Cellular microbiology articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atmospheric methane-oxidizing bacteria constitute the sole biological sink for atmospheric methane. Here, Schmider et al. assess the ability and strategies of seven methanotrophic species to grow with air as sole energy, carbon, and nitrogen source, showing that these bacteria can grow on the trace concentrations of methane, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen present in air.

    • Tilman Schmider
    • , Anne Grethe Hestnes
    •  & Alexander T. Tveit

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    Shigella, an important human pathogen, can secrete effector proteins to invade host cells and evade mechanisms of cell-autonomous immunity. In a new manuscript published in Nature Communications, Xian et al. report that the Shigella kinase effector OspG promotes the ubiquitination of septin cytoskeletal proteins to evade cage entrapment.

    • Ana T. López-Jiménez
    • , Gizem Özbaykal Güler
    •  & Serge Mostowy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio exovorus attaches on the surface on other bacteria and feeds on them. Here, the authors study the lifecycle of B. exovorus, showing that it proliferates by non-binary division, firm junctions are established between prey and predator outer membranes, and a proteinaceous S-layer does not protect prey cells against predation.

    • Yoann G. Santin
    • , Adrià Sogues
    •  & Géraldine Laloux

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Surface layers (S-layers) are proteinaceous, two-dimensional paracrystalline arrays that constitute a major component of the cell envelope in many prokaryotic species. Here, Herdman et al. investigate S-layer biogenesis in the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, providing insights into its coordination with the synthesis of other cell envelope components.

    • Matthew Herdman
    • , Buse Isbilir
    •  & Tanmay A. M. Bharat

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The small cell size of bacteria is a key hurdle in studying condensates. To address this challenge, the authors develop an experimental framework to assess bacterial condensates based on how they form, dissolve, tune shape and size, and transition between material states.

    • Y Hoang
    • , Christopher A. Azaldegui
    •  & Anthony G. Vecchiarelli

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells can fold inwards to create reservoirs that store or release excess membrane. Zhu et al. show that Salmonella-secreted effectors modulate these reservoirs to facilitate host cell invasion.

    • Hongxian Zhu
    • , Andrew M. Sydor
    •  & John H. Brumell

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteria form matrix-encapsulated communities, called biofilms, which protect resident cells from environmental challenges. Here, the authors show that Vibrio cholerae cells detect environmental threats by sensing a cellular component released through kin cell lysis, which induces formation of biofilms by surviving cells.

    • Jojo A. Prentice
    • , Robert van de Weerd
    •  & Andrew A. Bridges

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Several studies have shown that Fusobacterium nucleatum aggravates colorectal cancer (CRC) development and chemoresistance. Here the authors show that F. nucleatum is enriched preferentially in patients with KRAS p.G12D mutant CRC and that it promotes colorectal tumorigenesis in preclinical models by binding DHX15 on tumor cells.

    • Huiyuan Zhu
    • , Man Li
    •  & Huanlong Qin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neisseria gonorrhoeae secretes outer membrane vesicles (OMV) during colonization of epithelial cells. Here, the authors demonstrate that gonococcal OMVs induce epithelial cell mitophagy by a PorB-dependent mechanism to enhance intracellular survival.

    • Shuai Gao
    • , Lingyu Gao
    •  & Stijn van der Veen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors study the cellular response of midgut progenitors in Anopheles stephensi to Plasmodium berghei infection. They show that midgut stem cells are able to detect Plasmodium oocysts and eliminate them in a Jak/STAT pathway dependent manner.

    • Ana-Beatriz F. Barletta
    • , Jamie C. Smith
    •  & Carolina Barillas-Mury

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Key cellular processes, such as cell-shape determination, are poorly understood in archaea. Here, Schiller et al. study the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii, which forms rods and disks, and identify a diverse set of proteins important for these processes, including a new actin homolog that plays a role in the formation of disk-shaped cells.

    • Heather Schiller
    • , Yirui Hong
    •  & Mechthild Pohlschroder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Shigella enters human cells in a phagocytic vacuole and then escapes the vacuole to colonize the cytosol. Here, Chang and coworkers show that Shigella uses a bacterial effector to subvert host Rab proteins, microtubules and molecular motors to provide mechanical force to facilitate Shigella escape.

