Microbiology

The capsule and genetic background, rather than specific individual loci, strongly influence in vitro pneumococcal growth kinetics

1. Chrispin Chaguza
2. Daan W. Arends
3. Stephanie W. Lo
4. Indri Hapsari Putri
5. Anna York
6. John A. Lees
7. Anne L. Wyllie
8. Daniel M. Weinberger
9. Stephen D. Bentley
10. Marien I. de Jonge
11. Amelieke J.H. Cremers

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is an important study that examines the impact of Streptococcus pneumoniae genetics on its in vitro growth kinetics, aiming to identify potential targets for vaccines and therapeutics. The study identified significant variations in growth characteristics among capsular serotypes and lineages, linked to phylogeny and high heritability, but genome-wide association studies did not reveal specific genomic loci associated with growth features independent of the genetic background. The evidence supporting these findings is solid.

Reviewed by eLife

Immunopeptidomics informs discovery and delivery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis MHC-II antigens for vaccine design

1. Owen Leddy
2. Paul Ogongo
3. Julia Huffaker
4. Mingyu Gan
5. Ryan Milligan
6. Sheikh Mahmud
7. Yuko Yuki
8. Kidist Bobosha
9. Liya Wassie
10. Mary Carrington
11. Qingyun Liu
12. Joel D. Ernst
13. Forest M. White
14. Bryan D. Bryson

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

Characterisation and comparison of semen microbiota and bacterial load in men with infertility, recurrent miscarriage, or proven fertility

1. Shahriar Mowla
2. Linda Farahani
3. Tharu Tharakan
4. Rhianna Davies
5. Goncalo DS Correia
6. Yun S Lee
7. Samit Kundu
8. Shirin Khanjani
9. Emad Sindi
10. Raj Rai
11. Lesley Regan
12. Dalia Khalifa
13. Ralf Henkel
14. Suks Minhas
15. Waljit S Dhillo
16. Jara Ben Nagi
17. Phillip Bennett
18. David A MacIntyre
19. Channa N Jayasena

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study reports a potential connection between the seminal microbiome and sperm quality/male fertility. The data are generally convincing. This study will be of interest to clinicians and biomedical researchers who work on microbiome and male fertility.

Reviewed by eLife

Structural basis for collagen recognition by the Streptococcus pyogenes M3 protein and its involvement in biofilm

1. Marta Wojnowska
2. Takeaki Wajima
3. Tamas Yelland
4. Hannes Ludewig
5. Robert M Hagan
6. Grant Watt
7. Samir W Hamaia
8. Dominique Bihan
9. Jean-Daniel Malcor
10. Arkadiusz Bonna
11. Helena Bergsten
12. Mattias Svensson
13. Oddvar Oppegaard
14. Steinar Skrede
15. Per Arnell
16. Ole Hyldegaard
17. Richard W Farndale
18. Anna Norrby-Teglund
19. Ulrich Schwarz-Linek

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this paper, the authors report important structural and functional findings on the interaction of how the group A streptococci (GAS) M3 protein (expressed on GAS strains emm3, which are associated with invasive disease) binds to human collagens. They demonstrate an unusual T-shaped structure within the N-terminal hypervariable region of M3 protein that can bind two copies of collagen triple helix in parallel. These solid data advance understanding of how GAS M3 interacts with human collagen, information relevant to understanding and developing treatments for GAS infection. A major limitation of the work is the lack of mutational work to test if the T-shaped structure is necessary for binding collagen.

Reviewed by eLife

Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Enterobacter hormaechei as a Key Bloodstream Pathogen in Six Tertiary Care Hospitals in Southwestern Nigeria

1. Faith I. Oni
2. Ayorinde O. Afolayan
3. Anderson O. Oaikhena
4. Erkison Ewomazino Odih
5. Odion O. Ikhimiukor
6. Veronica O. Ogunleye
7. Aaron O. Aboderin
8. Olatunde F. Olabisi
9. Adewale A. Amupitan
10. Abayomi Fadeyi
11. Rasaki A. Raheem
12. Bashirat A. Olanipekun
13. Charles J. Elikwu
14. Oluwadamilola A. Sadare
15. Phillip O. Oshun
16. Oyinlola O. Oduyebo
17. Folashade Ojo
18. Abolaji T. Adeyemo
19. Ifeanyi E Mba
20. Abiodun Egwuenu
21. Tochi Okwor
22. Anthony Underwood
23. Silvia Argimón
24. Chikwe Ihekweazu
25. David M. Aanensen
26. Iruka N. Okeke

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

Discovery of antibiotics in the archaeome using deep learning

1. Marcelo D. T. Torres
2. Fangping Wan
3. Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

A functional interleukin-4 homolog is encoded in the genome of infectious laryngotracheitis virus: unveiling a novel virulence factor

1. Jeremy D. Volkening
2. Stephen J. Spatz
3. Maricarmen García
4. Teresa A. Ross
5. Daniel A. Maekawa
6. Kenneth S. Rosenthal
7. Ana C. Zamora
8. April Skipper
9. Julia Blakey
10. Roshan Paudel

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Morphology-dependent entry kinetics and spread of influenza A virus

1. Sarah Peterl
2. Carmen M. Lahr
3. Carl N. Schneider
4. Janis Meyer
5. Xenia Podlipensky
6. Vera Lechner
7. Maria Villiou
8. Larissa Eis
9. Steffen Klein
10. Charlotta Funaya
11. Elisabetta Ada Cavalcanti-Adam
12. Frederik Graw
13. Christine Selhuber-Unkel
14. Karl Rohr
15. Petr Chlanda

Reviewed by Review Commons, PREreview

Neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies that target the PcrV component of the Type III Secretion System of Pseudomonas aeruginosa act through distinct mechanisms

1. Jean-Mathieu Desveaux
2. Eric Faudry
3. Carlos Contreras-Martel
4. François Cretin
5. Leonardo Sebastian Dergan-Dylon
6. Axelle Amen
7. Isabelle Bally
8. Victor TardivyCasemajor
9. Fabien Chenavier
10. Delphine Fouquenet
11. Yvan Caspar
12. Ina Attrée
13. Andréa Dessen
14. Pascal Poignard

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study identifies new monoclonal antibodies produced by cystic fibrosis patients against the Pseudomonas aeruginosa type three secretion system. The evidence supporting the authors' claim is solid. However, in the current version of the manuscript, it is unclear what the benefits of the newly isolated antibodies are with respect to antibodies previously identified using a similar approach. The study will be of interest to those working on developing mAbs against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and also against other pathogens that harbor the T3SS.

Reviewed by eLife

Alveolar metabolite availability facilitates secondary infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in acutely injured lungs

1. Jennifer M. Baker
2. Thomas L. Flott
3. Laura A. McLellan
4. Ingrid G. Bustos
5. Jose L. Guerrero
6. Lina M. Mendez
7. Annastasia M. Petouhoff
8. Piyush Ranjan
9. Joseph D. Metcalf
10. Roderick A. McDonald
11. Nicole R. Falkowski
12. Ying He
13. Mónica P. Cala
14. Gary B. Huffnagle
15. Michael W. Sjoding
16. Luis F. Reyes
17. Kathleen A. Stringer
18. Robert P. Dickson

Reviewed by PREreview