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Here, Blaser, Bork, Fraser, Knight and Wang highlight the most exciting findings in the field of microbiome research and discuss what will be necessary to obtain a better understanding of the role of the microbiota in human health and disease, and to develop microbiota-based therapies.
Despite 60 years of investigation, our understanding of the mechanisms by which phages eject their genomes into target bacterial cells remains incomplete. Here, Molineux and Panja describe the structure of DNA inside the phage head and discuss the current models for DNA ejection bothin vitro and in vivo.
N-glycosylation was first reported in archaea almost 40 years ago. However, as Jerry Eichler describes in this Progress article, it is only recently, with the ready availability of archaeal genome sequences and new and improved molecular tools, that we have begun to make major advances in our understanding of this crucial post-translational modification.
Bacillus subtilishas emerged as an important model organism for the study of biofilms. In this Review, Kolter, Losick and colleagues discuss the regulation ofB. subtilisbiofilm assembly and highlight two emerging areas in the field: biofilm formation on natural substrates and biofilm disassembly.
The discovery of abundant microbial life in the deep subsurface, where energy fluxes can be orders of magnitude lower than in laboratory cultures, challenges many of our assumptions about the requirements to sustain life. Here, Tori Hoehler and Bo Barker Jørgensen review our understanding of life in these extremely low-energy environments.
The reversible oxidation of H2 into protons and electrons is mediated by metalloenzymes known as hydrogenases. Here, Fritsch, Lenz and Friedrich discuss recent progress in our understanding of the structure, function and biosynthesis of a subtype of [NiFe]-hydrogenases mainly found in H2-oxidizing bacteria that can sustain H2 conversion in the presence of ambient O2 levels, a process that has been defined as O2-tolerant H2cycling.
Here, Suthar, Diamond and Gale review recent insights into West Nile virus pathogenesis and the host immune responses that this virus activates. Given the continuing spread of the virus in the Western hemisphere, a better understanding of these host–virus interactions is crucial and should facilitate the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics.
