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In this Review, Klein and Hultgren discuss recent advances in our understanding of the interplay between pathogens and the host during urinary tract infections, and how the insights into host–pathogen interactions and pathogenesis are guiding the development of antibiotic-sparing therapeutics.
In this Review, Hatzenpichler et al. introduce next-generation physiology, which is a suite of new techniques that enable investigation into the phenotypes of individual cells in a non-destructive manner. Next-generation physiology complements genomics and culturing and provides new insights into microbiome function.
Over the past decade, Klebsiella pneumoniae has emerged as a major clinical and public health threat. In this Review, Wyres, Lam and Holt discuss how genomics approaches have advanced our understanding of K. pneumoniae taxonomy, ecology and evolution as well as the diversity and distribution of clinically relevant determinants of pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance.
In this Review, van Belkum and colleagues discuss routinely used antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) methods, explore current efforts to improve phenotypic AST systems — including new emerging technologies as well as genomic and gene-based antimicrobial resistance detection methods — and highlight the challenges and opportunities for new rapid AST systems.
In this Review, Berman and Krysan define and distinguish resistance and tolerance, and discuss the current understanding of the molecular, genetic and physiological mechanisms that contribute to those phenomena. Distinguishing tolerance from resistance might provide important insights into the reasons for treatment failure in some settings.
Phages are tremendously abundant and are found in every environment where bacteria exist. In this Review, Dion, Oechslin and Moineau explore the diversity of phages at the structural, genomic and community levels as well as their complex evolutionary relationships.
Bacteria produce diverse polymers, such as polysaccharides, polyesters, polyphosphates and extracellular DNA. In this Review, Moradali and Rehm discuss the types of bacterial polymers and their role in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis as well as their production and use as novel biomaterials.
During intraerythrocytic development, malaria parasites replicate within a membrane-bound parasitophorous vacuole. In this Review, Matz, Beck and Blackman explore the origin, development, molecular composition and functions of the parasitophorous vacuole during blood-stage development. They also discuss the relevance of the malaria parasite’s intravacuolar lifestyle for successful erythrocyte infection and provide perspectives for future research directions.
Microbiology and biophysics are converging to advance our understanding of the mechanobiology of microorganisms. In this Review, Dufrêne and Persat discuss the physical forces that bacteria experience in their natural environments and the structures that transmit these forces to a cell. Furthermore, they explore bacterial phenotypes influenced by mechanical inputs, including adhesion, motility and biofilm formation.
Plastic debris in the marine environment provides a durable substrate that can be colonized by microorganisms and supports the growth of microbial biofilms. In this Review, Amaral-Zettler and colleagues explore the microbial ecology of the plastisphere in the context of its diversity and function, as well as suggesting areas for further research.
Plasmodium falciparum and other malaria parasites have complex life cycles, inhabiting different host cells and tissues during their multistage development. In this Review, Marti and colleagues discuss blood-stage parasite development and the newly discovered reservoir in the haematopoietic niche.
In this Review, Perlmutter and Bordenstein discuss our current knowledge of microbial symbionts that inhabit or transmit through the reproductive tissues of arthropods, their modes of transmission, and the physiological and evolutionary outcomes of their symbiotic relationships.
