Microbiology

Apoptotic caspases cleave DRP1 to promote mitochondrial fusion and anti-viral immune responses

1. Yujie Fang
2. Zihan Guan
3. Xiangtao Zhu
4. Zhenqiong Guan
5. Shufen Li
6. Ke Peng

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study suggests that caspases strengthen the antiviral response by cleaving Drp1, which otherwise restrains mitochondria-mediated type I interferon signaling. The authors report an important finding supported by solid evidence. However, further mechanistic work is needed to firmly establish whether apoptotic caspases are indeed required for Drp1 depletion in virus-infected cells.

Reviewed by eLife

SIRT2 protects against Japanese encephalitis virus infection in mice

1. Perumal Arumugam Desingu
2. Lavanya Dindi
3. Krishnega Murugasamy
4. Ankit Kumar Tamta
5. Venketsubbu Ramasubbu
6. Sukanya Raghu
7. Amarjeet Shrama
8. Raju S Rajmani
9. Nagalingam R Sundaresan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study explores the function of SIRT2 in inhibiting Japanese encephalitis virus infection and disease progression in rodent models. The findings presented are novel as sirtuins are known for their roles in aging, metabolism, and cell survival, but have not been studied in the context of viral infections until recently. The evidence supporting the claims is solid and reveals a mechanism for SIRT2 in modulating acetylated NF-kB transcription factor levels and additional inflammatory response mediators. The work will be of interest to biologists studying viruses, sirtuins, and inflammation.

Reviewed by eLife

Out-of-balance growth enables cost-free synthesis of the flagellum and other proteins in a single bacterium

1. Mayra Patricia Garcia Alcala
2. Josiah C Kratz
3. Philippe Cluzel

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study addresses a discrepancy between population-level growth laws and single-cell correlations. It shows, for flagellar and synthetic genes in E. coli, that while gene expression of certain genes reduces population-average growth, expression levels positively correlate with growth at the single-cell level. The measurements are convincing, and the proposed mechanism - inheritance of growth factors such as ribosomes during asymmetric division - can explain this observation.

Reviewed by eLife

A novel mechanism for morphological change during bacterial sporulation based on programmed peptidoglycan degradation

1. Carlos A Ramirez Carbo
2. Oihane Irazoki
3. Srutha Venkatesan
4. Lauren JS Chen
5. Haylie A Morales
6. Assariel J Garcia Avila
7. Hoi-Ling Cheung
8. Felipe Cava
9. Beiyan Nan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reveals the roles of two lytic transglycosylases in the progression of spore formation in the research model species Myxococcus xanthus. Solid evidence is provided for the roles of these two enzymes in spore formation and for interplay between their functions and peptidoglycan synthetic systems. These findings may have broader implications for studies of peptidoglycan metabolism across a range of species.

Reviewed by eLife

Negative feedback of cyclic di-GMP levels optimizes switching between sessile and motile lifestyles in Vibrio cholerae

1. Aathmaja Anandhi Rangarajan
2. Jeremy W. Schroeder
3. Rebecca L. Hurto
4. Geoffrey B. Severin
5. Macy E. Pell
6. Meng-Lun Hsieh
7. Christopher M. Waters
8. Lydia Freddolino

Reviewed by Review Commons

Obtaining maximum information from colony counts with REPOP

1. Pedro Pessoa
2. Carol Yunxiao Slayton
3. Stanimir Asenov Tashev
4. Rory Kruithoff
5. Doug P Shepherd
6. Steve Presse

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study introduces a Bayesian method to determine bacterial counts that accounts for the experimental noise inherent to dilution and plating methods and distinguishes it from biological uncertainty. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, combining simulated data and experimental data. The method will be of interest to microbial ecologists, and potentially to the broader community interested in inference from biological data, even more so if the domain of application and the limitations are further clarified.

