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Hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine to choline was found to be catalysed by phospholipase D enzymes from diverse members of the gut microbiota, revealing a mechanism by which commensals obtain choline for subsequent production of disease-associated trimethylamine.
APOBEC3 restriction, known to inhibit retroviruses by interfering with genome replication and hypermutating viral DNA, targets the γ-herpesvirus Epstein–Barr virus and is antagonized by the viral BORF2 protein.
The early identification of repetitive genomic loci in Haloferax species was instrumental in igniting interest in CRISPR–Cas systems. Now, work in this genus has revealed an important role of CRISPR–Cas in reducing an unusual form of inter-species archaeal mating that occurs by cell fusion.
Streptococcus pneumoniae strains colonizing the nasopharynx use quorum sensing and fratricide to outcompete incoming strains, thereby retaining ownership of the host. This occurs via activation of the competence regulon, induction of lytic proteins, and turning the invader into a source of DNA for genetic exchange.
It is now clear that key autophagy proteins possess alternative functions, distinct from their conventional roles in autophagy. Adding to this emerging field, a new study shows how ATG16L1 acts to promote plasma membrane repair following damage by pore-forming bacteria.
Bacteria employ a specialized weapon known as the type VI secretion system to defend themselves from competing organisms. A new study reveals the molecular architecture of the type VI secretion system and highlights conserved mechanistic similarities with contractile phage tails.
Gut microbiota are known to produce an intermediate metabolite in the production of trimethylamine N-oxide that promotes atherosclerosis. Now, another metabolite produced by the same bacteria has been identified that prevents atherosclerosis. The basis for these opposing microbial effects are dictated by diet.
Primate immunodeficiency virus accessory proteins Vpx/Vpr associate with and induce proteasomal degradation of the HUSH complex, thereby counteracting HUSH-mediated epigenetic transcriptional repression of proviral and cellular genes. These findings open new therapeutic avenues against HIV.
Protein translocation across bacterial membranes can take many routes through dedicated transport machines. A new study finds that Salmonella Typhi utilizes a distinct pathway to translocate typhoid toxin across the peptidoglycan layer and prime the bacterium for host intoxication.
A key step of the antiviral immune response is detection of the viral intruder. Infection with highly pathogenic strains of influenza virus is now shown to produce short aberrant viral RNAs that potently trigger activation of innate immunity.
A powerful in vivo biotinylation approach identifies TagA as a binding partner of TssA, a central regulator of the assembly of the type VI secretion system (T6SS). TagA terminates assembly of the T6SS tail and tethers it to the membrane, acting as a crossbow latch that allows for efficient firing.
The discovery of CD153 as a novel driver of T-cell-mediated host defence against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection advances our understanding of the requirements for protective immunity. Future investigation of CD153 as a potential correlate of tuberculosis immunity could open new avenues for vaccine design.
How the immune system handles the relentless presence of commensal bacteria is an area of great interest. Here, researchers describe a role for autophagy in mediating tolerance to the microbiota, the absence of which can impart beneficial resistance to infection but also possible detriment in the form of autoimmunity.
The H445Y mutation in the β-subunit of RNA polymerase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes resistance to the antibiotic rifampicin and changes mycobacterial lipid composition. Infection with rpoB H445Y results in metabolic shifts that allow the bacteria to bypass a key host inflammatory response.
Components of the sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway induce a favourable conformation in the proteinaceous murine norovirus receptor (CD300lf) that facilitates virus entry.
Genome-wide association studies and genetic analyses have identified a clinically prevalent alteration in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome that rewires bacterial propionate metabolism, conditionally reduces antibiotic killing without affecting minimum inhibitory concentrations, and may drive emergence of drug resistance.
An experimental evolution study shows that selection of a marine bacterium by warming favours adaptations that facilitate growth at low oxygen concentrations, linking evolutionary responses to these two key components of climate change in the ocean.
Plasmodium parasites possess a unique PEXEL sorting pathway to deliver secretory proteins into the host cells in which they reside. A new study shows the existence of independent sorting/entry complexes to detect and deliver PEXEL proteins into the parasite endoplasmic reticulum.
Studies in Drosophila reveal that the insect homologue of the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) exerts antiviral activity against Zika virus infection in the fly brain through the induction of autophagy, providing key insights into the possible evolutionary function of STING in antiviral defence.
It has been assumed that bacteria adapt to nutrient limitation by adjusting the number of ribosomes, no matter what they are being starved for. Instead, two recent studies show that Escherichia coli uses different approaches depending on whether its growth is limited by the availability of carbon, nitrogen or phosphate.