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In this Review, Kahne and colleagues discuss how lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is transported across the cellular envelope and inserted into the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. They propose a new model, which explains how energy from the cytoplasm is used to power LPS transport to the cell surface.
In this article, James Liaoet al. review how microorganisms can be explored for the production of next-generation biofuels. They discuss the different substrates that are available for biofuel production and how these substrates can be directed to various biosynthetic pathways, and they highlight examples of microbial engineering aimed at optimizing biofuel production.
Biofilms dominate microbial life in streams and rivers. In this Review, Battin and colleagues describe the interactions between the microbiome of stream biofilms and ecosystem processes, and they consider the effects of global ecosystem change and climate change on these biofilms.
In this Review, Turnbaugh and colleagues discuss several mechanisms by which the human gut microbiome affects the metabolism of xenobiotics, including drugs and dietary compounds, and explore how this knowledge can be applied to improve the treatment of human disease.
The metabolism of pathogens and hosts are intertwined — they compete for resources, sense metabolites produced by each other and target metabolic processes to mediate virulence and immunity. In this Review, Olive and Sassetti discuss the emerging roles of metabolism in host–pathogen interactions.
Shigellaspp. harbour an arsenal of virulence factors that enable host invasion. Here, Baker and colleagues review how these bacteria have evolved fromEscherichia colion several occasions into highly specialized, human-restricted pathogens that have spread globally.
In this Review, Oikonomou and Jensen discuss how electron cryotomography has provided structural and mechanistic insights into the physiology of bacteria and archaea, from morphogenesis to subcellular compartmentalization and from metabolism to complex interspecies interactions.
In the genomics era,Yersiniahas proven to be a model genus for studying the emergence of pathogenesis. Focusing on this model, McNally and colleagues highlight the events in genome evolution that underlie pathogenesis and argue for an 'eco–evo' perspective of pathogen evolution.
Advances in synthetic biology have simplified the characterization and production of biologically active molecules from various organisms. In this Review, Voigt and colleagues outline the design and construction of pathways used for the synthesis of such natural products in host microorganisms.
Phagocytes can detect and eliminate fungal pathogens, but fungi have evolved several mechanisms that enable them to subvert immune recognition, uptake and killing. In this Review, Erwig and Gow detail how fungi interact with the host innate immune system and describe the mechanisms of immune evasion used by fungal pathogens to promote infection.
In this Progress article, Stephanie Karst describes how the gut microbiota promotes intestinal infection by enteric viruses. She discusses direct mechanisms by which bacteria stabilize viral particles and facilitate viral attachment to host cells, and indirect mechanisms by which the microbiota suppresses antiviral immune responses.
Advances in whole-genome sequencing have enabled within-host genome evolution to be studied with unprecedented detail. In this Review article, Didelot, Wilson and colleagues discuss how these studies have altered our view of host adaptation and antibiotic resistance during bacterial infection.
Transposon insertion sequencing (TIS) enables genome-wide definition of loci that are required for growth in diverse conditions. In this article, Waldor and colleagues discuss the benefits and limitations of different experimental approaches to TIS analyses.
Although the mechanisms of CRISPR–Cas interference have largely been elucidated, how new sequence memories are stored had remained unknown. In this Progress article, Amitai and Sorek discuss recent advances in the study of this adaptation stage of CRISPR immunity.