Reviewed by eLife

Genome-wide synthetic lethality screen of Bam complex-associated genes in Escherichia coli

1. Jack A Bryant
2. Kara A Staunton
3. Hannah M Doherty
4. Micheal B Alao
5. Xuyu Ma
6. Joanna Morcinek-Orlowska
7. Emily CA Goodall
8. Jessica Gray
9. Matthew Milner
10. Luke Kidger
11. Charly D Neilson
12. Jeffrey A Cole
13. Felicity de Cogan
14. Timothy J Knowles
15. Monika Glinkowska
16. Danesh Moradigaravand
17. Ian R Henderson
18. Manuel Banzhaf

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a systematic analysis of interactions involving components of the outer membrane protein biogenesis machinery in Escherichia coli. The authors identify interactions between Bam-associated proteins and several pathways. The evidence supporting the principal conclusions is convincing, including several newly identified interactions as well as findings that reinforce previously proposed connections described in the literature. The resulting dataset provides a useful resource for future investigations of bacterial envelope homeostasis and the functions of poorly characterized genes.

Reviewed by eLife

The cow udder is a potential coinfection site for influenza A viruses

1. Rute Maria Pinto
2. Colin P Sharp
3. Maia Beeson
4. Nunticha Pankaew
5. Jack A Hassard
6. Alexander Moxom
7. Callum Magill
8. Rebecca A Ross
9. Laura Tuck
10. Stephen Meek
11. Hui Min Lee
12. Kirsty Jensen
13. Inga Dry
14. Pedro Melo
15. Jiayun Yang
16. Wenfang Spring Tan
17. Ashwin Ashok Raut
18. Anamika Mishra
19. Sjaak de Wit
20. J Ross Fitzgerald
21. Jayne C Hope
22. Joanne Stevens
23. Tom Burdon
24. Kate Sutton
25. Cristina L Esteves
26. F Xavier Donadeu
27. Ian Brown
28. Wendy Barclay
29. Thomas P Peacock
30. Daniel H Goldhill
31. Munir Iqbal
32. Pablo R Murcia
33. Stuart M Haslam
34. Eleanor Gaunt
35. Paul Digard

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents fundamental and significant findings that bovine mammary epithelial cells can be infected with both avian and human influenza A viruses, providing a potential site for viral reassortment. The evidence to support these claims is compelling. The work will be of interest to virologists and evolutionary biologists working on cross-species transmission of viruses and pandemic preparedness.

Reviewed by eLife

Targeted induction of gut-microbial metabolism acutely affects feeding patterns and clock gene expression in the host

1. Giorgia Greter
2. Claudia Moresi
3. Stefanie Oswald
4. Alice de Wouters d’Oplinter
5. Daria Künzli
6. Elisa Cappio Barazzone
7. Jiayi Lan
8. Emma Slack
9. Markus Arnoldini

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Feeding, the circadian rhythm, and the gut microbiota are all intimately linked, motivating new approaches to identify causal relationships while minimizing confounding factors. The authors employ an innovative combination of the osmotic laxative lactulose and a defined 3-member gut microbiota to acutely induce gut bacterial metabolism in mice during the daytime, resulting in changes in the ileal expression of clock genes and altered feeding behavior. Together, this study utilizes convincing methods to provide important new insights into the role of gut microbiota in the circadian rhythm, setting the stage for follow-on studies aimed at better understanding the mechanisms responsible.

Reviewed by eLife

The type VI secretion system governs strain maintenance in a wild mammalian gut microbiome

1. Beth A Shen
2. Kyle L Asfahl
3. Bentley Lim
4. Savannah K Bertolli
5. Samuel S Minot
6. Matthew C Radey
7. Kelsi M Penewit
8. Billy Ngo
9. Stephen J Salipante
10. Christopher D Johnston
11. S Brook Peterson
12. Andrew L Goodman
13. Joseph D Mougous

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental work significantly advances our understanding of how contact-dependent antagonism enables keystone bacteria to establish and maintain their niche over time. The evidence obtained is convincing, supporting most of the conclusions drawn. This work will be of significant interest to the microbiome research community.

Reviewed by eLife