Microbiology

High-Throughput Quantification of Population Dynamics using Luminescence

1. Malte Muetter
2. Daniel Angst
3. Roland Regoes
4. Sebastian Bonhoeffer

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Muetter et al. provide an important argument that luminescence is a reliable, high-throughput alternative to colony-forming units (CFU) for super-MIC investigations, particularly when the quantity of interest is biomass. By examining 20 antimicrobials spanning 11 classes, the work shows that discrepancies between CFU and luminescence are often biological (filamentation, Viable But Not Culturable). The work provides a convincing view of how these three common measurements (luminescence, optical density, and CFU) relate to one another across a range of drug treatments, although testing on clinical isolates could be of further benefit.

Reviewed by eLife

The vaccine candidate Liver Stage Antigen 3 is exported during Plasmodium falciparum infection and required for liver-stage development

1. Robyn McConville
2. Ryan WJ Steel
3. Matthew T O’Neill
4. Alan F Cowman
5. Norman Kneteman
6. Justin A Boddey

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study provides new insights into the liver-stage antigen LSA3, its export to erythrocytes, and its role in liver-stage development. While the functional importance of LSA3 is well demonstrated, the data underlying the conclusions regarding antibody specificity, liver-stage localization, and phenotype remain incomplete. A key strength of the study is the use of mosquito and humanized mouse models to access life-cycle stages that are rarely studied in most laboratories.

Reviewed by eLife

Nanoscopy Reveals Heparan Sulfate Clusters as Docking Sites for SARS-CoV-2 Attachment and Entry

1. Sue Han
2. Xin Wang
3. Tiansheng Li
4. Ammar Mohseni
5. Ivan Kosik
6. Chung Yu Chan
7. Alberto Domingo López-Muñoz
8. Jessica Matthias
9. Reid Suddaby
10. Zhixiong Wang
11. Albert J Jin
12. Christian A Wurm
13. Jonathan W Yewdell
14. Ling-Gang Wu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors use solid high resolution microscopy techniques to present a model in which SARS-CoV-2 attachment and endocytosis are mediated by heparan sulfate, whereas ACE2 only functions downstream of these early processes. These findings serve as a potentially valuable starting point to examine SARS-CoV-2 entry models that challenge current paradigms. However, examination of the model in a clean heparan sulfate deficient background and in the context of TMPRSS2-dependent plasma membrane fusion are lacking. Thus, the broader impact remains uncertain in the absence of additional controls and orthogonal approaches.

Reviewed by eLife

Viral commitment to infection depends on host metabolism

1. Anastasios Marantos
2. Kim Sneppen
3. Stanley Brown
4. Namiko Mitarai

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study shows the impact of the metabolic state of bacteria on phage infection. The experimental results, based on various phages infecting E. coli, are convincing and consistent with a two-step adsorption mathematical model. This study should be of interest to the communities working on cell metabolism and on host-pathogen interactions.

Reviewed by eLife

An abundant merozoite surface protein of Plasmodium falciparum modulates susceptibility to inhibitory antibodies

1. Isabelle G Henshall
2. Jill Chmielewski
3. Dimuthu Angage
4. Ornella Romeo
5. Keng Heng Lai
6. Kaitlin R Turland
7. Nicki Badii
8. Michael Foley
9. Robin F Anders
10. James Beeson
11. Danny W Wilson

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work challenges current models of merozoite surface protein function by showing that MSP2 is dispensable for parasite growth while modulating immune responses to AMA1, with implications for malaria vaccine design. The conclusions are supported by compelling experimental evidence, including state-of-the-art technologies and well-characterized monoclonal antibodies. These findings provide new insights into immune evasion and antigen targeting that will be of broad interest to parasitology, immunology, and vaccine researchers.

Reviewed by eLife

Lysosomal activation in bladder epithelium enhances intracellular antibiotic clearance of uropathogenic Escherichia coli

1. Kathrin Tomasek
2. Kristina Skurvydaite
3. Gauri Paduthol
4. Allison M. Burns
5. Léa Schlunke
6. Valentin Borgeat
7. Christian Pasquali
8. Mario Romani
9. John D. McKinney

Reviewed by Review Commons

Pathogen-Phage Geomapping to Overcome Resistance

1. Camilla Do
2. Keiko C Salazar
3. James D Chang
4. Justin R Clark
5. Austen L Terwilliger
6. Paul Ruchhoeft
7. Paul Nicholls
8. Anthony W Maresso

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study establishes an environmental sampling workflow for the discovery of bacteriophages capable of infecting antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The authors convincingly demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach, even with the limited sampling scheme and the current challenges in viral taxonomy. This study will interest researchers working on bacterial infections, environmental microbiology, and phage-based alternatives for addressing antimicrobial resistance.

Reviewed by eLife

Apparent cooperativity between human CMV virions introduces errors in conventional methods of calculating multiplicity of infection

1. Christopher Peterson
2. Joshua Miller
3. Brent J Ryckman
4. Vitaly V Ganusov

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors combine experiments and mathematical modeling to determine how the infectivity of human cytomegalovirus scales with the viral concentration in the inoculum, i.e., considering the multiplicity of infection (MOI). They propose and test different model assumptions to explain a mechanism termed "apparent cooperativity" of virions based on an observed super-linear increase of the number of infected cells with increasing inocula. The authors present a solid study showing valuable findings for virologists and quantitative scientists working on the analysis and interpretation of viral infection dynamics for which quantitative knowledge of MOI is needed.

Reviewed by eLife

Identifying and targeting the Mg-Fe-PmrAB regulatory circuit reverses phosphate starvation-driven polymyxin resistance in Enterobacteriaceae

1. Guangming Zhang
2. Ziqing Deng
3. Jiezhang Jiang
4. Minji Wang
5. Xiaoyuan Wang
6. Xiaoyun Liu
7. Aixin Yan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study characterizes a potentially targetable mechanism by which phosphate scarcity drives polymyxin B resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. The findings are important. While some aspects of the approach are very strong, particularly the diversity of techniques, it is recommended to include genetic controls and antibiotic resistance experiments in order to strengthen the evidence, which is currently solid. The clarity and presentation of the findings could also be improved.

Reviewed by eLife

A dual role for PGLYRP1 in host defense and immune regulation during B. pertussis infection

1. David M Rickert
2. Sasha Cardozo
3. Nicholas H Carbonetti
4. William E Goldman
5. Karen M Scanlon
6. Ciaran Skerry

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Rickert and colleagues demonstrate that the host peptidoglycan-binding protein PGLYRP1 has both beneficial and detrimental effects on Bordetella pertussis infection in mice. Using a solid array of techniques, the study provides useful insights into how the peptidoglycan fragment tracheal cytotoxin alters host immune responses, dampening inflammatory responses later in B. pertussis infection. These studies indicate that release of peptidoglycan fragments with particular structures can be used by bacteria to modulate NOD1 versus NOD2 responses to their advantage.

Reviewed by eLife