Latest Articles
Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Effect of Cellular Redox Status on the Evolvability of New Catabolic PathwaysOxidation of aromatic compounds can be mutagenic due to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in bacterial cells and thereby facilitate evolution of corresponding catabolic pathways. To examine the effect of the background biochemical network on the evolvability of environmental bacteria hosting a new catabolic pathway, Akkaya and colleagues (mBio 9:e01512-18, 2018, https://doi...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyContemporary Circulating Enterovirus D68 Strains Have Acquired the Capacity for Viral Entry and Replication in Human Neuronal CellsSince the EV-D68 outbreak during the summer of 2014, evidence of a causal link to a type of limb paralysis (AFM) has been mounting. In this article, we describe a neuronal cell culture model (SH-SY5Y cells) in which a subset of contemporary 2014 outbreak strains of EV-D68 show infectivity in neuronal cells, or neurotropism. We confirmed the difference in neurotropism in vitro using primary human neuron cell cultures and in...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyProtection against Staphylococcus aureus Colonization and Infection by B- and T-Cell-Mediated MechanismsS. aureus is a leading cause of healthcare- and community-associated bacterial infections. S. aureus causes various illnesses, including bacteremia, meningitis, endocarditis, pneumonia, osteomyelitis, sepsis, and skin and soft tissue infections....
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNatural Selection of Glycoprotein B Mutations That Rescue the Small-Plaque Phenotype of a Fusion-Impaired Herpes Simplex Virus MutantGlycoprotein B (gB) is an essential viral protein that is conserved in all herpesviruses and is required for virus entry. gB is thought to undergo a conformational change that provides the energy to fuse the viral and cellular membranes; however, the details of this conformational change and the structure of the prefusion and intermediate conformations of gB are not known. Previously, we demonstrated that mutations in the gB “arm”...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyRNA Viruses in Blechomonas (Trypanosomatidae) and Evolution of LeishmaniavirusFlagellates belonging to the genus Leishmania are important human parasites. Some strains of different Leishmania species harbor viruses (leishmaniaviruses), which facilitate metastatic spread of the parasites, thus aggravating the disease. Up until now, these viruses were known to be hosted only by Leishmania. Here, we analyzed viral distribution in Blechomonas, a related group of flagellates...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionA Bacteriophage T4 Nanoparticle-Based Dual Vaccine against Anthrax and PlagueFollowing the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis that cause anthrax and plague, respectively, are two Tier 1 select agents that pose the greatest threat to the national security of the United...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNadA3 Structures Reveal Undecad Coiled Coils and LOX1 Binding Regions Competed by Meningococcus B Vaccine-Elicited Human AntibodiesThe bacterial microbe Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) is a major cause of devastating meningococcal disease. An approved multicomponent vaccine, 4CMenB, protects against MenB. Neisserial adhesin A (NadA) is a key vaccine antigen and acts in host cell-pathogen interactions. We investigated the 4CMenB vaccine component NadA3 in order to improve the...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySmall-Molecule Acetylation Controls the Degradation of Benzoate and Photosynthesis in Rhodopseudomonas palustrisThis work shows that the BadL protein of Rhodopseudomonas palustris has N-acetyltransferase activity and that this activity is required for the catabolism of benzoate under photosynthetic conditions in this bacterium. R. palustris occupies lignin-rich habitats, making its benzoate-degrading...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyIdentification of a Structural Element in HIV-1 Gag Required for Virus Particle Assembly and MaturationCapsid (CA) plays multiple roles in the HIV-1 replication cycle. CA-CA domain interactions are responsible for multimerization of the Gag polyprotein at virus assembly sites, and in the mature virion, CA monomers assemble into a conical core that encapsidates the viral RNA genome. Multiple CA regions that contribute to the assembly and release of HIV-1 particles have been mapped and investigated. Here, we identified and characterized a...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMobile-Genetic-Element-Encoded Hypertolerance to Copper Protects Staphylococcus aureus from Killing by Host PhagocytesMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) poses a substantial threat to human health worldwide and evolves rapidly by acquiring mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids. Here we investigate how the copB-mco copper hypertolerance operon carried on a mobile genetic element contributes to the virulence potential of clinical isolates of MRSA....
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyModernized Tools for Streamlined Genetic Manipulation and Comparative Study of Wild and Diverse Proteobacterial LineagesA great challenge in microbiota research is the immense diversity of symbiotic bacteria with the capacity to impact the lives of plants and animals. Moving beyond correlative DNA sequencing-based studies to define the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which symbiotic bacteria influence the biology of their hosts is stalling because genetic manipulation of new and uncharacterized bacterial isolates remains slow and difficult with...
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologyHost-Pathogen Interactions: What the EHEC Are We Learning from Host Genome-Wide Screens?Several genome-wide screens have been conducted to identify host cell factors involved in the pathogenesis of bacterial pathogens whose virulence is dependent on type III secretion systems (T3SSs), nanomachines responsible for the translocation of proteins into host cells. In the most recent of these, Pacheco et al.
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyStaufen1 Interacts with Multiple Components of the Ebola Virus Ribonucleoprotein and Enhances Viral RNA SynthesisEbola virus (EBOV) is a negative-strand RNA virus with significant public health importance. Currently, no therapeutics are available for Ebola, which imposes an urgent need for a better understanding of EBOV biology. Here we dissected the virus-host interplay between EBOV and host RNA-binding proteins. We identified novel EBOV host factors, including Staufen1, which interacts with multiple viral factors and is required for efficient...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyComplement Activation Contributes to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus PathogenesisThe complement system is a critical part of host defense to many bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. It works alongside pattern recognition receptors to stimulate host defense systems in advance of activation of the adaptive immune response. In this study, we directly test the role of complement in SARS-CoV pathogenesis using a mouse model and show that respiratory disease is significantly reduced in the absence of complement even...
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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
