News & Comment

Two new studies report how plastic pollution is shaping microbial communities in the environment.

This study shows how Fusobacterium nucleatum integrates a metabolic network in the oral microbiota.

A study in cell lines suggests that SARS-CoV-2 potentially spreads through tunnelling nanotubes.

This study compares insect-specific flaviviruses with those that can infect both mosquitoes and humans.

This Genome Watch highlights how population genomic strategies can aid in the development of an effective syphilis vaccine.

This study shows that plants recruit root bacteria that can protect them from drought.

A study in mice shows that the gut microbiota can metabolize vitamin A into retinoids.

A study in spore-forming bacteria shows that phage-encoded sigma factors can disrupt dormancy.

The ongoing monkeypox outbreak in non-endemic countries is likely to be a consequence of the failure to curtail the spread of the disease in endemic regions of Africa despite decades of constant outbreaks. A globally driven one health approach to prevention and treatment of the disease is essential to control present and future outbreaks.

This Genome Watch highlights how studying endosymbiotic gene transfer in more recently established endosymbioses sheds light on how the algal plastid evolved more than a billion years ago.

A field study investigates three different routes by which plant litter and soil microbiomes can disperse.

A study on a marine bacterium shows that it can form multicellular aggregates, which enable division of labour.

A study finds a pan-coronavirus antibody that targets a conserved epitope, which is exposed during SARS-CoV-2 fusion.

This study shows that flaviviruses promote the proliferation of acetophenone-producing skin commensal bacteria, which enhances mosquito attraction and thus flavivirus transmission.

A recent study uncovered the geographical origins of the Black Death pandemic, offering a new perspective on the phylogenetic polytomy that served as a foundation for the expansion of Yersinia pestis across Eurasia and North Africa more than 600 years ago.

This study finds that toxin–antitoxin systems can protect bacteria from phages by inducing abortive infection.

A study with honey bee larvae shows that a bacterial symbiont can protect them from nutritional stress.

A microfluidics study shows that bacterial biofilms form wrinkles when they grow and detach from a solid surface.

Two recent studies highlight the potential of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies for the long-term control of HIV in the absence of antiretroviral therapy.

A single-cell microfluidics study shows that phenotypic heterogeneity and fast growth can reduce antibiotic susceptibility.