News & Comment

Two recent studies report the structural basis of transcription–translation coupling in Escherichia coli, and a further study reports functionally uncoupled transcription–translation in Bacillus subtilis.

This study shows that dying cells can release a signal that alerts their kin to the presence of antibiotics and makes them more resistant.

This month’s Under the Lens discusses dual-view light-sheet microscopy and how its use has revealed the dynamics of bacterial biofilm development, a fundamental process found in bacteria.

A recent study reports that anthropogenic land use causes major changes in the diversity and taxonomic composition of reservoir hosts for pathogens, with implications for the emergence of zoonotic diseases.

A recent study investigated the physiological status of cells isolated from ~101.5 million year old sediment of the South Pacific Gyre.

This study found that extracellular DNA mediates efficient extracellular electron transfer by phenazines in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

A recent study found that a bacterial metabolite is necessary to execute the cancer driving potential of ‘hotspot’ mutations in the p53 tumour suppressor gene.

This study reports that extensive copy number variations occur in the presence of azole antifungal drugs in Candida albicans, which might cause phenotypic and population-level heterogeneity observed in clinical isolates.

This study suggests that the enhanced pathogenicity following co-infection of corals with Vibrio coralliilyticus and Vibrio mediterranei is a side effect of competition sensing and the induced responses.

This paper identifies a non-retroviral endogenous viral element in mosquitoes that has antiviral functions.

This study shows that a high-fat diet and antibiotic treatment impair mitochondrial bioenergetics, which increases epithelial oxygenation and triggers dysbiosis and pre-inflammatory bowel disease.

Two studies now provide insights into how surface contact and sensing stimulate the synthesis of c-di-GMP, which accelerates cell cycle progression and cell differentiation in Caulobacter crescentus.

Scientists around the world have risen to the challenges posed by COVID-19 by rapidly transforming their laboratories and refocusing their research efforts. In the first of a new series of Feature articles to highlight these efforts, we interviewed three researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

A recent study reports the cultivation of manganese-oxidizing chemolithotrophic bacteria.

This study suggests that primary SARS-CoV-2 exposure may protect against reinfection in rhesus macaques.

A recent study found that viral cap snatching generates host–virus chimeric proteins during infection.

This month’s Genome Watch highlights how genomic surveillance can provide important information for identifying and tracking emerging pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2.

Two studies used advanced imaging techniques to study the formation and development of bacterial biofilms.

Two recent studies shed light on the importance of heterogeneity in determining the outcome of influenza virus infections, either by shaping the immune response to infection, or by determining the potential for influenza virus to overcome species barriers.

A recent study reports that gut-colonizing commensal bacteria produce a neurotransmitter that modulates the sensory behaviour of their host.