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Antimicrobial peptide resistance genes are found to be widespread in the gut microbiome but are exchanged at lower rates compared to antibiotic resistance genes, with functional compatibility between bacteria being important for gene exchange.
Integration of longitudinal gut metagenomic datasets from children in Finland, Estonia and Russian Karelia reveals high strain-level diversity, which consequently impacts the functional capabilities of the early life microbiome.
The structure of enterovirus 71 in complex with its receptor SCARB2 provides insights into the mechanism of viral uncoating within the endo/lysosome compartment and identifies few conserved key residues within the binding footprint that might facilitate the design of receptor mimic therapeutics.
The Bacilluscereus enterotoxin haemolysin BL induces pore formation and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, leading to enhanced lethality during infection.
Using metabolomics and shotgun metagenomics on stool samples from individuals with and without inflammatory bowel disease, metabolites, microbial species and genes associated with disease were identified and validated in an independent cohort.
Thaumarchaeota isolates are capable of utilizing urea and cyanate for nitrification in vitro. Here, the authors show that this occurs in situ and that Thaumarchaeota are able to use urea and cyanate as an energy and nitrogen source in the marine environment.
A bacterial strain that requires the neurotransmitter GABA for growth was identified and used to isolate GABA-producing bacteria, including Bacteroides spp., from human stool samples; the relative abundance of Bacteroides was negatively correlated with an altered GABA-mediated response in a depression patient cohort.
An age-dependent immunocompetent ferret model for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome phlebovirus (SFTSV) infection and pathogenesis recapitulates the clinical manifestations of human infections, including severe thrombocytopenia, reduced white blood cell counts and high fever with 93% mortality rate.
Two distinct pathways control inflammasome activation during Aspergillus fumigatus infection. The C-type lectin receptor (CLR) pathway activates MAPK and NF-κB signalling, whereas Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling is activated through MyD88 and TRIF. Both pathways activate transcription factor IRF1, which induces antifungal effector IRGB10.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection blunts induction of hepcidin expression by bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6), probably via TNF-mediated downregulation of the BMP co-receptor HJV, while BMP6 regulates a gene repertoire reminiscent of type I IFN signalling. BMP6 and related activin proteins potently block replication of HCV, hepatitis B virus and Zika virus independently of IFN.
Clostridium difficile toxins TcdA and TcdB enhance pathogenesis by inducing vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) production and promoting colonic vascular permeability.
Comparison of Ustilago maydis and Sporisorium reilianum, two smut fungi that parasitize maize, reveals that their Tin2 effectors target different protein kinase paralogues and activity of an ancestral allele indicates Tin2 neofunctionalization in U. maydis.
Metagenomes from hydraulically fractured wells over time identified viral operational taxonomic units predicted to actively infect dominant bacteria, and in vitro experiments show that viral lysis of these hosts can release metabolites important for fermentation.
Autophagy-related proteins ATG16L1, ATG5 and ATG12 are required for plasma membrane repair and help to restrict Listeria monocytogenes toxin-mediated cell-to-cell spread.
The manipulation of expression of PfAP2-G, the master regulator of gametocytogenesis in malaria parasites, reveals that in addition to the canonical next cycle conversion route, sexual conversion can occur without additional replication (that is, within the same cycle).
A combination of genome sequencing of environmental archaeal isolates and experimental mating between Haloferax volcanii and Haloferax mediterranei shows that inter-species mating can induce the acquisition of CRISPR spacers, which modulate speciation.
Many enterovirus genomes harbour an upstream ORF (uORF) that is subject to strong purifying selection and encodes a protein (UP) that associates with membranes and facilitates virus release. UP-knockout echoviruses are attenuated at late stages of infection in human intestinal organoids.