News & Comment

This month’s Genome Watch highlights recent advances in genome editing of parasitic worms that affect one-fifth of humans globally.

A study of centenarians from Japan shows that they have unique bile-metabolizing bacteria in their gut microbiota.

This study shows that the application of probiotic bacteria to seaweed can protect from pathogen-induced bleaching.

This study shows that hydrogen produced in termite guts can be used by mound bacteria.

Humankind relies on host–microbe symbioses and the ecosystems they form for diverse services, including food and health. It is important to understand how symbioses will fare in a world facing rapid global change and how adaptation and resilience of symbioses can be aided to secure their services for future generations.

A recent study finds that the gut microbiota generates diurnal rhythms in innate immune responses that synchronize with host feeding rhythms in mice, allowing the host to anticipate exposure to pathogens.

This month’s Under the Lens discusses the potential of in silico feedback control applied to individual microbial cells, highlighting its use for study of single-cell dynamics and patterning behaviours.

This study shows that flagellate epibionts channel nutrient flows towards their large diatom host.

A study using synthetic communities shows that the root microbiome exhibits host preferences and that this correlates with invasiveness.

This study shows that IgA responses push gut fungi towards mutualism and curtail invasiveness.

This study shows that co-existence of the four Lactobacillus species in the gut of the honey bee is mainly dependent on the pollen-rich diet of the host, and mediated by the specialization of the gut symbionts towards distinct pollen-derived nutrients.

Two recent studies provide evidence that liquid–liquid phase separation during viral replication is a target for antiviral therapy.

A recent study uncovers that sensing of host amino acids in Aeromonas veronii regulates bacterial motility, enhancing gut colonization of zebrafish.

Oomycetes use a slicing mechanism depending on polarized hyphae to invade plant hosts.

In marine sponges, higher microbiome diversity and maintenance of host innate immunity was associated with resilience to warming and acidification.

This study shows that phage predation of Klebsiella pneumoniae is regulated by capsule type and that capsule loss promotes plasmid conjugation.

This study reports that bacteriocins are encoded in temperate phages, and that they can be transferred between bacterial hosts, which provides a competitive advantage.

This article shows that a plant fungus manipulates caterpillars to ensure its spread.

This month’s Genome Watch highlights current research into the genomic and functional diversity of type VI secretion systems in Vibrio cholerae.

In settings with limited resources and a wide range of possible etiologies, molecular technologies offer an effective solution for infectious disease diagnostics, because they are agile, fast and flexible. Health systems that routinely use molecular diagnostics will achieve economies of scale, maximize limited expertize and rapidly respond to new threats.