Host-Microbe Biology
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMagnaporthe oryzae Auxiliary Activity Protein MoAa91 Functions as Chitin-Binding Protein To Induce Appressorium Formation on Artificial Inductive Surfaces and Suppress Plant ImmunityThe rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae generates infection structure appressoria in response to surface cues largely due to functions of signaling molecules, including G-proteins, regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS), mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways, cAMP signaling, and TOR signaling pathways....
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyGlycemic Variability in Diabetes Increases the Severity of InfluenzaEvery winter, people with diabetes are at increased risk of severe influenza. At present, the mechanisms that cause this increased susceptibility are unclear. Here, we show that the fluctuations in blood glucose levels common in people with diabetes are associated with severe influenza. These data suggest that glycemic stability could become a greater clinical priority for patients with diabetes during outbreaks of influenza.
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Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyDivergent Evolution of Legionella RCC1 Repeat Effectors Defines the Range of Ran GTPase Cycle TargetsLegionella pneumophila is a ubiquitous environmental bacterium which, upon inhalation, causes a life-threatening pneumonia termed Legionnaires’ disease. The opportunistic pathogen grows in amoebae and macrophages by employing a “type IV” secretion system, which secretes more than 300 different “effector” proteins into the host cell, where they subvert pivotal...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMetagenomic Exploration of the Marine Sponge Mycale hentscheli Uncovers Multiple Polyketide-Producing Bacterial SymbiontsMycale hentscheli is a marine sponge that is rich in bioactive small molecules. Here, we use direct metagenomic sequencing to elucidate highly complete and contiguous genomes for the major symbiotic bacteria of this sponge. We identify complete biosynthetic pathways for the three potent cytotoxic polyketides which have previously been isolated from M. hentscheli. Remarkably, and in contrast to previous studies of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyEstimating the Timing of Early Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infections: a Comparison between Poisson Fitter and BEASTThe inference of the time of infection is a critical parameter in testing the efficacy of clinical interventions in protecting against HIV-1 infection. For example, in clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of passively delivered antibodies (Abs) for preventing infections, accurate time of infection data are essential for discerning levels of the Abs required to confer protection, given the natural Ab decay rate in the human body. In...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNucleic Acid-Sensing Toll-Like Receptors Play a Dominant Role in Innate Immune Recognition of PneumococciThe pneumococcus is a bacterium that frequently causes infections in the lungs, ears, sinus cavities, and meninges. During these infections, body defenses are triggered by tissue-resident cells that use specialized receptors, such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs), to sense the presence of bacteria. We show here that pneumococci are predominantly detected by TLRs that are located inside intracellular vacuoles, including endosomes, where...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyBordetella Dermonecrotic Toxin Is a Neurotropic Virulence Factor That Uses CaV3.1 as the Cell Surface ReceptorBordetella pertussis, which causes pertussis, a contagious respiratory disease, produces three major protein toxins, pertussis toxin, adenylate cyclase toxin, and dermonecrotic toxin (DNT), for which molecular actions have been elucidated. The former two toxins are known to be involved in the emergence of some clinical symptoms and/or contribute to the establishment...
Observation | Host-Microbe BiologyEvolution of Host Specificity by Malaria Parasites through Altered Mechanisms Controlling Genome MaintenanceMalaria remains one of the most prevalent and deadly infectious diseases of the developing world, causing approximately 228 million clinical cases and nearly half a million deaths annually. The disease is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium, and of the five species capable of infecting humans, infections with P. falciparum are the most...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologySnake Deltavirus Utilizes Envelope Proteins of Different Viruses To Generate Infectious ParticlesDeltaviruses need a coinfecting enveloped virus to produce infectious particles necessary for transmission to a new host. Hepatitis D virus (HDV), the only known deltavirus until 2018, has been found only in humans, and its coinfection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is linked with fulminant hepatitis. The recent discovery of deltaviruses without a coinfecting HBV-like agent in several different taxa suggested that deltaviruses could...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyRole of Plasmodium falciparum Protein GEXP07 in Maurer’s Cleft Morphology, Knob Architecture, and P. falciparum EMP1 TraffickingThe trafficking of the virulence antigen PfEMP1 and its presentation at the knob structures at the surface of parasite-infected RBCs are central to severe adhesion-related pathologies such as cerebral and placental malaria. This work adds to our understanding of how PfEMP1 is trafficked to the RBC membrane by defining the protein-protein interaction networks that function at the Maurer’s clefts controlling PfEMP1 loading and...