Latest Articles
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyProduction of Noncapped Genomic RNAs Is Critical to Sindbis Virus Disease and PathogenicityMosquito-transmitted alphaviruses have been the cause of widespread outbreaks of disease that can range from mild illness to lethal encephalitis or severe polyarthritis. There are currently no safe and effective vaccines or therapeutics with which to prevent or treat alphaviral disease, highlighting the need to better understand alphaviral pathogenesis to develop novel antiviral strategies. This report reveals production of noncapped...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyExpansion of a Specific Plasmodium falciparum PfMDR1 Haplotype in Southeast Asia with Increased Substrate TransportGlobal efforts to eliminate malaria depend on the continued success of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) that target Plasmodium asexual blood-stage parasites. Resistance to ACTs, however, has emerged, creating the need to define the underlying mechanisms. Mutations in the P. falciparum multidrug resistance protein 1 (PfMDR1) transporter...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceWomen Are Underrepresented and Receive Differential Outcomes at ASM Journals: a Six-Year Retrospective AnalysisBarriers in science and academia have prevented women from becoming researchers and experts that are viewed as equivalent to their colleagues who are men. We evaluated the participation and success of women researchers at ASM journals to better understand their success in the field of microbiology. We found that women are underrepresented as expert scientists at ASM journals. This is, in part, due to a combination of both low...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGenes Contributing to the Unique Biology and Intrinsic Antibiotic Resistance of Enterococcus faecalisEnterococci are leading causes of antibiotic-resistant infection transmitted in hospitals. The intrinsic hardiness of these organisms allows them to survive disinfection practices and then proliferate in the gastrointestinal tracts of antibiotic-treated patients. The objective of this study was to identify the underlying genetic basis for its unusual hardiness. Using a functional genomic approach, we identified traits and pathways of...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTranscriptional Silencing by TsrA in the Evolution of Pathogenic Vibrio cholerae BiotypesPathogenic Vibrio cholerae strains express multiple virulence factors that are encoded by bacteriophage and chromosomal islands. These include cholera toxin and the intestinal colonization pilus called the toxin-coregulated pilus, which are essential for causing severe disease in humans. However, it is presently unclear how the expression of these horizontally...
Observation | Ecological and Evolutionary SciencePotential Rhodopsin- and Bacteriochlorophyll-Based Dual Phototrophy in a High Arctic GlacierOver the course of evolution for billions of years, bacteria that are capable of light-driven energy production have occupied every corner of surface Earth where sunlight can reach. Only two general biological systems have evolved in bacteria to be capable of net energy conservation via light harvesting: one is based on the pigment of (bacterio-)chlorophyll and the other is based on proton-pumping rhodopsin. There is emerging genomic...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyHeterotrimeric G-Protein Signaling Is Required for Cellulose Degradation in Neurospora crassaFilamentous fungi are critical for the recycling of plant litter in the biosphere by degrading lignocellulosic biomass into simpler compounds for metabolism. Both saprophytic and pathogenic fungi utilize plant cell wall-degrading enzymes to liberate carbon for metabolism. Several studies have demonstrated a role for cellulase enzymes during infection of economically relevant crops by fungal pathogens. Especially in developing countries...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceEffects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on Aspergillus fumigatus Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population StructureAntibiotic resistance is an increasing threat to human health. In the case of Aspergillus fumigatus, which is an environmental fungus that also causes life-threatening infections in humans, antimicrobial resistance is suggested to arise from fungicide use in agriculture, as the chemicals used for plant protection are almost identical to the antifungals used clinically...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyPhagosomal F-Actin Retention by Cryptococcus gattii Induces Dendritic Cell ImmunoparalysisCryptococcus yeast species typically display characteristics of opportunistic pathogens, with the exception of C. gattii, which can cause life-threatening respiratory and disseminated brain infections in otherwise healthy people. The pathogenesis of C. gattii is not well understood, but an...
