in Mycopathogen Beauveria bassianaConidial maturation and germination are highly coupled physiological processes in filamentous fungi that are critical for the pathogenicity of mycopathogens. Compared to the mechanisms involved in conidial germination, those of conidial reserves during maturation are less understood. The insect-pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana, as a representative species of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologySingle-Inclusion Kinetics of Chlamydia trachomatis DevelopmentChlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterium that can cause trachoma, cervicitis, urethritis, salpingitis, and pelvic inflammatory disease. To establish infection in host cells, Chlamydia must complete a multiple-cell-type developmental cycle. The developmental cycle consists of specialized cells, the EB cell, which mediates infection of new...
Observation | Host-Microbe BiologyReduced Independence in Daily Living Is Associated with the Gut Microbiome in People with HIV and HCVThe microbes in the gut and the chemicals they produce by metabolism have been linked to brain function. In earlier work, we showed that infection with two viruses, HIV and HCV, changed the gut microbes and metabolism in ways that were associated with a lifetime history of major depressive disorder. Here, we extend this analysis looking at a measurement of independence in daily living. We find that in individuals with HIV, whether or...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceRich Repertoire of Quorum Sensing Protein Coding Sequences in CPR and DPANN Associated with Interspecies and Interkingdom CommunicationThe selection of predicted genes for interspecies communication within the CPR and DPANN genomes sheds some light onto the underlying mechanisms supporting their inferred symbiotic lifestyle. Also, considering the lack of core pathways such as the de novo synthesis of nucleotides or amino acids in the CPR and DPANN lineages, the persistence of these genes highlights how determinant social traits can be for the survival of some...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyA Family of Viral Satellites Manipulates Invading Virus Gene Expression and Can Affect Cholera Toxin MobilizationViral satellites are found in all domains of life and can have profound fitness effects on both the viruses they parasitize and the cells they reside in. In this study, we have acquired the first RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) transcriptomes of viral satellites outside plants, as well as the transcriptome of the phage ICP1, a predominant predator of pandemic Vibrio cholerae...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceDamage Repair versus Aging in an Individual-Based Model of BiofilmsDamage is an inevitable consequence of life. For unicellular organisms, this leads to a trade-off between allocating resources into damage repair or into growth coupled with segregation of damage upon cell division, i.e., aging and senescence. Few studies considered repair as an alternative to senescence. None considered biofilms, where the majority of unicellular organisms live, although fitness advantages in well-mixed systems often...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyEnd-to-End Protocol for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 from Built EnvironmentsThe ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) pandemic has led to a global slowdown with far-reaching financial and social impacts. The SARS-CoV-2 respiratory virus is primarily transmitted from person to person through inhalation of infected droplets or aerosols. However, some studies have shown that virions can remain infectious on surfaces for...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceThe Evolutionary Success of the Marine Bacterium SAR11 Analyzed through a Metagenomic PerspectiveAs the most abundant bacteria in oceans, the Pelagibacterales order (here SAR11) plays an important role in the global carbon cycle, but the study of the evolutionary forces driving its evolution has lagged considerably due to the inherent difficulty of obtaining pure cultures. Multiple evolutionary models have been proposed to explain the diversification of distinct lineages within a population; however, the identification of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMetatranscriptomics by In Situ RNA Stabilization Directly and Comprehensively Revealed Episymbiotic Microbial Communities of Deep-Sea Squat LobstersDeep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems remain mysterious. To depict in detail the enigmatic life of chemosynthetic microbes, which are key primary producers in these ecosystems, metatranscriptomic analysis is expected to be a promising approach. However, this has been hindered by substantial perturbation (e.g., RNA degradation) during time-consuming retrieval from the deep sea. In this study, we conducted direct metatranscriptome...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMycobacterium Phage Butters-Encoded Proteins Contribute to Host Defense against Viral AttackMany sequenced bacterial genomes, including those of pathogenic bacteria, contain prophages. Some prophages encode defense systems that protect their bacterial host against heterotypic viral attack. Understanding the mechanisms undergirding these defense systems is crucial to appreciate the scope of bacterial immunity against viral infections and will be critical for better implementation of phage therapy that would require evasion of...