Microbiology

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

Niche exclusion of a lung pathogen in mice with designed probiotic communities

1. Kelsey E Hern
2. Ashlee M Phillips
3. Catherine M Mageeney
4. Kelly P Williams
5. Anupama Sinha
6. Hans K Carlson
7. Kunal Poorey
8. Nicole M Collette
9. Steven S Branda
10. Adam P Arkin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable framework for the rational design of bacterial probiotics to protect against respiratory infections. The evidence supporting the central claim - that metabolic niche overlap predicts probiotic efficacy - is solid, combining innovative in vitro modeling with in vivo validation, though the model appears less effective for probiotics that rely on antimicrobial metabolite production.

Reviewed by eLife

Simple Sequence Repeats Mediate Phase Variation of the Mucoid Phenotype in Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae

1. Oliwia Stawarska
2. Aarabhi Ravikrishnan Nair
3. Ania W. Y. Man
4. Luke R. Green
5. Ozcan Gazioglu
6. Francesco Flandi
7. Margaret M. C. Lam
8. Kathryn E. Holt
9. Hasan Yesilkaya
10. Marco R. Oggioni
11. Jose A. Bengoechea
12. Charlotte Odendall
13. Alex J. McCarthy
14. Joseph J. Wanford

Reviewed by PREreview

Mycobacterium tuberculosis partitions the Krebs cycle under iron starvation

1. Agnese Serafini
2. Acely Garza-Garcia
3. Davide Sorze
4. Luiz Pedro Sorio de Carvalho
5. Riccardo Manganelli

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This well-designed, valuable study uses isotope tracing to analyse how iron limitation alters TCA cycle metabolism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, revealing potential antibiotic targets for non-replicating bacteria in the host. The evidence is solid, providing insights into metabolic remodelling under iron-limited conditions.

Reviewed by eLife