Latest Articles
Special Issue Perspective | Host-Microbe BiologySpatial Analyses of Specialized Metabolites: The Key to Studying Function in HostsMicrobial communities contribute to a wide variety of biological functions in hosts and have the ability to specifically influence the health of those organisms through production of specialized metabolites. However, the structures or molecular mechanisms related to health or disease in host-microbe interactions represent a knowledge gap.
Special Issue Perspective | Host-Microbe BiologyA Microbial Perspective on the Grand Challenges in Comparative Animal PhysiologyInteractions with microbial communities can have profound influences on animal physiology, thereby impacting animal performance and fitness. Therefore, it is important to understand the diversity and nature of host-microbe interactions in various animal groups (invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals).
Special Issue EditorialEarly-Career Systems Microbiology Scientists
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDevelopment of the Human Mycobiome over the First Month of Life and across Body SitesHumans are colonized by diverse fungi (mycobiome), which have received much less study to date than colonizing bacteria. We know very little about the succession of fungal colonization in early life and whether it may relate to long-term health. To better understand fungal colonization and its sources, we studied the skin, oral, and anal mycobiomes of healthy term infants and the vaginal and anal mycobiomes of their mothers. Generally,...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMarket Integration Predicts Human Gut Microbiome Attributes across a Gradient of Economic DevelopmentPrevious research has reported differences in the gut microbiome between populations residing in wealthy versus poorer countries, leading to the assertion that lifestyle changes associated with economic development promote changes in the gut microbiome that promote the proliferation of microbiome-associated diseases. However, a direct relationship between economic development and the gut microbiome has not previously been shown. We...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGenomewide Transcriptional Responses of Iron-Starved Chlamydia trachomatis Reveal Prioritization of Metabolic Precursor Synthesis over Protein TranslationBy utilizing an experimental approach that monitors the immediate global response of Chlamydia trachomatis to iron starvation, clues to long-standing issues in Chlamydia biology are revealed, including how Chlamydia adapts to this stress. We determined that this pathogen initiates a transcriptional program that prioritizes replenishment of nutrient...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyAltered Distribution of RNA Polymerase Lacking the Omega Subunit within the Prophages along the Escherichia coli K-12 GenomeThe 91-amino-acid-residue small-subunit omega (the rpoZ gene product) of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase plays a structural role in the formation of RNA polymerase (RNAP) as a chaperone in folding the largest subunit (β′, of 1,407 residues in length), but except for binding of the stringent signal ppGpp, little is known of its role in the control of RNAP...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTranscriptome Profiling Reveals Interplay of Multifaceted Stress Response in Escherichia coli on Exposure to Glutathione and CiprofloxacinThe emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains have serious medical and clinical consequences. In addition, the rate of discovery of new therapeutic antibiotics has been inadequate in last few decades. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin represent a precious therapeutic resource in the fight against bacterial pathogens. However, these antibiotics have been gradually losing their appeal due to the...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyZika Virus Alters DNA Methylation of Neural Genes in an Organoid Model of the Developing Human BrainScientific research on human neural stem cells and cerebral organoids has confirmed the congenital neurotropic and neurodestructive nature of the Zika virus. However, the extent to which prenatal ZIKV infection is associated with more subtle brain alterations, such as epigenetic changes, remains ill defined. Here, we address the question of whether ZIKV infection induces DNA methylation changes with the potential to cause brain...
