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In this Review, Correa and colleagues revisit the rules of life for viruses of microorganisms by advancing a conceptual framework that recognizes virus–host interactions across a continuum of infection modalities and by examining the influence of these modalities on viruses, their hosts and ecosystems.
In this Review, Leung provides an overview of the transmissibility and modes of transmission of respiratory viruses, the viral, host and environmental determinants of transmission, and common non-pharmaceutical interventions for mitigating respiratory virus transmission. She also discusses the recent controversies over aerosol transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19.
Toxoplasmosis caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a common opportunistic infection with high mortality in individuals who are immunocompromised, most commonly due to reactivation of infection in the central nervous system (CNS). In this Review, Sibley and colleagues explore the interaction between host immune defences and parasite virulence factors with emphasis on bradyzoite differentiation and survival of T. gondii within the CNS.
In this Review, Salje describes the key features of the best-studied Rickettsiales species that are pathogenic to humans or animals, or otherwise important for human health and the molecular basis of their interactions with mammalian host cells.
Cryptococcosis is a serious fungal infection for which treatment options are limited. In this Review, Cowen and colleagues discuss the current antifungal treatments available for cryptococcal infections, the challenges in developing new treatments, and ongoing efforts to identify novel therapies.
In this Review, Rappuoli and colleagues discuss evidence that vaccines can have a major role in fighting antimicrobial resistance, they describe the current state of development of vaccines against antimicrobial-resistant bacterial pathogens and discuss possible opportunities to overcome obstacles that hinder progress in vaccine development.
Microorganisms produce and excrete an array of metabolites with different physico-chemical properties and biological activities. In this Review, Garbeva and colleagues highlight recent discoveries concerning microbial volatile compounds and their roles in intra-kingdom and inter-kingdom communication, and discuss the potential biotechnological applications of microbial volatiles, as well as challenges and perspectives in this emerging research field.
In this Review, Kappler and colleagues highlight recent advances in our understanding of the biogeochemical iron cycle, exploring the great complexity of the processes involved and novel mechanistic insights that have been gained.
In this Review, Fodor and colleagues discuss recent structural insights into the RNA polymerases of negative-sense RNA viruses and their use to identify novel targets for the development of antiviral agents.
Recent studies have revealed that the evolutionary impact of plasmids goes above and beyond their being mere gene delivery platforms. In this Review, Rodríguez-Beltrán, San Millán and colleagues discuss the advances that underscore the importance of plasmids in bacterial ecology and evolution beyond horizontal gene transfer.
The fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which causes white-nose syndrome in bats, has devastated bat populations in North America since its introduction from Eurasia in the 2000s. In this Review, Hoyt and colleagues describe the ecology of P. destructans in bats and its impacts on bats and the ecosystem.
Bacteria have much more diverse and versatile respiratory chains than eukaryotes, enabling adaption to different environmental conditions. In this Review, Kaila and Wikström discuss the architecture, function and bioenergetics of modular bacterial respiratory chains and supercomplexes.
In this Review, Weaver and colleagues discuss the role of genetic drift following population bottlenecks and founder effects in mosquito-borne arboviral evolution and spread, and the emergence of human disease, focusing on chikungunya virus and Zika virus.
