Latest Articles
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologyShedding Light on the Role of the Skin in Vaccine-Induced Protection against the Malaria SporozoiteThe most advanced vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum malaria, RTS,S/AS01, provides partial protection in infants and children living in areas of malaria endemicity. Further understanding its mechanisms of protection may allow the development of improved second-generation vaccines.
Commentary | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyPig Movement and Antimicrobial Use Drive Transmission of Livestock-Associated Staphylococcus aureus CC398The epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has changed considerably over the last 3 decades, including the recognition of lineages associated with the community and with livestock exposure, in addition to nosocomial strains. A recent study by R.
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionAntibodies against the Majority Subunit (PilA) of the Type IV Pilus of Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae Disperse Moraxella catarrhalis from a Dual-Species BiofilmMiddle ear infections (or otitis media [OM]) are highly prevalent among children worldwide and present a tremendous socioeconomic challenge for health care systems. More importantly, this disease diminishes the quality of life of young children. OM is often chronic and recurrent, due to the presence of highly antibiotic-resistant communities of bacteria (called biofilms) that persist within the middle ear space. To combat these...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyLegionella-Containing Vacuoles Capture PtdIns(4)P-Rich Vesicles Derived from the Golgi ApparatusThe environmental bacterium Legionella pneumophila causes a life-threatening pneumonia termed Legionnaires’ disease. The bacteria grow intracellularly in free-living amoebae as well as in respiratory tract macrophages. To this end, L. pneumophila forms a distinct membrane-bound compartment called...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAcquisition and Loss of CTX-M-Producing and Non-Producing Escherichia coli in the Fecal Microbiome of Travelers to South AsiaEscherichia coli strains which produce CTX-M extended-spectrum beta-lactamases are endemic as colonizers of humans and in the environment in South Asia. This study demonstrates that acquisition of CTX-M-producing E. coli (CTX-M-EC) in travelers from the United Kingdom to South Asia is polyclonal,...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionChemical Synergy between Ionophore PBT2 and Zinc Reverses Antibiotic ResistanceThe rise of bacterial antibiotic resistance coupled with a reduction in new antibiotic development has placed significant burdens on global health care. Resistant bacterial pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus are leading causes of community- and hospital-acquired infection and present a...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyIncreasing the Capping Efficiency of the Sindbis Virus nsP1 Protein Negatively Affects Viral InfectionAlphaviruses have been the cause of both localized outbreaks and large epidemics of severe disease. Currently, there are no strategies or vaccines which are either safe or effective for preventing alphaviral infection or treating alphaviral disease. This deficit of viable therapeutics highlights the need to better understand the mechanisms behind alphaviral infection in order to develop novel antiviral strategies for treatment of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Meningococcal Cysteine Transport System Plays a Crucial Role in Neisseria meningitidis Survival in Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial CellsNeisseria meningitidis colonizes at a nasopharynx of human as a unique host and has many strains that are auxotrophs for amino acids for their growth. To cause invasive meningococcal diseases (IMD) such as sepsis and meningitis, N. meningitidis passes through epithelial and endothelial barriers and...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionDeciphering the Evolution of Cephalosporin Resistance to Ceftolozane-Tazobactam in Pseudomonas aeruginosaThe presence of β-lactamases (e.g., PDC-3) that have naturally evolved and acquired the ability to break down β-lactam antibiotics (e.g., ceftazidime and ceftolozane) leads to highly resistant and potentially lethal Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. We show that wild-type PDC-3 β-lactamase forms an acyl enzyme complex with ceftazidime, but it cannot accommodate the...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyProtein Kinase A and High-Osmolarity Glycerol Response Pathways Cooperatively Control Cell Wall Carbohydrate Mobilization in Aspergillus fumigatusAspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic human pathogen causing allergic reactions or systemic infections such as invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, especially in immunocompromised patients. The fungal cell wall is the main component responsible for recognition by the immune system, due to the specific composition of polysaccharide carbohydrates exposed on the surface...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis Targets Bacteria with Laterally Acquired NlpC/P60 Peptidoglycan HydrolasesTrichomonas vaginalis is a parasitic protozoan of the human urogenital tract that causes trichomoniasis, a very common sexually transmitted disease. Despite residing extracellularly and in close association with the vaginal bacteria (i.e., the microbiota), very little is known about the nature of the parasite-bacterium interactions. Our study showed that this parasite...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyImpact of Individual Traits, Saturated Fat, and Protein Source on the Gut MicrobiomeThe microbiome has proven to influence health and disease, but how combinations of external factors affect the microbiome is relatively unknown. Diet can cause changes, but this is usually achieved by altering macronutrient ratios and has not focused on dietary protein source or saturated fat intake levels. In addition, each individual’s unique microbiome profile can be an important factor during studies, and it has even been shown to...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyORBIT: a New Paradigm for Genetic Engineering of Mycobacterial ChromosomesWe sought to develop a system that could increase the usefulness of oligonucleotide-mediated recombineering of bacterial chromosomes by expanding the types of modifications generated by an oligonucleotide (i.e., insertions and deletions) and by making recombinant formation a selectable event. This paper describes such a system for use in M. smegmatis and...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyStructural Constraints at the Trimer Apex Stabilize the HIV-1 Envelope in a Closed, Antibody-Protected ConformationThe extraordinary ability of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) to evade host immunity represents a major obstacle to the development of a protective vaccine. Thus, elucidating the mechanisms whereby HIV-1 protects its external envelope (Env), which is the sole target of virus-neutralizing antibodies, is an essential step toward vaccine design. We identified a key structural element that maintains the HIV-1 Env trimer in a...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Monothiol Glutaredoxin Grx4 Regulates Iron Homeostasis and Virulence in Cryptococcus neoformansFungal pathogens cause life-threatening diseases in humans, particularly in immunocompromised people, and there is a tremendous need for a greater understanding of pathogenesis to support new therapies. One prominent fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans, causes meningitis in people suffering from HIV/AIDS. In the present study, we focused on characterizing...
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mBio® is ASM's first broad-scope, online-only, open access journal. mBio offers streamlined review and publication of the best research in microbiology and allied fields.
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Dr. Arturo Casadevall, Editor in Chief