    • Yuen-Yan Chang
    • , Camila Valenzuela
    •  & John Rohde

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) is a second messenger that promotes biofilm formation through unclear mechanisms in several bacterial species. Here, Ling et al. report that c-di-GMP promotes biofilm formation in mycobacteria by binding to protein Lsr2, which upregulates the synthesis of keto-mycolic acid and thus biofilm formation.

    • Xiaocui Ling
    • , Xiao Liu
    •  & Weihui Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cellular heterogeneity in cell populations of isogenic origin is driven by diverse factors such as nutrient availability and interactions with neighbouring cells. Here, Hu et al. study plasmid retention dynamics in yeast populations, and show that the exchange of complementary metabolites between plasmid-carrying prototrophs and plasmid-free auxotrophs allows the latter to proliferate in selective environments.

    • Kevin K. Y. Hu
    • , Ankita Suri
    •  & Victoria S. Haritos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pores and channels within complex porous structures, such as the soil or the human gut, influence fluid flow and thus bacterial colonization. Here, Scheidweiler et al. study bacterial colonization of a model complex porous structure and show how the interactions between fluid flow, microscale structure, chemotaxis, and gradients of a quorum-sensing signaling molecule control the heterogenous accumulation of bacterial biomass.

    • David Scheidweiler
    • , Ankur Deep Bordoloi
    •  & Pietro de Anna

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteriophages have primarily been studied using fast-growing laboratory cultures of their bacterial hosts. Here, Maffei et al. show that diverse phages can infect deep-dormant bacteria and suspend their replication until the host resuscitates; however, a particular phage can directly replicate and induce the lysis of deep-dormant hosts.

    • Enea Maffei
    • , Anne-Kathrin Woischnig
    •  & Alexander Harms

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteria of the genus Actinoplanes form sporangia which, upon contact with water, release motile spores. Here, the authors study the mechanisms behind sporangium dehiscence and discover a sigma/anti-sigma system with unique features.

    • Takeaki Tezuka
    • , Kyota Mitsuyama
    •  & Yasuo Ohnishi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The nuclear dot protein 52 (NDP52) is an autophagy receptor known to trigger autophagy following bacterial infection. Here, Cui et al. show that NDP52 also triggers an anti-viral response following hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. NDP52 forms a tripartite complex with Rab9 and envelope proteins of HBV and targets the virus to Rab9-dependent lysosomal degradation pathway.

    • Shuzhi Cui
    • , Tian Xia
    •  & Yu Wei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    IgA protects mucosal barriers by coating microorganisms, yet infection related complications are rare in human IgA deficiency. Authors here show that in humans lacking IgA, IgG assists IgM in coating of most bacterial families, thus contributing to gut mucosal defence.

    • Carsten Eriksen
    • , Janne Marie Moll
    •  & Susanne Brix

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A common approach to study bacterial motility is fluorescent labelling, but this can be hampered by protein expression instability and/or interference with bacterial physiology. Here, Abe et al. describe a machine learning-based method for motion tracking of spirochetes on cultured animal cells, which does not require labelling and might be applied to study motility of other bacterial species.

    • Keigo Abe
    • , Nobuo Koizumi
    •  & Shuichi Nakamura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The enzymes FtsW and FtsI are thought to be essential for the synthesis of septal peptidoglycan (PG) during bacterial cell division. Here, Shrestha et al. show that the pathogen Clostridioides difficile lacks a canonical FtsW/FtsI pair, with its homologs fulfilling sporulation-specific roles including the synthesis of septal PG during sporulation-specific cell division.

    • Shailab Shrestha
    • , Najwa Taib
    •  & Aimee Shen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    E. coli maintains membrane lipid asymmetry by transferring glycerophospholipids from the outer membrane to the inner membrane; this requires outer membrane protein MlaA, periplasmic chaperone MlaC, and inner-membrane complex MlaBDEF. Here, the authors show that in some bacteria that lack MlaA and MlaC, MlaD forms a transenvelope bridge comprising a typical inner-membrane domain and, in addition, an outer-membrane domain.

    • Kyrie P. Grasekamp
    • , Basile Beaud Benyahia
    •  & Christophe Beloin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The bacterium Bacillus subtilis can form various types of surface-associated communities, such as colonies, pellicles and submerged biofilms. Here, Dergham et al. provide a direct comparison of spatial transcriptional heterogeneity across the three types of surface-associated communities, revealing mosaic expression patterns for genes involved in various pathways.

