News & Comment

This study provides ultrastructural evidence that the HIV-1 capsid can enter the nucleus of an infected T cell line through the nuclear pore complex and fragments in the nucleoplasm to release the viral genome.

This study reports that childhood antibiotic exposure alters the gut microbiota, resulting in reduced growth in boys and increased body mass index in boys and girls, from exposure in infancy and early childhood, respectively.

This study shows that one mechanism of immune evasion used by Staphylococcus aureus involves a virulence factor, SpA, which can block complement activation by inhibiting IgG oligomerization.

This study reveals that Toxoplasma gondii maintains a replicative niche in neutrophils by extending their longevity through inhibition of apoptosis. This effect occurs by upregulation of PCNA expression, resulting in inhibition of caspase cleavage and activation.

This study shows that gut fungi, in particular Candida albicans, induce the production of systemic antifungal antibodies, which can provide protection against systemic fungal infections.

Two recent papers report the first-in-human clinical trials investigating the efficacy and safety of faecal microbiota transplantation for metastatic melanoma that is refractory to cancer immunotherapy.

This study shows that Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium virulence and survival are modulated by changes in host cell metabolism during infection.

This month’s Under the Lens discusses a recent advance in the imaging of anaerobic gut bacteria using nanaerobic growth conditions.

This study provides structural insights into how the rotavirus spike protein VP4 undergoes a conformational change to initiate host membrane disruption during infection.

This study reports the development of a CRISPR –Cas9 therapeutic to target herpes simplex virus 1 and treat herpetic stromal keratitis in mice.

This study shows that plant root barrier function and the root microbiota coordinate to maintain plant nutrient homeostasis.

This study found that deficiency of the spore surface monosaccharide anthrose increases the virulence of Bacillus anthracis.

This study shows that a large proportion of bacterial species in soil communities possess the enzymes to use inorganic energy sources such as trace gases.

This study reports the structure of the RhopH complex of Plasmodium falciparum and its assembly and trafficking.

A recent study found that prior infections enhance colonization resistance through a process whereby the host, prompted by transient infection, deploys the sulfonic acid taurine as a nutrient to train the gut microbiota and provide resistance to subsequent infections.

This study suggests that m⁶A methylation promotes the clearance of reactive endogenous retrovirus-derived mRNA species.

This study provides evidence that an antisense RNA antitoxin is involved in persister cell formation by inhibiting transcription of a toxin and by inhibiting global translation.

The integrative environment-health sciences including One Health, Conservation Medicine, EcoHealth and Planetary Health embody the transdisciplinary synthesis needed to understand the multitude of factors that underpin emerging infections and their management. Future successes in confronting and resolving the complex causal basis of disease emergence to generate robust, systems-oriented risk reduction strategies that preserve both human health as well as promoting sustainable futures represent the ‘Moon Shot’ for the integrative environment-health sciences.

This month’s Genome Watch highlights the genomic traits underlying the ancestral association between endobacteria, which live inside arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which reside within plants.