    • Yasmine Dergham
    • , Dominique Le Coq
    •  & Romain Briandet

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In slow-growing Escherichia coli, the chromosomal terminus is initially located at the new pole and must therefore migrate to midcell during replication to reproduce the same pattern in the daughter cells. Here, Sadhir & Murray use high-throughput time-lapse microscopy to quantify this transition, its timing and its relationship to chromosome segregation, identifying an unexplored connection between the origin of replication locus and the terminus.

    • Ismath Sadhir
    •  & Seán M. Murray

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The fusogenic activity of SARS-CoV-2 Spike depends on its post-translational lipid modification by host S-acyltransferases, predominantly ZDHHC20. Here, Mesquita and Abrami et al. show that SARS-CoV-2 infection and colitis in mice induce a damage response resulting in an altered version of the ZDHHC20 enzyme that is more abundant and significantly more efficient at attaching fatty acids to viral Spike.

    • Francisco S. Mesquita
    • , Laurence Abrami
    •  & F. Gisou van der Goot

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteria of the phylum Planctomycetes display unique cell biology features but are relatively understudied. Here, the authors report a genome-wide analysis of essential gene content in a planctomycete, providing insights into the divergent molecular and cell biology of these organisms.

    • Elena Rivas-Marin
    • , David Moyano-Palazuelo
    •  & Damien P. Devos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    S-layers form continuous protein lattices on the surface of bacteria. Here, authors use S-layer depolymerizing nanobodies to solve the structure of the EA1 S-layer in the pathogen Bacillus anthracis and show its role as cell wall supportive structure”

    • Adrià Sogues
    • , Antonella Fioravanti
    •  & Han Remaut

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms regulating fungal-algal interactions during the formation of lichen symbioses are not clear. Here, Wang et al. establish conditions conducive to symbiotic interactions and lichen differentiation using a fungus amenable to genetic manipulation, showing the importance of a MAP kinase in lichen development.

    • Yanyan Wang
    • , Rong Li
    •  & Jin-Rong Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria is an asymmetric bilayer, with phospholipids in the inner leaflet. Here the authors show that a reduction in OM proteins and the subsequent mislocalization of phospholipids weaken the OM and alter growth rate and cell shape, emphasizing the role of OM proteins in OM stiffness and cell shape.

    • Irina V. Mikheyeva
    • , Jiawei Sun
    •  & Thomas J. Silhavy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In bacteria such as E. coli, Min proteins ensure proper localization of the septum at the mid-zone of the cell before cell division. Here, the authors study the effects of changes in relative expression of Min proteins on cell size, providing evidence that Min proteins contribute to the regulation of cell size and the timing of septum formation.

    • Harsh Vashistha
    • , Joanna Jammal-Touma
    •  & Hanna Salman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The integrity and maintenance of cell-wall peptidoglycan is essential for growth and cell shape in bacteria. Here, the authors show how the coordinated actions of a synthase, which inserts new peptidoglycan strands, and a hydrolase, which generates openings to allow the insertion, determine the integrity of bacterial cell wall.

    • Huan Zhang
    • , Srutha Venkatesan
    •  & Beiyan Nan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacterial cell shape is dependent on the formation of the extracellular sugar polymer called peptidoglycan. Here the authors describe RodA-PBP2, the enzymatic core of the elongasome, which is the complex responsible peptidoglycan synthesis, and utilize an integrated approach to investigate the mechanism of peptidoglycan biosynthesis.

    • Rie Nygaard
    • , Chris L. B. Graham
    •  & Filippo Mancia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteria of the SAR202 clade are ubiquitously distributed in the ocean, but their biology is poorly understood due to the lack of cultivated isolates. Here, Lim et al. report the cultivation of marine SAR202 bacteria and provide insights into the physiology of these enigmatic microorganisms.

    • Yeonjung Lim
    • , Ji-Hui Seo
    •  & Jang-Cheon Cho

  • Perspective
    | Open Access

    The ecology and evolution of eukaryotic microbes in extreme environments are poorly understood. In this Perspective, Rappaport and Oliverio summarize data from over 80 studies of protists in extreme environments and identify lineages of particular interest as targets for future research.

    • Hannah B. Rappaport
    •  & Angela M. Oliverio

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